This ding dong cake is a rich and moist chocolate cake, that is filled with a creamy cream center and is topped with silky smooth chocolate ganache.
This cake is a big cake version of the Hostess Ding Dongs! It has the features of the popular snack but in cake form and is so much more delicious!
This cake is perfect for ding dong lovers and is very similar in flavor to other famous snacks like Hostess cupcakes, Ho-Ho’s, or Little Debbie cakes.
For more copycat recipes, check out my Starbucks cheese Danish, Starbucks dragon drink, and Starbucks sweet cream cold foam.
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Why this recipe works
- Flavor- the flavor of this hostess ding dong cake is rich chocolate flavor with a creamy filling and silky chocolate ganache. Similar to a hostess ding dong snack but so much better!
- Texture- the texture of this cake is moist and tender crumb with creamy filling in every bite.
- Copycat recipe- this is a perfect copycat recipe for ding dong lovers that want to experience this snack in cake form!
- Ease- this cake is surprisingly easy to make as long as you follow the instructions correctly and follow the expert tips.
- Simple- the ingredients used in the cake and frosting are super simple, nothing fancy. You can find the ingredients in any grocery store!
How to make even cake layers
Our biggest tip to make even cake layers is to use a scale and cake strips. Weigh the chocolate cake batter and divide it into two even pans.
Then use cake strips to make sure your cake layers bake evenly and don’t develop a dome on top. Cake strips give you an evenly baked cake with a flat top.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this ding dongs cake recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
For the cake
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Dutch cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our chocolate cake because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Baking powder and baking soda – to help the cake rise.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Eggs- To give the cake a good structure. Make sure you’re using room-temperature eggs.
Buttermilk- gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Hot coffee- make a strong hot coffee, you can use espresso or instant coffee, both will work.
Vanilla extract- Vanilla extract Is an essential ingredient for chocolate cake.
Salt- We used kosher salt for this recipe. Salt doesn’t give the cake a salty taste, it helps to enhance the chocolate flavor.
For the filling
Flour- use all purpose flour for the frosting.
Milk- I used whole milk for this recipe but you can use your favorite type of milk for this as long as it's not flavored.
Sugar- I used granulated sugar for the filling, but you can use caster sugar as well.
Butter- we used unsalted butter for the frosting but you can use salted butter and skip the salt.
For the chocolate ganache
Heavy cream- use full-fat heavy cream for this recipe. This cant is substituted.
Chocolate- use the best quality semisweet or dark chocolate bars for the best flavor. using the best quality dark chocolate is very important in this recipe.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 (350f) and prep two 8-inch baking pans with cooking spray and parchment paper.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: flour, granulated sugar, kosher salt, baking powder, and baking soda, sift the cocoa powder, and mix with a whisk.
Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and eggs, and mix until almost combined.
Add the hot coffee and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. The batter should be pretty runny and smooth.
Divide the mixture into two 8-inch baking pans, I suggest using cake strips for even baking. (weight the batter for better results) and bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (You can also use a 9-inch cake pan)
Let the cake cool completely before frosting so the frosting won't melt off the cake.
Make the cream filling for chocolate cake
Into a saucepan, add the flour, and sugar, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
Add the milk and heat it over medium heat until the mixture simmers mixing constantly. After two minutes of the simmering mixture, it should thicken up. Remove it from the heat.
Pour the milk mixture into a large baking pan and cover it with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. You will need to let the mixture cool completely so it wouldn't melt the butter.
Let the milk mixture chill in the fridge for at least an hour or 30 minutes in the freezer.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and vanilla extract and whip with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the balloon attachment for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
Add the cooled milk mixture and whip it for another 3-5 minutes over high speed. The filling should look similar to whipped cream.
Make the chocolate ganache
Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute.
Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
Assemble the cake
Pipe a small dollop of the frosting on the surface that you will frost on. Lay the first cake layer over the frosting dot.
Top the first cake layer with the cream filling and spread an even layer using a spatula.
Top with the second cake layer and smooth out the sides.
Top the cake with the chocolate ganache and smooth it out using an offset spatula making sure the entire cake is coated.
Expert Tips
- Don’t skip the coffee in the cake, you can’t taste the coffee, it simply enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers. Click here for the Amazon link.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Level if needed! If your cakes come out with a domed top you may need to level them using a serrated knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Faq's
Ding dong filling is made with vanilla cream. I used ermine frosting for the filling of this cake.
No! you can’t taste the coffee. Adding the coffee simply enhances the chocolate flavor. So, don’t skip the coffee on the cake!
Yes. You can use 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Take into consideration that the cake layers will be thinner and you will need to bake it for less time.
A ding dong cake is a cake made with moist chocolate cake layers, filled with cream filling, and topped with chocolate ganache. It mimics the Ding Dong snack cake by hostess.
Storing
This cake will last up to 4 in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. This cake tastes amazing for 4 days!
Freezing
Freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months, some people find the cake tastes better after freezing it.
You can freeze the whole cake or slice it into slices and then freeze it. If you are freezing individual slices of the cake, I would recommend storing them in a ziplock bag and then transferring them to an airtight freezer-friendly container.
Make it ahead of time
You can make this cake ahead by freezing the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap each cake layer with a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours or in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to frost and assemble the cake, make the frosting and the filling, and assemble the cake as written in the instructions!
Substitutions
Dairy-free- to make this cake dairy-free, replace the buttermilk with almond milk and replace the butter in the frosting with vegan butter. Also, replace the heavy cream with coconut cream.
Egg-free- to make this cake egg-free, replace the eggs with ⅔ cup of applesauce.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Zest- lots of people like the orange and chocolate combinations. If you do, add 1 tablespoon of orange zest to this cake to add a zesty orange flavor.
Frosting- Use your favorite chocolate frosting like dark chocolate frosting, chocolate whipped cream frosting, stabilized chocolate whipped cream frosting, chocolate cream cheese frosting, etc.
More chocolate recipes
Best matilda's chocolate cake- This Matilda's chocolate cake is made with moist one bowl chocolate cake layers that are topped and filled with the most luscious and glossy chocolate fudge frosting that is swirled onto the cake beautifully.
Chocolate fudge cake- This chocolate fudge cake is the most amazing chocolaty, rich, moist, and tender, and is the perfect dessert to satisfy your chocolate cravings!
Chocolate rice Krispie treats- These chocolate rice krispie treats are loaded with chocolate flavor and are gooey, and chewy, take 20 minutes to prep, and are always a crowd-pleaser!
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📖 Recipe
The BEST Ding Dong Cake
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake
- 1 ¾ cups Flour
- 1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ⅔ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ cup Coffee hot
For the cream filling
- 5 tablespoon Flour
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 230 g Butter unsalted, room temp
For the chocolate ganache
- 200 g Dark chocolate
- 200 g Heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 (350f) and prep two 8-inch baking pans with cooking spray and parchment paper.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: flour, granulated sugar, kosher salt, baking powder, and baking soda, sift the cocoa powder, and mix with a whisk.
- Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and eggs, and mix until almost combined.
- Add the hot coffee and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. The batter should be pretty runny and smooth.
- Divide the mixture into two 8-inch baking pans, I suggest using cake strips for even baking. (weight the batter for better results) and bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (You can also use a 9-inch cake pan)
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting so the frosting won't melt off the cake.
Make the cream filling:
- Add the milk and heat it over medium heat until the mixture simmers mixing constantly. After two minutes of the simmering mixture, it should thicken up. Remove it from the heat.
- Pour the milk mixture into a large baking pan and cover it with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. You will need to let the mixture cool completely so it wouldn't melt the butter.
- Let the milk mixture chill in the fridge for at least an hour or 30 minutes in the freezer.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and vanilla extract and whip with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the balloon attachment for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the cooled milk mixture and whip it for another 3-5 minutes over high speed. The filling should look similar to whipped cream.
Make the chocolate ganache
- Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute.
- Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
Assemble the cake
- Pipe a small dollop of the frosting on the surface that you will frost on. Lay the first cake layer over the frosting dot.
- Top the first cake layer with the cream filling and spread an even layer using a spatula.
- Top with the second cake layer and smooth out the sides.
- Top the cake with the chocolate ganache and smooth it out using an offset spatula making sure the entire cake is coated.
Notes
- Don’t skip the coffee in the cake, you can’t taste the coffee, it simply enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers. Click here for the Amazon link.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Level if needed! If your cakes come out with a domed top you may need to level them using a serrated knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Jessie says
Absolutely delicious. I made the cake part the night before and refrigerated it in plastic wrap. Finished the cake in the morning. My only complaint is the 1/3 teaspoon measurement ha! Guess I need to get some off sized measuring spoons :).
Jane says
I make a very similar recipe. It is foolproof! But I fill it with whipped cream.
For the ganache I often use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream! Honestly, I don't notice a difference!
Ella says
Hi! This recipe looks delicious 🙂 If I were to half it, could i use a 6 inch pan?
RichandDelish says
Hi! I would recommend making 2/3 of the recipe. You can use the recipe card in the end of the post. Also, lower the baking time to about 25 minutes. Let me know how it turens out 🙂