Ding Dong Cake-rich devil’s food cake, a vanilla cream filling and smothered in chocolate ganache!
Ding Dongs, Ring Dings, Swiss Rolls, Hostess Cakes. They are all pretty much the same snack. Chocolate Cake, a cream filling and then covered in chocolate.
As a kid, we always begged for mom to buy them for our school lunches. It didn’t happen too often, but when it did..yeah, we were happy kids! It’s been years since I had one. What good memories.
I shared a Twinkie Cake on FB a few days ago. Made from scratch. It was perfect and I can’t wait to make one myself.
One reader asked for a recipe for a Ding Dong Cake. I decided I needed to fill that request. I took it as a challenge.
Don’t let the recipe scare you off. This is a really easy recipe! You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. Bake your 2 cake layers, then stack them with all the cream filling. You want all that filling in there. Then the Ganache.
Get a close up look at that chocolate ganache.
This is a “sloppy” cake. No fancy icing. Pouring the ganache over the top of the cake and letting it drip down the sides is FUN!
And when the ganache is set…You’ve got a perfect cake. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to top this cake. Moist, rich, deep flavored chocolate cake. The cream filling is like whipped cream but thicker (it’s made with milk not cream) the best way to describe it is a cross between a buttercream and a whipped cream.
And of course the ganache. That soft chocolate outer coating that seals everything together.
Don’t let the photos deceive you. This is a huge cake! Make sure you have people to share it with.
Connect with Chocolate Chocolate and More!
Cake adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients
- 3 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate (you can use chocolate chips)
- 1 1/2 cups brewed coffee
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 5 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Chop chocolate so no pieces are larger than a chocolate chip. Place chocolate in a medium bowl or a 2 cup measuring cup and pour hot coffee over chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes then stir, making sure all chocolate is melted and well combined with coffee. Set aside to cool.
- Sift all dry ingredients together-sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In the a large mixing bowl (or the mixing bowl of your stand mixer) beat eggs on medium speed until frothy.
- Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and chocolate-coffee mixture to eggs, beating well to blend.
- Add in sugar/flour/cocoa mixture, one cup at a time, mixing just to combine after each addition.
- Pour batter into 2 9 inch cake pans that have been well greased and lined with parchment paper on the bottom.
- Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, using toothpick to test for doneness.
- Let cakes cool completely in pan. Using a plastic knife, run knife around edges to loosen before turning out onto rack or plate.
- Pour cold milk into a small saucepan. Before turning on the heat, whisk in flour so no lumps remain. Turn heat on to medium low, and stirring, heat until mixture is thick, like a roux. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and let cool completely.
- Cream together butter and sugar on medium high speed, until fluffy, about 8 minutes.
- Add in the milk mixture and beat again until mixture resembles a whipped cream.
- Place one layer of cake on an 8 inch cake circle, top side down. Cover with a thick layer of cream filling then place top layer of cake, top side down, on top of filling gently pressing down to secure layers. Place cake on a wire rack on top of a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
- Place chocolate chips in a large measuring cup.
- Heat cream and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until boiling, careful not to scorch.
- Pour heated cream over chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir chocolate to make sure completely melted and smooth.
- Slowly pour ganache over top of cake, letting it drip down the sides. If needed use a spatula to help spread ganache on top over sides.
- When ganache is set, cake can be transferred to a serving plate.
- Chill cake for 4 hours before serving.
Notes
For cupcakes, bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes 48 cupcakes.
This cake tastes best chilled but can be served at room temperature.
recipe source ChocolateChocolateandmore.com
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Do I have to share? It looks amazing! Pinning!
This cake is Fan-FREAKING-tabulous. The only problem I had with ding-dongs is that they were SMALL! So now I can have one in a massive, cake form 😉 Pinned!
I am in love with this cake!!! I love how big and chocolate covered it is. Seriously drooling over it this morning!!! Definitely pinned!
This.looks.INSANE! So chocolately and you can see how moist the cake is. And that ganache! I’m dying over the video pic of you pouring the icing – so fun!!
OMG OMG OMG : This cake has to be BANNED somewhere!!!!! You have outdone yourself AGAIN!!! FABULOUS!
Joan: This is Scarlett in FL .I wanted to ask you if I could share your recipe with my recipe club
If I can, please let me know how I should do…I know I can’t post your website…..thank U!!!
I might have to make this my birthday cake this month! 🙂 I’m a ding dong who deserves this cake! lol.
OMG! All of that delicious chocolate and the cream center is perfect! I have to bake this cake soon. 🙂
That really looks just like the real thing but in larger form! Ah-mazing!!!! I could eat TOO much of that!
Yum!
When finished, can you taste the coffee? Also, could decaf be used?
Looks heavenly!!!
You can’t taste the coffee at all, sure you can use decaf, enjoy!
This looks amazing!!
I never would’ve thought ding dongs could be so pretty and sophisticated! I love this cake-it looks amazing and so delicious!
Really wishing I had a big slice of this right now!!
I think I used every bowl and measuring cup in my kitchen making this. But it is REALLY yummy. I was skeptical about the cream filling, but it really tastes like what you would find in a snack cake somehow. Thankfully, we live in a dorm full of high-school boys, and all but the sliver I ate is going down to them. It’s how I ensure they love me, their dorm mom, all year. 🙂
I will say, it felt like a lot of batter for two 9-inch pans, and my pans overflowed in the oven while baking. It might work to do three layers.
I use Wilton 9 inch round pans, maybe the sides are higher on my pans? So sorry it overflowed for you.
im gonna make this but in cupcake form…and pipe the filling in the center of cup….sort of the hostess cupcake with the white squily line on top…lol
Great idea!
I used 9 inch pans but mine totally overflowed also. I think the 3 pan idea is a good one.
Yes, you do have a lot of measuring but it all comes together quickly. Hope the boys enjoyed it as much as my family did!
Would it be such a bad thing if I didn’t have anyone to share with? #ithinknot
Nah… Just walk on the treadmill or something while you eat it 🙂
Holy Toledo Batman! Ding Dongs are my favorite. I bet this is freakin fantastic!
PS – cool gif
Just made this cake for my hubby’s birthday. Easy and fun to make and oh so good.
So glad you all enjoyed it and Happy Birthday to your hubby!
Growing up, I can remember always having Ding Dongs in the house. My Dad loved them. This cake looks so sinfully good! Thanks for sharing at Wednesday Whatsits!
Oh man! This cake looks like the best kind of awesome. Totally testing my dieting willpower here!
This honestly does look just like a ding dong! And, I love ding dongs. What a great recipe and challenge to take on. Thanks. Pinned.
It’s so much fun to make this cake, enjoy!
Hi Joan, This looks amazing! I wish you could just pass the plate.
When do you add the butter for the cream filling?? At step 9 or 11?? I don’t see where it is added, only that it calls for a cup of butter for the filling, and a tablespoon of butter for the ganache.
It’s step 10, cream together butter and sugar, then add milk/flour mixture.
Staring at this cake alone is amazing – I can’t imagine how good it tastes.
Should I store this overnight in the fridge?
Yes, I would store this in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. Enjoy!
OK, I think I have no choice but to make this, or at least the filling. 🙂
I made this for the family on Labor day and they loved it. I do not like chocolate,but I will eat a sliver of cake if I have a huge glass of milk.WELL, this cake is not overly sweet and was absolutely wonderful! I had two pieces of this tasty treat.Everone needs to make this.Thank you
I made this cake…But the Filling did not whip up? Cake tasted good…but will try another cream filling recipe.
I just made this today! So good! Very rich. Next time I make it I might use half milk chocolate and half semisweet for the ganache. But the filling is pretty spot on even though it seemed like an odd concept. It was almost too buttery (if that’s even possible) so next time I’ll try half butter half shortening. All in all an awesome recipe and an impressive looking cake!
I have made the Twinkie Cake several times…it is always a huge hit. Just made another one yesterday for a birthday party today. Looking forward to adding this cake to our weekly rotation of sweets for my family. Keep the hits coming.
Looks great, pinning!! As for sharing … ? 😉
Can the AP flour be substituted with cake flour? If so, how much?
For the cake, I’d recommend sticking with All Purpose flour, Cake flour has added corn starch and will behave differently in recipes.
Can the AP flour be substituted with cake flour for the filling?
For the filling yes, you can use cake flour. The flour is a thickener for the filling. The added corn starch in cake flour will help with this.
I intend to make this delicious looking cake this weekend. Any high altitude tips for cooks like me in Denver? Thanks!
I don’t know much about High altitude cooking but my friend Kelley of Mountain Mama Cooks has some great tips for adjusting recipes http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/high-altitude/ hope this helps!
I am currently making this, for the second time. The first time I took it to work and everyone raved about it. One of my co-workers was still talking about it days later! As a matter of fact, she said it would be her request now for her birthday cake! The second one is going to my mom’s house for her ladies luncheon tomorrow. This is a great, and very rich, cake! Yes, it does require a lot of measuring and a few different steps, but it is WELL worth it!
So glad you are enjoying this recipe. It does fill up the sink with dishes but it’s worth it. Hope your mom and her friends enjoy it!
We had a “ho-ho” cake for our wedding. I have been looking for a comparable recipe ever since. Thanks for this – I can make it just in time for our ten year anniversary!!
Hope you enjoy it and Happy Anniversary!
I don’t have all the ingredients to make the cake from scratch but i do have 1 box of devils food cake mix would it still work? Im planning on making this cake for our church bingo this weekend. I might have to make two so that i can leave one at home =)
Go ahead and use your box mix, I won’t tell if you don’t!
It does make a huge difference what type of pans you use apparently. I used two 9-inch cake pans, and I had cake dripping all over my oven….should have used 3 pans. This is for my daughter-in-law’s birthday tomorrow….hope it tastes as good as everyone says.
OMG…..this is the best looking mouth watering cake I have seen on any cooking blog…..I do want to make this cake….always loved Ding Dongs….funny I just was shopping at BIG LOTS today and picked up a box of Hostess chocolate fun size twinkies can’t wait to try one in the morning with a cup of coffee :)…..I think they just came out……..at Big Lots they are almost $1.50 cheaper than in the grocery stores….these are the next best things to a ding dong…..but I will be making this cake for sure…..thanks for such a great recipe……
I just posted this on PINTEREST, TWITTER, AND FACEBOOK…..I sure want this recipe to get around…..
it is the best one ever 🙂
Thanks for sharing, this cake is amazing!
For the beating of the eggs, do I beat the whole eggs til frothy or just egg whites?
You beat the whole eggs until frothy. Enjoy.
I have all the ingredients for this except coffee, as no one in my house drinks it. Is there anything I could substitute for it? Thanks!
You can replace the coffee with just hot water. Enjoy!
This cake looks amazing! However, we don’t drink coffee and don’t ever have any in the house. Is there anything you could recommend as a substitute for the hot coffee?
you can just use hot water to replace the coffee.
Great, going to try it out tonight!!
I made this and it was every bit as delicious as I had imagined. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, I plan to make this cake as it looks really yummy. However I noticed that in the ingredients list for the ganache, heavy cream is mentioned, while the method only refers to milk and butter. Am I not understanding something?
I’ll correct that, it should say the heated heavy cream. Thanks for catching that!
I just made this and I ended up using 3 round cake pans as it just looked like WAY too much batter. I am glad I did because all 3 cakes came out level with the tops of the pans. When making the cream filling it kind of seemed to curdle or separate. I have popped it into the fridge in hopes that will firm it up a bit! Otherwise everything so far tastes amazing. The chocolate cake recipe is my new favorite go to cake recipe!
You need to really whip the filling, think whipping cream to the butter stage. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Oh, I was worried once its started separating that it was beyond saving. I filled the cake anyway cause it still tasted yummy. I will definitely try again.
I knew as soon as I saw this recipe that I HAD to make it! My husband has food allergies, so I made a gluten-free version and Oh, was it amazing! Served it to our families and everyone loved it. We will definitely be making this again! Thank you for posting this delightful recipe…I posted it on my blog with a link back to your site and have already recommended it to a few friends.
We drank the batter. :p
Actually, we didn’t, we wanted to, but we controlled ourselves. We made this cake to quench our desire for Ring Dings, which we can’t get in Oregon.
I agree with Jessie W. and Betty M. – it looked like WAY too much batter for two 9″ rounds, so I quickly greased and parchmented another pan, and divided it three ways. Yes, Wilton pans are higher around the sides (I have one random one), and they probably would have contained all that batter.
I also increased the filling recipe to have enough to put between the three layers. We could have eaten a whole lot of that, too, before assembling the cake. The ganache recipe made plenty with the amounts given in the recipe.
The result: a giant of a deliciously sinful cake!! It weighed well over 8 pounds!! It was totally yummy and the perfect fix for Ring Ding/Ding Dong deprived folk!
However, I have a suggestion. Reduce the ingredients by one third (get out those calculators) and use two regular 9” pans and you will still have a mammoth cake! A reduction of one third will save money and refrigerator space. Our family of six will never be able to finish this huge cake before it loses its appeal. We are planning on taking some to neighbors and co-workers, who will certainly enjoy it.
It is a fantastic cake; thank you for the recipe! I will definitely make a scaled down version again!
Thanks for all the great tips. You’re right about the Wilton Pans, I need to remember that when I create these recipes that everyone might not be using them. So glad you all enjoyed it!
Cake freezes well so I plan to share some and freeze some slices to enjoy later,
I just finished baking this and from the few crumbs I had that fell off the cake, it tastes great! It did get a little (or a lot) messier than the pics as I only let the layers cool about 30 minutes before putting together and it cause about half the cream filling to melt and run over the bottom layer. Also I think the cream filling would possibly be better with powder sugar instead of regular granulated sugar? Otherwise I am sure my mom will love her surprise birthday cake as she loves ding dongs! ty!
MADE THIS CAKE AND IT IS DELICIOUS! IT IS MY HUSBAND’S FAVORITE CAKE. THANK YOU FOR A DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
Hi there…how do u mean by brewed coffee?
By Brewed Coffee, I mean coffee that is ready to drink.
Help. I am making the cake right now. My cream filling is thin and lumpy. What am I doing wrong. I need to bring this cake to work. They are all looking forward to it today
So sorry I didn’t see this comment earlier. You need to keep whipping the filling until it thickens and all lumps are gone. It can take 10-15 minutes.
I went to Wal-Mart, Bought Two Pks Ding Dongs . Placed them side by side. Made the ganache poured over them !!! Delicious. About one third the cost!! lol
Could I use heavy cream instead of coffee or must it be coffee?? I don’t drink coffee or know how to make it and am trying to avoid buying an ingredient I won’t ever use.
You can replace the coffee with water.
Oh I love where your going with this. I’ll admit, I’m drooling a little! Thanks for sharing!
Could you do this as a cupcake? If so, about how many would it make? I am celebrating my 60th birthday and as a long time fan of ding dongs thought this would be wonderful…my only issues is I wanted to do cupcakes not a large cake.
Happy 60th! Yes you can do this as cupcakes, it’ll probably make at least 36-40 cupcakes. Only fill the cupcake cups 2/3 full, this batter does rise a lot.
Could you do cupcakes instead of a cake? If so, appox how many do you think this would make?
This really is a huge cake, I’d say it would make at least 36-40 cupcakes. Be sure to only fill your cupcake cups 2/3 full, these will rise, a lot!
This looks great and I want to make the cake version but I’m supposed to bring cupcakes to a big party. What temp and how long should I bake for cupcakes?
The temperature would stay the same, 325 degrees. I would start checking the cupcakes at about 18 minutes. Most cupcakes take 18-25 minutes to bake.
This cake looks like heaven and can’t wait to try. I was wondering though. I’m not a fan of coffee and even the littlest amount added to a recipe I can taste. I know you can usually sub for water but can you use hot chocolate to give it more flavor?
the hot chocolate mix will have additional sugar so I’d just leave out the coffee and use the water alone. Don’t worry about adding in a substitute. Enjoy!
Made this recipe this morning and all I have to say is OMGosh!!!! Very moist, very rich and full of chocolate. I made the recipe into cupcakes. Baked at the recommended temperature per recipe and baked for 25 mins. The recipe yielded 48 scrumptious cupcakes. Piped your cream in center, topped with your ganache and a dollop of some homemade chocolate frosting for good measure. Ahhhmazing!
OMG, cupcakes would be dangerous, way too easy to eat 5 or 6 before I realized what I was doing, haha. Love the dollop of frosting on top! Thanks for the baking time, I’ll add it to the recipe notes so others will know.
I just made this cake and used 3 regular size round cake pans and it ran over. Have a huge mess in the oven now and burnt smell in the house. Disappointed. It was for my mother-in-law’s birthday.
Thanks for sharing this recipe to me. I intend to make this cake tonight because this cake looks so yummy and delicious
This cake looks wonderful! Just wish I would have read the comments before baking!! It is in the oven right now… Overflowing!!! :-(. So much wasted cake and mess! Next time I know to use 3 pans! I can’t wait to try it though! Filling is yummy!!!!
This was insanely rich and delicious! I’m glad I read through the comments about it being a lot of batter, so I buttered two mini bread pans, mixed some walnuts into the extra batter and wow they were awesome too! I brought the cake to a Christmas party and everyone loved it. There was only crumbs left on the plate. I thought the Ganache was great but maybe just a little to heavy, I had a lot left over, maybe because my cakes were smaller too. I even put some on the mini’s. Next time ( and there will be a next time) I will use a bit less. I was also deathly afraid I would ruin the cream, but it came out perfect, whew! Thanks for this great recipe.
This is perfect for my Weight Watchers diet. ha ha! Well, life is too short and I will just HAVE to make this. Thanks for your great blog!
Next time, I will us a different filling. This was way too greasy which cause the top of my cake to slide off. I think the cake smelled amazing though before it met it’s demise.
Hey Ms Joan–
I’m a Southerner living and working in Saudi Arabia (with my family). Made this cake and took to a dinner last night. Delish!!! Everybody loved it. Instead of traditional layer cake I made a budnt cake…cut off the top, put the filling, replaced the top and then poured the ganche all over it.
Tim
That’s a great change up! So glad everyone enjoyed it!
Made this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday and our 4th of July cookout – amazing! The cake is like my mom’s mayonnaise cake and the cream is the same as her whoopie pie filling. Together, with the ganache – amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Can you explain the cupcake recipe with regards to frosting and ganache. Do you put the frosting on top and cover with the ganache?
You can do it that way or you can spoon out a small hole on top, fill that with the filling, then drizzle the ganache on top to cover. Enjy!
I don’t drink coffee so can’t brew any. Is there some other way to put coffee it, or a substitute?
I don’t drink coffee either so I buy instant and make just enough for recipes that call for coffee.
When I was younger my mom would buy these off the stromens truck & other stuff when he’d stop @ the house. I When I saw this cake it brought back a good memory. I can’t wait to try & make this.