Party Food... Spider Cakes
You will need:
(Makes 10 to 12 cupcakes)
* 100g (4 oz) soft margarine
* 100g (4 oz) caster sugar
* 2 eggs
* 75g (3 oz) self-raising flour (sifted)
* 25g (1 oz) cocoa powder
* 100g (4 oz) plain or milk chocolate
* Liquorice laces
* 10 chocolate marshmallow teacakes
* Liquorice Allsorts
* Mini Smarties
What to do:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180oC/350oF/gas 4.
2. Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
4. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder.
5. Line a bun tray with paper cases and spoon in the cake mixture until about 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Put on a wire rack to cool
8. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
9. Cover each cake with melted chocolate and arrange six liquorice strips for the spider’s legs and a chocolate teacake in the centre.
10. Finish with liquorice Allsorts and mini Smarties for eyes. Go Incey Go!
Arachnids are the group of arthropods that include spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites. All arachnids have eight legs. Arachnids evolved about 500 million years ago. That's about 50, 000 times longer than humans have been on earth.
Spiders are arachnids. Their bodies are in two parts, the head and the abdomen. They do not have feelers. Most spiders have eight eyes, but some have six, four or two. Many spiders trap their food in webs. Not all spiders make webs. Some are hunters. Some spiders dig homes under the ground. Some spiders can live most of their lives under water in bubble webs. Some spiders have claws at the end of each leg. Spiders live in all sorts of environments.
Spiders spin their webs from silk fibres of fibroin proteins that are stored in specialized abdominal glands. It is unclear whether the mechanical characteristics of the silk fibres are due to the spinning mechanisms of the spiders or the sequence of the fibroin proteins.
Scientists have long been trying to unravel the molecular secrets of spider silk itself. The hope is that the silk could some day be woven into objects ranging from impregnable body armour to wear-resistant ropes, parachutes and uniforms.
Thinner than human hair and lighter than cotton, the strongest silk is three times tougher than Kevlar, the human-made material used in bullet-proof vests, and five times stronger than steel cable.
Unlike Kevlar, which requires intense pressure and poisonous sulphuric acid to produce, spiders can unspool silk at room temperature, under normal pressure, using little more than proteins and water.
(see Spiderman song in the Music section)
