Learn how to make a Spiderman cake with homemade fondant and a cake mix or your favorite homemade cake recipe! Perfect for Spiderman parties!
Back in the summer of 2010 my (then) 16 year old daughter asked me to make a Spiderman cake (yes, technically Spiderman should be hyphenated as Spider-man, but for the sake of my sanity I am typing it in this post as Spiderman, no hyphen.) for her best friend’s birthday. I was surprised to hear that her BFF wanted a Spiderman cake, but my daughter insisted that she was indeed obsessed with all things Spiderman. So who am I to question, or for that matter, to say no?
Making a Spiderman Cake with Homemade Fondant
So I set out on a quest to find a fun Spiderman cake design. At first I was going to use this cake pan with a simple white frosting, pipe black frosting around it and drag a knife through it to create a spider web design. Kristen wanted a Spiderman face in the middle, so I could have just gone with this light up Spiderman cake topper… but instead I decided to use fondant.
Yikes. Fondant. I had never used fondant. It had been one of those “I have to tackle that one of these days” things. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. In fact it was quite easy. I found a great video on working with fondant here and used that to come up with my Spiderman cake.
Using homemade fondant for my Spiderman Cake
So on with my adventure in fondant. I had heard that store bought fondant is pretty gross tasting, and have heard some great things about homemade marshmallow fondant, so I decided to make my own. This definitely did not go off without a hitch, there were several issues, even though it did all work out in the end. This could have really turned into a long post, so I trimmed the mishaps down a bit. Also, I don’t have a lot of step by step photos as I was so concentrated (and nervous) that I didn’t want to stop to stage photos.
Making and shaping the cake
Kristen wanted boxed cake and container frosting. I baked a chocolate cake in two 9″ round cake pans. Â When cool, I chilled them in the freezer for an hour so that I could easily saw off the uneven tops with a serrated knife.
Next, I cut a section out of the middle of each cake layer, about 1.5″ wide and set those pieces aside. I slid the two sides together on each cake to make ovals. However, the ovals weren’t long enough to pass as a face, so I turned the cakes a quarter turn, then cut then in half. I separated the two halves and reinserted sections of the pieces I removed earlier. I was able to make longer ovals this way. While this was going quite well, at one point I almost dropped a layer on the floor. I swear I would have cried.
After it chilled a while, I assembled the layers with a layer of white frosting between the two, then I gave the cake a crumb coat. Back into the freezer for another couple hours. I finished it off with the rest of the frosting, smoothed it out really well by misting it with water and smoothing with an icing spatula. Back into the fridge.
Making the homemade fondant
There are lots of different posts and tutorials on making homemade marshmallow fondant. The one that ultimately influenced me the most was this video. However, I must warn you, it’s way too long. She really could have edited a lot of stuff out and still made a great tutorial. I found myself saying “Yeah yeah, get on with it already!” Just sayin’.
I almost hosed up the fondant completely. You are supposed to melt 16 oz of marshmallows with a little water, then mix it with 2 pounds of sifted powdered sugar. (recipe at the end if you want it)
- I forgot that 16 oz. is actually about 1.5 packages  – I only melted 1 package.
- I forgot to add the water to the marshmallows before microwaving them.
- I ended up adding more powdered sugar that the recipe called for because of my other boo-boo’s.
All seemed to work out well, so I wrapped it tightly and let it rest overnight.
Once I had a couple of cups of coffee in me, I set out to finish this cake. First thing I did was take the cake out and trim the cake cardboard with a x-acto knife to be the same shape as the cake. Â This allows you to trim the ends of the fondant easily once you’ve placed it on the cake.
I separated the fondant so I could color the bulk of it red. I pulled out my red gel food coloring and started working it into the fondant, and then I RAN OUT.
Luckily for me the bakery in town had an extra bottle and sold me one. Phew!
Rolling the fondant out was easy, just make sure you use a good amount of cornstarch on the work surface or it will stick. Roll it 1/4″ thick as suggested by every tutorial I ran across. It lifted easily and went right on top of the cake without an issue.
After trimming the fondant (I used the top of my turntable spice rack to place the cake on) to fit snugly around the cake, I then piped on the spider webs.
I drew out the eyes and cut them from fondant using my drawing. Pasted them together with a little water and placed them on top of the cake. I used a tiny paintbrush dipped in water, squeezed out the excess and touched up the cake. Done!
So all in all, even for my first time, I was pretty happy with it! My daughter and the birthday girl loved it, so that’s what was most important to me. Glad I conquered yet another fear that summer!
Here’s the fondant recipe. if you can get through it, watch the video I mentioned above, just remember it’s kinda longish.
If you’re browsing around for more fun birthday party ideas, these Cookie Monster and Elmo cookies are SO easy and a lot of fun to make! You could even have the kids decorate them themselves as part of the party fun.
Spiderman Cake Recipe
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 15 ounce boxed cake mix prepared, flavor of your choice
- 1 can/tub white frosting
- 16 oz marshmallows about 1.5 packages
- 2 pounds powdered sugar sifted
- 4 tablespoons water
- vegetable shortening for greasing
- 1 tube black decorator gel
Before You Begin
- Calorie count is for the fondant only!
- I baked a chocolate cake in two 9" round cake pans. Â When cool, I chilled them in the freezer for an hour so that I could easily saw off the uneven tops with a serrated knife.
Instructions
- Prepare box cake mix in round pans and cut according to diagram.
- Assemble the layers with a layer of white frosting between the two, then add a thin layer of canned frosting (crumb coat). Put into the freezer for a couple hours. Finish it off with the rest of the frosting, smoothing it really well by misting it with water and smoothing with an icing spatula. Place back into the fridge.
- Use the shortening to grease a large microwaveable bowl for the marshmallows, the mixer bowl, your dough hook, and a sturdy rubber spatula.
- Sift the powdered sugar and reserve about one cup. Put the rest into the greased mixer bowl.
- Put the marshmallows into the microwaveable bowl and add the water. Microwave in 30 second intervals until melted, stirring with rubber spatula in between intervals.
- Add the melted marshmallows to the powdered sugar. Lock the mixer and cover the opening with plastic wrap to keep powdered sugar from coming out. Turn mixer on low and allow dough hook to do its thing. Keep mixing for several minutes until the sugar seems to have incorporated for the most part. If still sticky, begin adding reserved powdered sugar, you may use it all, you may not, depends on your weather conditions. It's really humid here, so I used it all.
- Fondant is ready when it balls up around your dough hook or when you can touch it and it's still pliable but not sticky. Remove from the mixer and wrap in plastic wrap. Allow fondant to rest for a minimum of 2 hours, I think overnight was best.
- To use the fondant, knead it several times, like you would bread dough, to get it to a workable consistency (much like that of Play-dough).
- To add coloring, do not use liquid food coloring. Use paste or gel colorings to a handful of fondant, then mix that piece into a larger batch.
- Cover work surface with cornstarch. Roll out fondant to 1/4" thickness. Cover cake and trim excess.
- Use black decorator gel to add webs.
- Cut eyes from white and black fondant. Paste them together with a little water and place them on top of the cake. I used a tiny paintbrush dipped in water, squeezed out the excess and touched up the cake.
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Jen says
The taste was great however I could not get this fondant to lay over the cake nicely, it was breaking and cracking . I tried twice laying this down over the cake, and then just trashed it and bought a Spider-Man cake. Great job on yours I have no idea what happened and I am not an inexperienced baker.
Amanda Formaro says
Sounds like the fondant was too dry. Could have been something when you were measuring out ingredients. Sorry you had trouble!
Cinthia Martinez says
You don’t have all the ingredients listed.😣
Amanda Formaro says
They are all there :) If you scroll toward the end of the post (or use the Jump to Recipe button at the top) there’s a convenient printer friendly version with everything listed.
Tine says
Hey Amanda, did you use put the 2 layers together then cut it into shape? Sorry amateur baker here 😬
Amanda Formaro says
Yes it’s easier to get even cuts if you place the layers together :)
Tina says
Hi. What did you use for the webs please? Thanks
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Tina! it’s just one of those tubes of black decorator gel you can get at Walmart or any grocery store in the cake decorating section!
Christina says
Too easy… thank you. I’m in Australia. I’m sure we can find a similar thing here 😊
Julia says
what is the amount of red fondant you needed to cover the cake overall? as I am not preparing it with homemade, have to see how much should I buy. Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
You could by one of the little tubs like these https://amzn.to/2IElNt1 – to be safe I would buy two of them. But start small, a little of this stuff goes a LONG way!!
Karin says
This is awesome. My 14 year old daughter is a Spider-Man fan. So we are going to make this.
Why can’t you use liquid food coloring?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Karin! Liquid food coloring requires that you add far too much to get to the nice red color that the liquid would degrade the fondant. Gel food coloring mixes in beautifully and gives very vibrant color.
Sarah B says
Couldn’t you add the liquid color to the water in the beginning??
Amanda Formaro says
I wouldn’t. It’s gel food coloring, not liquid, so it could clump.
Cath Kitson says
I’m making this cake for my grandson’s 7th birthday you’ve made it look so easy…
Thank you for sharing
Amanda Formaro says
How fun, happy birthday to your grandson!
Heather says
What size did your cake end up being? I know you started with a 9 inch cake but what size dos you end up with?
Ana says
I ABSOLUTELY love this cake! – going to try to make it for my son’s 4th birthday. Question: What did you use to pipe on the spider webs? Is that butter cream? It looks so cool.
Amanda Formaro says
It’s actually just one of those little tubes or black decorator gel in a tube you can buy at the grocery store! :)
sasha says
I have been looking for a simple to make and perfect Spiderman cake for months now to make for my sons first birthday and I finally found it. Thank you for posting!
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you Sasha! Hope you have fun with it!
Laura says
Hello there. Which fondant recipe did you used to smooth the cake before covering it with the red icing. Thanks
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Laura. The recipe for the fondant is in the post. I didn’t cover it with red frosting, you mix red gell food coloring into the fondant. There are step by step photos and printable instructions within the post. :)
Laura Hammontree says
Oh,I also add a little vanilla extract for flavoring, but I’m sure you could add any flavor extract and it would be good.
Laura Hammontree says
A quick tip for you. I make marshmallow fondant all the time. I have found that if you mix the food coloring into the melted marshmallow before adding the powdered sugar, it works much better. It saves loads of time and you don’t have to use as much food coloring. The color is smooth and bright and your hands don’t get all stained.
Amanda Formaro says
Nice! Thanks for that tip Laura!
Tammy says
Thanks, you gave great details on step to step instructions. Which was very easy to follow. I used your instructions for my nephews 5th birthday. The fondant was good also. The surprise party was a success the spiderman cake was a hit. Thank-you!
Amanda Formaro says
That’s awesome Tammy, so glad to hear it, thank you!
Amy Holland says
Wow- for your first try with fondant, this cake looks amazing! I’m doing exactly what you did- googling the heck out of “how to make a Spider-man face cake”, and that is how I found your post. Thank you so much for the clear instructions on how you formed the face. I’ve seen a few methods, and yours makes a lot of sense.
Thanks for the great tutorial!
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks so much Amy, I’m so glad it was helpful! :)
Amber says
First off, your cake turned out great! I’ll be making a tiered cake using fondant for the first time next month for my nephew’s birthday. One of the tiers will be spiderman about the size of yours, so I was REALLY hoping you could tell me about how much red coloring you had to use to achieve this red color?? We don’t have anywhere local to buy individual containers of coloring, so I have to order online and don’t want to buy too little! I plan on buying the 4.5 oz container—about how much of the bottle would you think I would use?? Please help!
Amanda Formaro says
Oh my gosh Amber, I’m not going to be much help for exact measurements on that. However, you should be totally fine with 4.5 ounces! It really doesn’t take much with gel food coloring. It’s nothing like those little bottles of food coloring you get at the grocery store, it’s much darker and a little bit goes a LONG way!
Betty says
Did you use a tip for the cakemate black icing?
Amanda Formaro says
Yes, the smallest one that comes in those packs of four from Cake Mate.
Kelly says
I love this cake. My son’s birthday is on Halloween and he adores Spider-Man. I have never tried fondant before and am eager to give this recipe a try. Thank you for sharing.
Amanda Formaro says
Hope you have fun Kelly!
Danielle says
Hi there! Awesome cake, I’m going to attempt this for my daughter’s 4th birthday next month. I’m fairly new to fondant as well, only done one before. I would like to put this Spider-man face cake on top of a round tier (first time doing a tiered cake) due to the # of guests. Any suggestions on 2 tier sizes? I would like to keep the 9″ round for the face as the top tier but would 10″ round be too small for bottom? Especially considering the 9″ will be turned into an oval, making 2 of the sides longer. Just don’t want any overhang. I’m ok with it going right up to the edge of the bottom tier though. Thank you!!
Amanda Formaro says
Sorry I missed your question Danielle! Did you get this figured out?
Brenda says
What is a “crumb coating?” You gave the cake a crumb coating after you assembled the various pieces.
It looks like the cake is fully frosted before you put on fondant. True?
Thank. Your Spidy Man looks great!!
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Brenda! A crumb coating is a thin coat of frosting that you put on first. You then refrigerate the cake to set it, then frost liberally afterward. The crumb coating seals the cake inside, keeping the crumbs from getting into your final frosting layer :)
Jessi says
Love marshmallow fondant. If you only need one color the easiest way to do it is add the coloring to the melted marshmallows less of a arm workout ;) great post I just finished the Spider-Man cake
Amanda Formaro says
What a great tip!