I got the one with the sweetest ways

[sovay]

Behold the spider cake!





It does not resemble a spider. It looks—and tastes—like a sweet cornbread with a kind of double-layered custard floated on top, which would be the baked cream. spatch has found evidence suggesting the name actually comes from the three-legged cast-iron skillet known as a spider, although the upper surface did fissure attractively as it cooled. I love our new cast-iron skillet even if it has no legs at all. It can bake in an oven and we can make this dessert.

Comments

[luzula]

Oh, I remember coming across a recipe for spider cake once, and trying it out! It was quite delicious. And coming to the same conclusion about the word "spider".

[sovay]

Oh, I remember coming across a recipe for spider cake once, and trying it out! It was quite delicious.

There is much less left of it this evening than there was last night.

And coming to the same conclusion about the word "spider".

I'm just fascinated that both versions of the recipe to which I have access ascribe the name to the appearance of the cake when really it seems to have been named after its mode of preparation. Lost knowledge! Folk etymologies!