Spider's web pumpkin cake
Serves: 10-12
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Spider's web pumpkin cake
A delicately spiced layer cake perfect for Halloween weekend. Follow our tip below to make it gluten free
Serves: 10-12
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
496Kcal
Fat
25gr
Saturates
15gr
Carbs
60gr
Sugars
33gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
6gr
Salt
0.9gr
Mitzie Wilson
Mitzie Wilson is a food writer, baker and our former Acting Food Director. Mitzie has been writing recipes for magazines for over 30 years, and was editor of BBC Good Food and Delicious. Her particular speciality is creating show-stopping bakes.
Mitzie Wilson
Mitzie Wilson is a food writer, baker and our former Acting Food Director. Mitzie has been writing recipes for magazines for over 30 years, and was editor of BBC Good Food and Delicious. Her particular speciality is creating show-stopping bakes.
Ingredients
- 175g butter, melted, plus extra to grease
- 250g pumpkin or butternut squash (peeled weight)
- 150g clear honey
- 100g light muscovado sugar
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- 2 tbsp milk
- zest of ½ orange
- 350g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
For the icing
- 50g soft butter
- 100g full fat soft cheese
- 100g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 50ml double cream
- zest of ½ orange
- pinch of ground cinnamon
For the spiders
- 6 raisins
Step by step
Get ahead
Keeps for up to 5 days in a cake tin.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease and base-line 3 x 18cm round sponge tins with baking paper.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease and base-line 3 x 18cm round sponge tins with baking paper. Coarsely grate the pumpkin or butternut squash and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and all the remaining cake ingredients with a pinch of salt then beat together with a wooden spoon until combined. Divide and spread evenly between the cake tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes until just firm in the centre and the cake is beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tins. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- To make the icing, beat the butter until really smooth, soft and creamy, then beat in the soft cheese, icing sugar, double cream, orange zest and cinnamon, until smooth (it will be a little runny at this stage). Spoon about 2 tablespoons into a small piping bag. Snip the end and pipe circles on top of one cake, then pipe a line from the edge of the cake in to the centre, then back out towards the edge as a V, to form the spider’s web as you work around the cake.
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Thicken the remaining icing by whisking with an electric hand whisk until smooth and thick, then spread over the top of the other two cakes and stack on top of each other with the spider web cake layer on top. If you like, place three raisins on top of the cake and cut tiny strips from the other raisins to make spiders’ legs. Dust with icing sugar.TipUse gluten-free self- raising flour, and add 1⁄2 tsp xanthan gum to the cake mixture. Add an extra 3 tbsp milk to the batter.
