Spider nest cakes

Hundreds and thousands give these frightful muffins a colourful speckled effect. Top with candy floss webs and a toy spider to complete the look.

175g softened butter
175g golden caster sugar
2 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml milk
100g hundreds and thousands
little icing sugar
candy floss (we used Hope and Greenwood's from Ocado)
12 plastic spiders (or make your own from giant chocolate buttons and black liquorice laces)

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line muffin tins with 15 muffin cases (bake a second batch of the extra 3 if you only have one 12-hole tin). Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, flour, vanilla and milk in that order. Quickly stir in the hundreds & thousands with as little effort as you can, then divide the mixture between the cases – the more you work the batter, the more the sprinkles will bleed their colour, so it’s best to do this quickly and efficiently. Bake for 20 mins until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool.
Peel off the paper cases, and turn the cakes upside down. Cover with cling film until it’s nearly party time.
Just before the party, mix a splash of water into some sifted icing sugar, and add a good blob to the top of each cake. Tease off some candy floss and stick a little pile on each – the less you handle it, the less it will disintegrate. Add a toy spider to each, or make your own – stick 4 long liquorice lace strands to the back of giant chocolate buttons with some more runny icing, flip over and leave to set.