Halloween, the season of spookiness, is upon us, and what’s better than adding a touch of eerie charm to your desserts with minimal effort? Enter the one-ingredient wonder: chocolate spiderwebs. These delicately crafted decorations can take your cupcakes, cakes, tarts, or cookies to the next level.
Ingredients and Tools
First, a spider web template can be quite helpful, although you can also choose to freehand. To facilitate the creation and removal of the solidified chocolate web, you’ll need parchment paper, ideally in the form of non-stick parchment paper baking sheets.
Additionally, a microwave-safe bowl is a must for melting your chocolate, and a small spatula proves indispensable for transferring the molten chocolate to your chosen piping tool. Lastly, have a cup of chocolate on hand, whether it’s dark, white, milk, or even a tantalizing mix of these, depending on your preference.
Preparing Chocolate Spiderwebs
Bake your choice of dessert, be it a cake, tart, cupcake, or cookies. Allow them to cool completely. Print your spiderweb template and place it on a cookie sheet or baking pan. Add a sheet of parchment paper on top. Use a pencil to trace the spider web template in multiple places on the parchment paper. Flip over the paper so that the pencil drawings won’t touch the chocolate. Place one cup of chocolate pieces in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until the chocolate is almost entirely melted. Remove it from the microwave and stir. Use a small spatula to transfer the melted chocolate to your chosen piping tool. With the template as your guide, pipe or squeeze the chocolate to create your spiderwebs. Allow the chocolate spiderwebs to set at room temperature for about 10 to 20 minutes. Once set, carefully peel the webs away from the parchment paper and place them on your desired dessert.
Bonus Tips
First of all, when dealing with plain chocolate, try using discs made of candy melt. They are more durable and reliable for drying. If you would like to add extra creativity, don’t be afraid to add edible glitter, sprinkles, or finely diced pistachios on top of your chocolate while it turns solid.
If you’re in a hurry, speed up the hardening process by laying a baking sheet underneath the parchment paper before piping, and refrigerating it for a period of approximately five minutes. If you won’t be serving these delicious spiderwebs right away, keep them in the fridge to preserve their shape until they’re needed.