Double Chocolate Spider Web Cake! Perfect for Halloween! It’s fun, festive and delicious and the kids can help you make it!
Halloween has definitely become a favorite holiday for us since having kids. We enjoy carving pumpkins together, picking out their Halloween costumes and of course, baking some sweet treats! One year, I was feeling ambitious and baked cookies to give out for Halloween treats. We ran out fast, obviously, and some kids had heard about the baked cookies and were sad that I didn’t have any more to hand out.
Note to self: just keep it simple and buy candy. Or stickers. Or, gummy snacks. Or, candy.
I love baking with my kids so Halloween is definitely a holiday we take advantage of. One year, all they wanted were animal cupcakes, like 
I made the chocolate cake using 
The other key ingredients I always like to add for chocolate cake is brewed coffee and cinnamon. I think both ingredients help to enhance the chocolate flavor and takes the taste up a notch! I hope you try this Double Chocolate Spider Web cake!
We’re making this cake again on Halloween and will have grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup for dinner that night. My kids are still young, so they only go trick or treating for like an hour, or two, but by the end of two hours, they are tired and ready to head home. I get dinner started and they hand out candy to all the trick or treaters that come to our house. I don’t know about your neighborhood, but one year we had kids ringing the doorbell at 10:30pm! We had to turn our lights off!
Obviously, we have some serious trick or treaters in the neighborhood.
My classic grilled cheese sandwich is extremely easy to make. I think grilled cheese is as good as the ingredients you use. I love spreading Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil on both sides of each slice of bread. This is what gives you that perfectly golden brown exterior on your grilled cheese. And for the cheese, we used Land O Lakes® Deli American. I love the nostalgia of using Deli American. Not only for the taste, but Land O Lakes® Deli American is America’s #1 Deli American. It’s available in white and yellow!
I hope you give this classic grilled cheese sandwich a try! I can’t think of anything more delicious, or simple, to make on Halloween for your family.
Double Chocolate Spider Web Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup brewed coffee cooled slightly
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- butter or cooking spray for the cake pans
For the Ganache:
- ¾ cup Land O Lakes® Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels OR a blend of bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the Spider Web Design:
- 1 ½ cups of vanilla buttercream homemade or store bought
- tube of vanilla icing homemade or store bought
- special equipment needed: a toothpick and plastic spiders
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9” round cake pans with parchment paper on the bottom and spray with non-stick baking spray.
- Using a large mixing bowl, pour in the melted Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil, brewed coffee and cocoa powder. Stir with a wire whisk. Once everything is combined, add milk and sugar and whisk until it has dissolved. Set aside.
- Using another mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla.
- Whisk the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Slowly add the flour mixture and continue to whisk. Once all of the ingredients have been combined you will be left with a batter with the consistency of a slightly thick soup.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between your prepared cake pans and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely before handling.
For the Ganache:
- Place the chocolate chips into a medium sized mixing bowl. Using a small saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the heavy cream. Cook until small bubbles appear on the outside edge of the cream and pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Let sit for about 2 minutes. Then, using a wire whisk, gently stir until all of the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth.
For the Spider Web Design:
- To assemble your spider web cake: place the first cake layer on your cake plate or cake stand. Spread the vanilla buttercream over the cake layer. Top with the second cake.
- Evenly pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake, starting in the center. Smooth the chocolate ganache over the cake so you have a smooth layer on top. Using the vanilla icing, starting from the center of the cake, draw a spiral on the cake, going in a circular motion until you have reached the edge of the cake.
- Use your toothpick the draw lines from the center down to create a spider web design; be sure to wipe your toothpick after each time to keep the spider web design clean. Place a few plastic spiders on top to complete the look!
Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
- Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil for spreading on your bread slices
- 8 slices bread any kind (I used a multigrain bread)
- 4 cups Land O Lakes® Deli American grated (yellow or white)
Instructions
- Using the Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil, butter each slice of bread on both sides and set aside. Using a cast iron skillet or non-stick skillet, over medium heat, place your slice of buttered bread into the skillet and top with a cup of Land O Lakes® Deli American. Cover the skillet with a lid and let the Deli American melt until it's almost entirely melted, for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Next, lift the lid and flip your grilled cheese sandwich and let cook on the other side for about 2 to 3 minutes. Continue flipping if you need to, or until you have nice, golden brown toasty bread on both sides.
- Repeat everything for your remaining grilled cheese sandwiches and enjoy!
Disclosure: This is a paid, sponsored post in partnership with Land O’Lakes. All opinions stated here are my own.
