Spurting Spider Cake

Many years ago, when all we had to deal with was one small boy, I used to throw Halloween parties every year. Those were such wonderful times. The kids had a blast and I had such fun planning and executing the parties.

One year, I made a Spurting Spider Cake that was a tremendous hit. I found the idea on-line. You simply make your cake batter and pour it into two bowls - one large and one small. The large cake becomes the abdomen and the small cake, the head of the spider. You cut the large cake in half and round out a well in the inside of each half. Then, you blend up green jello and pour it into the cavity, covering it with the top half. I frosted the cake black (it came out gray - I can never seem to get colors rich enough) and added pipe cleaners for legs. When we cut into the cake, just as promised, the green guts spurted and oozed out of the middle of the cake. It was fantastic.

This year, as we approached Trevor's half birthday, I began to ask what kind of cake he wanted me to make. He requested a brown, hairy tarantula. I suggested a brown, spurting spider cake. He agreed.

Of course, the two little boys were determined to assist me every step of the way. Here is a photo of them enjoying the beaters after we mixed up the buttercream icing:



It didn't exactly turn out as picture perfect as the first spurting spider cake I made. I think last time I must have used two cake mixes. This time, I was trying to cut my husband a break (since he has a wellness screening tomorrow and has been worried that eating too much cake will somehow skew the results, despite the fact that he works out regularly) and so, I only made one cake mix.

When I pulled the cakes out of the oven, it became clear there would be no way to cut the larger cake in half and insert blended jello. Thus, I went back to the
drawing boardkitchen and made another large bowl cake.

I'm pretty sure I also had a different large glass bowl back then, because this one ended up with more of a squared off appearance. It worked much better when I blended, filled and frosted, the morning of the party. This time around, knowing that I would have helpers if I waited until the morning our guests were slated to arrive, I filled and frosted the cake the night before. When we cut into the cake, there was NO SPURTING. The filling had cooled back to a solid form. Anyway, it still looked fine, it just didn't turn out quite as well. The boys didn't mind in the slightest. It was still a big hit!

This is what it looked like after frosting it:



This is what it looked like when we added chocolate licorice legs (far superior to the pipe cleaner legs used for the previous cake, but less stable):


Trevor invited his favorite little friend from school, Evan. Evan's mother brought along Evan's six year old brother, Oscar (whom Trevor also loves). They were feverish in excitement (yes, it would have been impossible to frost the cake, since my husband was away at work that morning). The four boys played inside, then we ate the cake and resumed playing outside.

When Trevor went to bed that night, he declared it "the best day of his life." We put them to bed early, ordered a pizza and actually managed to watch half of a sweet movie ("Ring of Bright Water") before hubby had to head off to bed (he can't do the late nights and I can't do the early mornings). It truly was a really great day!