Spiderweb Naked Red Velvet Cake

Are you hip to naked cakes? Whoa there–I’m not talking about the bachelor/ette party cakes that are anatomically correct to an uncomfortable degree. I still don’t think I’m old enough to view those. No, I’m talking about the latest cake trend of leaving the outside of layer cakes unfinished, so that the layers of cake and frosting are on display. If you haven’t seen them then we’re obviously looking at different Pinterest boards, because those things are everywhere.

I’m torn. On one hand, I love a good bandwagon-jumping as much as the next trend chaser. On the other hand, too many naked cakes look a little sloppy. I mean, I want to bedazzle everything I see—do I really have it in me to be content with a naked cake?

So, I compromised and made a “semi-dressed” cake instead. Perfect for the innocent baker who’s not ready to commit to culinary nudity just yet.

This cake is the best of both worlds: the cake and frosting layers are partially visible, but the intricate spiderweb piping leaves just enough to the imagination. Mrow!

Of course, since it’s October, I’m contractually obligated to put a spider on it. Sorry to anyone who’s sick of Haloweenie desserts—I don’t make the rules, I just laboriously sculpt the fondant arachnids. It’s a hard life.

To make this cake, I used my trusty red velvet recipe, and added a little extra cocoa powder since I thought a more burgundy color would be appropriately spooky. I filled it with a rich chocolate-cream cheese frosting, and tossed in several handfuls of chopped Morello cherries (tart cherries preserved in syrup). The combination of the buttermilk/cocoa cake, tangy chocolate cream cheese, and juicy, tart fruit was fantastic.

I reserved some of the cream cheese frosting before adding the chocolate, and used the plain cream cheese frosting to pipe the spiderweb design on the outside of the cake after it had chilled for a few hours. Fun fact: it is surprisingly hard to make a decent-looking spiderweb! I don’t think we’re giving the spiders in our lives nearly enough credit. They may be freaky-looking, but apparently they’re really smart and good at spatial relationships.

I went with a dense, intricate web pattern all over the top and sides of the cake, but you can save time by making your web larger, or just drawing one or two webs on the cake and leaving more of it plain. I mean “naked.”

To make the fondant spider, you’ll need black fondant. I always recommend buying black fondant (as opposed to trying to dye white fondant yourself) because you’ll never end up with a true black—you can use a whole bottle of food coloring and still have a muddy gray. Better to spend a few extra dollars and a get a deep, shiny black without any hassle! I like Satin Ice brand, but my local Michael’s store sells Duff Goldman’s brand if that’s more convenient for you.

Forming the body is easy, but the legs are tricky! I actually pressed the fondant around thin wires that were bent into leg shapes, and left about 1/2-inch of wire exposed on the ends, to stick into the body. After forming the body and all the legs separately, I let everything dry overnight on a cocoa-dusted baking sheet, then assembled the spider on top of the cake the next day. Don’t try to assemble it and then transfer it, and don’t strap it into the passenger seat and go joy-riding over bumpy roads—this little guy is delicate! But if you can stand handling him with kid gloves, it’s worth it, because he adds the perfect touch to this creepy-cool cake.

So what about you: are you pro or con naked cake? Or will you join me in my semi-dressed cake compromise? Or are you ready to throw something at me if I don’t stop talking about the dressing habits of inanimate baked goods?

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