Disney Cruise Line Chocolate Spider Cake Recipe
Disney Cruise Line’s Chocolate Spider Cake is one of the more unusual desserts associated with Halloween at sea: a glossy chocolate spider made from chocolate mousse, chocolate fudge cake and chocolate glaze, complete with chocolate legs and a smaller spider head.
This original Disney Cruise Line recipe card comes from the “Anyone Can Cook” Culinary Series and provides the ingredients and preparation instructions used to create the dessert. The recipe is considerably more involved than its playful appearance might suggest, with separate preparations for the chocolate fudge cake, chocolate mousse and glaze before the spider can finally be assembled.
The Chocolate Spider Cake has also been associated with Disney Cruise Line’s Halloween on the High Seas celebrations, where the dessert and an Anyone Can Cook presentation have appeared as part of seasonal programming.
For more Disney Cruise Line planning information, CruisePrism readers can also explore our Disney Cruise line Drink Lists, Disney Cruise Line Dining Menus, and Disney Onboard Guides.
What Is Disney Cruise Line’s Chocolate Spider Cake?
The Chocolate Spider Cake is essentially a molded chocolate mousse dessert built around a layer of chocolate fudge cake.
The larger dome forms the spider’s body. A smaller chocolate component becomes its head, while melted dark chocolate is piped into eight legs. The completed spider is placed over the center of a plate and decorated to create a Halloween presentation.
According to the Disney Cruise Line recipe card, there are three primary components:
• Chocolate fudge cake for the head and internal cake layer
• Chocolate mousse for the body
• Chocolate glaze covering the body
The final assembly requires additional dark and white chocolate for the legs and facial details.
Disney Cruise Line Chocolate Spider Cake Ingredients
Because this is a professional culinary recipe, some of the quantities and terminology are different from what home bakers typically encounter. The measurements below follow the Disney Cruise Line recipe card as closely as possible.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
For the chocolate fudge cake:
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder – 60%
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 fresh whole eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 cup milk – 2% fat
This cake becomes part of the spider rather than functioning as a conventional frosted cake.
Chocolate Mousse
For the chocolate mousse body:
• 5 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate couverture
• 4 gelatin sheets – Gold, or 2 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder, Knox
• 2 1/6 cups heavy cream – semi-whipped
The mousse is molded into a half-sphere to create the rounded spider body.
Chocolate Glaze
For the chocolate glaze:
• 2 cups chocolate sauce – Hershey
• 5 gelatin sheets – Gold, or 3 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder, Knox
The glaze gives the frozen mousse dome its smooth, dark exterior.
How to Make the Chocolate Mousse Body
Disney’s instructions begin with the gelatin.
Bloom the gelatin sheets in ice-cold water for approximately five minutes, then remove the softened gelatin from the water.
Pour the heavy cream into a double boiler and place it over hot water. Add the dark chocolate to a large bowl. When the cream just begins to reach the boiling point, remove it from the heat and pour it over the chocolate.
Stir the hot cream and chocolate together until the chocolate has melted and the mixture forms a ganache.
Add the bloomed gelatin to the chocolate ganache and whisk until the gelatin has melted.
If the chocolate mixture is not hot enough to melt the gelatin, Disney’s instructions call for placing the mixing bowl over a water bath and slowly stirring until the gelatin has completely melted.
Making the Meringue
Whisk the egg whites on high speed for approximately five minutes or until they become light and fluffy.
Slowly add the sugar while the mixer continues running at medium speed. Continue whisking until all the sugar has been incorporated and a meringue forms.
Fold the chocolate ganache into the meringue until the mixture is combined and smooth. The recipe specifically cautions against overmixing the meringue.
Next, semi-whip the heavy cream and fold it carefully into the chocolate mixture to create the chocolate mousse.
Forming the Spider Body
Place the chocolate mousse into a half-hemisphere mold to form the body.
A chocolate fudge cake disc is then placed on top of the mousse.
The entire mold goes into the freezer for approximately six hours to set.
This freezing step is important because the mousse dome must be firm enough to unmold and glaze without losing its shape.
How to Make the Chocolate Glaze
Bloom the gelatin sheets in ice-cold water for approximately five minutes and remove them from the water.
Pour the chocolate sauce into a double boiler over heat and stir occasionally until the sauce reaches the boiling point.
Add the bloomed gelatin and stir until it has completely melted.
Allow the chocolate glaze to cool.
Once the mousse domes are frozen, remove them from the molds and place them on a wire rack with a sheet pan underneath to catch the excess glaze.
When the glaze is lukewarm, pour it over the frozen chocolate dome, making sure the entire surface is covered.
After glazing, place the tray in the refrigerator to set.
Preparing the Chocolate Fudge Cake
The Disney recipe prepares the fudge cake separately.
Melt the butter with the water in a double boiler, stirring occasionally until the butter has completely melted.
Pour the butter mixture into a mixing bowl containing the cocoa powder and sugar. Whisk slowly using a whisk attachment until the ingredients are combined.
Slowly add the whole eggs to the chocolate mixture.
Sieve the all-purpose flour and bicarbonate of soda before adding the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture.
Mix on low speed for approximately one minute, scraping down the mixer as needed.
Add the milk on low speed and continue mixing until everything is incorporated.
Baking the Chocolate Fudge Cake
Disney’s instructions use professional half-hemisphere molds and a commercial-style oven setup.
The recipe calls for filling the mini half-hemisphere molds and baking them at 380°F for approximately 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
The remaining mixture is poured onto a prepared sheet pan to create chocolate fudge cake sheets.
These cake components serve two different purposes in the finished dessert: the cake disc supports the mousse body, while the smaller baked component is used for the spider head.
Because home ovens and molds vary considerably, baking time may need to be monitored rather than treated as an exact guarantee.
Making the Spider’s Face
Once the chocolate fudge components have cooled, turn them out onto a wire rack.
Melt white chocolate and pipe the eyes and mouth onto the spider head.
The original Disney presentation gives the spider a surprisingly friendly expression, which keeps the dessert playful rather than making it genuinely frightening.
How to Assemble the Disney Chocolate Spider Cake
Once all of the individual components are ready, the spider can finally be assembled.
Disney’s instructions call for:
• Melting dark chocolate and placing it into a piping bag.
• Piping eight legs for each spider, making sure four legs curve one way and four curve in the opposite direction.
• Placing the chocolate mousse body in the center of the plate.
• Positioning the prepared spider head on one side of the body.
• Arranging eight chocolate legs around the body, four on each side.
• Decorating the plate to create a Halloween theme.
The result is the distinctive dessert pictured on the original Disney Cruise Line culinary card: a glossy chocolate spider sitting over a decorative plate.
Why This Is More Than a Simple Chocolate Cake
Despite the name, Chocolate Spider Cake is not simply a piece of chocolate cake decorated to look like a spider.
It combines several pastry techniques:
• Chocolate cake
• Ganache
• Meringue
• Chocolate mousse
• Gelatin stabilization
• Freezing and molding
• Chocolate glazing
• Chocolate piping
• Plated dessert assembly
That helps explain why the original recipe comes from Disney Cruise Line’s Anyone Can Cook Culinary Series.
The finished dessert looks whimsical, but producing the smooth rounded body requires several separate preparations and a significant amount of chilling and freezing time.
Chocolate Spider Cake and Halloween on the High Seas
The Chocolate Spider Cake has become associated with Disney Cruise Line’s Halloween on the High Seas season.
Halloween on the High Seas is Disney Cruise Line’s seasonal Halloween celebration on select fall sailings. Depending on the sailing, the ships can feature Halloween decorations, themed entertainment, activities, character appearances and seasonal food.
Chocolate Spider Cake has appeared as one of those seasonal offerings, and Anyone Can Cook presentations featuring the dessert have also been documented aboard Disney Cruise Line.
That makes this recipe card particularly interesting for Disney cruise fans. Rather than simply showing the finished dessert, it preserves the culinary process used to construct it.
What Is Disney Cruise Line’s Anyone Can Cook?
Anyone Can Cook is a culinary demonstration format that has appeared as an onboard activity on Disney Cruise Line.
Rather than being a conventional restaurant meal, the activity focuses on demonstrating how a particular dish or dessert is prepared.
Chocolate Spider Cake is one of the recipes that has been featured through this type of onboard culinary programming.
Passengers interested in culinary activities should always check the current Disney Cruise Line daily schedule or Disney Cruise Line Navigator app during their sailing, since activities and recipes can vary by ship, itinerary and cruise.
Can You Make the Chocolate Spider Cake at Home?
Yes, but this particular recipe was clearly designed around professional pastry techniques and equipment.
The half-hemisphere molds are especially important because they create the spider’s rounded body and head.
A home baker attempting the original presentation would ideally need:
• Half-sphere or hemisphere molds in appropriate sizes
• Electric mixer
• Double boiler or heat-safe bowl and saucepan
• Wire cooling rack
• Sheet pans
• Piping bags
• Freezer space for the mousse molds
• Refrigerator space for setting the glaze
The recipe also uses couverture chocolate and gelatin sheets, ingredients that may be less familiar to casual home bakers.
Powdered gelatin substitutions are fortunately printed directly on Disney’s recipe card.
Important Note About Raw Eggs
The mousse portion begins with five large egg whites that are whipped into a meringue.
The photographed recipe card does not provide additional home-food-safety instructions concerning the eggs. Anyone reproducing a professional recipe at home should follow appropriate food-safety practices and use ingredients suitable for the intended preparation.
Tips for Recreating the Disney Presentation
The most important part of the visual presentation is the contrast between the smooth chocolate body and the thin chocolate legs.
A few details from the original recipe are especially important:
• Freeze the mousse thoroughly before unmolding.
• Allow the glaze to cool before pouring it over the frozen mousse.
• Cover the entire dome with glaze.
• Allow the glaze to set in the refrigerator.
• Pipe four legs facing one direction and four in the opposite direction.
• Position the head directly beside the mousse body.
• Add the legs only during final assembly.
The decorative plate can then be finished with a Halloween theme.
FAQ: Disney Cruise Line Chocolate Spider Cake
What is Disney Cruise Line Chocolate Spider Cake?
It is a chocolate dessert shaped like a spider. The original Disney Cruise Line recipe combines chocolate fudge cake, chocolate mousse and a chocolate glaze before adding piped chocolate legs and a decorated head.
Is there actually a spider in Chocolate Spider Cake?
No. The name refers to the appearance of the dessert.
Is this an official Disney Cruise Line recipe?
The photographed recipe is presented on a Disney Cruise Line “Anyone Can Cook” Culinary Series recipe card for Chocolate Spider Cake.
Is Chocolate Spider Cake connected to Halloween on the High Seas?
Yes. Chocolate Spider Cake has been associated with Disney Cruise Line’s Halloween on the High Seas programming and has been featured in Anyone Can Cook culinary activities.
Which Disney cruise ship serves Chocolate Spider Cake?
The recipe card itself does not identify a particular ship. Chocolate Spider Cake and related Anyone Can Cook programming have appeared in connection with Disney Cruise Line Halloween sailings, so it should not be treated as exclusive to one ship based on this recipe card.
What is inside the spider body?
According to the recipe, the body is primarily chocolate mousse with a chocolate fudge cake disc and chocolate glaze.
How long does the mousse need to freeze?
The Disney Cruise Line recipe instructs placing the mousse mold in the freezer for approximately six hours.
What creates the spider legs?
The legs are made from melted dark chocolate piped into the appropriate shapes.
What are the spider’s eyes and mouth made from?
The recipe instructs using melted white chocolate for the eyes and mouth.
Does the recipe use gelatin?
Yes. Gelatin is used in both the chocolate mousse and chocolate glaze.
Does the recipe use raw egg whites?
The mousse recipe calls for five large egg whites that are whipped into a meringue. Anyone preparing the recipe at home should follow appropriate food-safety practices.
Is Chocolate Spider Cake easy to make?
It is a fairly involved dessert. The recipe requires separate cake, mousse and glaze preparations, molding, freezing, glazing and chocolate decoration.
Do I need special molds?
To reproduce the original Disney presentation closely, half-hemisphere molds are needed to create the rounded chocolate mousse body and smaller head.
Final Thoughts on Disney Cruise Line’s Chocolate Spider Cake
Disney Cruise Line’s Chocolate Spider Cake is a good example of how much work can hide behind a playful cruise dessert.
What looks like a relatively simple chocolate spider actually requires chocolate fudge cake, ganache, meringue, mousse, gelatin, molding, six hours of freezing, chocolate glaze and individually piped decorations.
The original Anyone Can Cook recipe card also provides an interesting piece of Disney Cruise Line culinary history. It shows not only what the finished Chocolate Spider Cake looks like, but how Disney’s pastry team constructs the dessert from its individual components.
For passengers who remember encountering Chocolate Spider Cake during Halloween on the High Seas or an Anyone Can Cook activity, the recipe offers the opportunity to recreate a small part of the Disney cruise experience at home — although producing that glossy eight-legged chocolate creation may take considerably more work than eating one onboard.
