Spiderwebbed German Chocolate Swirl Cake

It's not a party unless sweets are present!

Yield: 24 servings

Prep: 35 to 40 minutes

Bake: 350°, about 30 to 40 minutes

Spiderwebbed German Chocolate Swirl Cake

1 1/3 cup butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon hazelnut extract

5 cups flour

5 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups 2% milk

Red food coloring

4 ounces german chocolate bar

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

5 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 10 oz bag of jumbo marshmallows

1. Grease and lightly flour a 10 and 9 inch springfoam pan lined with parchment paper on bottom only. In a large bowl, cream butter and add sugar 1/4 cup at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs beating after each addition just until combined. Add in vanilla and hazelnut extract.

2. In another large bowl combine flour, baking powder,  and salt. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk into creamed butter mixture until well combined. Add in red coloring until you reach desired color.

3. Pour into 2 greased pans. Melt chocolate in 30 second increments and spoon onto batter. With a butter swirl through cake to move chocolate around but don't over mix. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely

To Decorate:

Vanilla Buttercream

1. With a paddle attachment whip butter until creamy. MIx in vanilla extract just until combined. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time and beat on low to medium speed.

2. Spread frosting liberally on 10 inch layer and then stack 9 inch on top and continue frosting and don't worry about being pretty with it. The great thing about Halloween desserts is messy falls under the spooky category.

3. Take your frosting tool and lightly tap the frosting to create peaks. Let cake sit for about 20 minutes to let frosting hardened a bit.

4. While you wait melt marshmallows at 30 second increments until it stirs to a smooth texture. Next is the most sticky and messy step of this whole recipe. Grab blobs of the marshmallow and slowly stretch till long and thin. Randomly wrap around cake. Continue doing until you feel its enough. Can buy some simple spider rings to decorate for some extra spook.

Finished cake and
homemade cake stand that thankfully held up
the entire night!

Sweet Flukes

This cake was my breakdown point. The baking and putting it together worked out just how I wanted. I had finished all my sweets and had just enough time to get ready. I packed all the sweets and on the way to my sisters my cake toppled! 

It was like slow motion and all I could do was curse in slow motion as I saw it happen. I turned that car back around, to the kitchen and straight to the fridge for a beer. As I sat and enjoyed every sip of it I went ahead and informed my sister the cake was gonna be late.

I just about quit on the whole party but after I calmed down I check the cake and saw that just the frosting was damaged. So went ahead touched it up and re-webbed it. Sadly lost the spiky look since I was short on frosting but still looked good to others. I'm thinking next Halloween instead of wasting time on frosting creatively I'll just toss my cake at the nearest wall since the beat up look was still a hit.

At the end of it all I'm glad for the whole experience but I am now implementing that some sort of alcoholic beverage always be available in case of those unfortunate events.