Hi! I have a weekend project for you: Ding Dongs. Yeah, it’s like that.
Nothing complicated about them…maybe a little time consuming…maybe just a tad. Nothing too major, though.
Can I walk you through it? Let’s do this together. #teamwork2011
You’ll need some wax paper and a pencil. And some scissors. I like feeling crafty in the kitchen. You’ll want to place them on the bottom of the cake pans (and grease them) since this batter is a little sticky.
Brew some strong, hot coffee and pour it over chocolate. The chocolate will melt and basically make an amazing mocha situation. This is good.
Per usual, there’s the typical flour, cocoa, dry ingredients sifting that’s necessary. Then there’s the wet mixture thing and you have to combine the two. Easy peasy. Bake them and you’ll be met with two gorgeous looking cakes:
While the cakes are cooling, you’ll want to make the ganache and 7-minute marshmallow filling. Both easy. Messy but easy.
This is when the fun begins! Take a biscuit cutter and cut out as many circles as you can. You can use the scraps for cake pops.
P.S. You can actually freeze them for later since you’ll have ding dongs, and in my opinion they kind of taste better than cake pops.
Flip the cake cut-out over, and taking a knife (or smaller cutter), cut out a smaller hole in the center. Set the cut out aside. Fill the center with the marshmallow frosting…
Gently turn it over, and using a pastry brush, lay on the ganache. I placed mine on a baking sheet (lined with parchment) and stuck it in the fridge to set.
Since this lacks all the chemicals, they’ll be messy when you eat them. But that’s the good part, right?
xo
Adrianna
Cake recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yields 15 ding dongs
2 ounces of fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 cup of hot brewed coffee
2 cups of white granulated sugar
1 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/3 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of table salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line the bottoms of 2 10-inch round cake pans with wax paper and grease paper. If you don’t have 10-inch cake pans, you can make 2 9-inch cake pans and a dozen cupcakes.
2. Finely chop chocolate and transfer to a bowl. Pour hot coffee over chocolate and let the mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
3. Into a large bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored. Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.
4. Divide batter between pans and bake in the middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
5. Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
Seven Minute Frosting
Recipe from Epicurious
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
In large metal bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup water, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Set bowl over pan of barely simmering water and mix with handheld electric mixer at low speed. Gradually increase speed to high, beating until mixture holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.
Transfer bowl from pan to folded kitchen towel on counter and continue beating until mixture is cool and billowy, about 2 minutes more. Beat in vanilla. (Frosting can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered.)
Ganache
14 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-ounce pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1. Place the chocolate chips in a stainless steel bowl.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, take it off the heat, and pour the heavy cream over the chocolate. Allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes and then stir it until completely smooth.
Assembly
Once the cake layers have cooled completely, use a small round cookie cutter to cut small circles of cake out of the layers. Enjoy the scraps or save them for cake balls.
Using the cone method, scoop out a small portion of cake from each circle. Fill with 7-minute frosting and replace top of cake.
Using a pastry brush or spoon, cover individual cakes with ganache. Allow ganache to completely set up before serving.
91 Comments
I have just died. MY GOODNESS.
Oh no you didn’t! These look amazing! Gotta try these…SOON!
If I wanted to make this without the coffee, would I just use water or hot milk, maybe?
I would use water. Not milk! Or you could just use decaf coffee.
Did you make these without coffee? How did they turn out? Did you use hot water? I am a NON coffee drinker but love ding dongs and want to give this recipe a try, without coffee. Let us know!
Hi Mochelle, I’m 99% positive that this would work with hot water. I haven’t tried it so I can’t be certain but I really see no reason why it wouldn’t work. Good luck!
OMG!! These were my favorite growing up, I used to save all my pennies just to buy a pack of Ding Dongs. I can’t believe you made these! Would like to them for la mujers B.D.
ME TOO!
These look yummy! And not hard to make – that’s key!
Oh sweet goodness. And just like that – my kid isn’t deprived of Ding Dongs in his childhood. Bam.
I have never had a ding dong! Crazy hey! But I will after seeing these, delish!
I’ve never liked the store bought Ding Dongs but these looks like something I would eat!
Omg!! Ur incredible totally swooning over these cuties. I.need.these.now!!!!
OMG! That looks incredible! *faint*
Ive never had a ding dong (that name makes me so happy!) but im very much wanting to change this fact and make this scrumptious looking recipe asap 🙂 Gorgeous, and the texture of that sponge looks beyond lovely!
Ummmm ok, getting in my car now. You’re in LA? Sweet, I’m 6 hours away. Be there soon. Save me one…or eight. Thanks!
See you soon.
These look awesome! My Dad loves these! I can’t wait to make them!
Thanks for this great recipe!
these look delicious
Yum! I love the sound of this!
I may or may not have just licked my computer screen.
Officially in love<3
Making these for my neice and nephews- for their lunches when school starts. So much better than buying the packaged kind. Thank you so much! Plus, I can make them smaller- and hopefully they won’t know the difference!
This is not what I needed, but they look so amazing!!
YUM!!! Always wondered what a Ding Dong was lol!
SHUT UP! Homemade ding dongs…I love it! Genius.
Best. Idea. Ever.
Adrianna, This recipe seriously stopped me dead in my tracks. I must make these!!! My old question is can I rock these gluten-free? I think I can:)
-Erin
OMG! If you make these gluten free you must tell us how you did it!! I bet it would work beautifully with a simple chocolate gluten free cake recipe!
OMG!!! Homemade Ding Dongs?! You make life better.
[…] Source: A Cozy Kitchen […]
Anyone have ideas on how to make a vegan ganache? I think I could fudge the rest, but I’m not sure about the ganache.
Yes! Just get good quality chocolate (no milk added!) and melt in a double-boiler. Should work juuust fine!
[…] Source: A Cozy Kitchen […]
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Making these tomorrow! Om nom nom. 🙂
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I loved this recipe! I have my own chocolate cake recipe that i love, but this topped it! Instead of cutting out the cake for ding dongs I cut the cake in half and added the cream in the middle and poured the chocolate over the top – yum yum!!
Wha?! A Ding Dong cake?! YES YES YES!!
You’ve really outdone yourself this time!
Oh be still my beating heart…
Seriously, I am so excited it took three tries to get my fingers to calm down to type my email address correctly! LOL
Hi,
looking at your pics seems so easy…I’ll try and see what happens!
Thanks for sharing
an Italian hug
I am just making these for my B-day tomorrow. FANTASTIC!!!
my address was wrong, so here again!
[…] This recipe is basically these Ding Dongs just reworked. Same elements, different look. Nifty, […]
So doing these for tonight’s dinner, your pictures are amazing!
I was specifically looking for a Ding Dong Recipe, and I have definitely found THE one! This was the first one I looked at, and will not look any further because I just know there couldn’t be any better ones out there! My stomach is growling – no kidding, it really is, not just a joke! Thank You very much ! Gourmet Ding Dongs! Yes!
It’s nice that I’ll be able to have Ding Dongs again. I don’t know how many people obsessively read labels, but the “real” ones contain beef fat. The last ones I had (bought at a dollar store) definitely had beef fat in them, I could smell and taste it. In fact, that brand uses beef fat in most if not all of their products. I don’t know if they’re aware of it, but it doesn’t complement their products to do so. I realize it’s cheaper, but for people who don’t eat meat, it’s revolting.
I finally made this in the form of a cake, and would like people to know that the ganache will not form the hard shell you are probably expecting it to. It’s basically just a firm frosting. I had even put the cake in the freezer and it didn’t harden. This isn’t the fault of this particular recipe, nobody else seems to have a ganache that forms a shell, either.
Can you use coconut oil in the topping? That will help it to harden when it is cooled…. Might be worth a shot. That is how you make the chocolate hardening toppings for ice cream when you make it yourself….
I just thought I would let you know that I’ve made this recipe quite a few times now – it’s foolproof. Also, this was my Mother in Law’s ONLY request for Mother’s Day today. So thank you for making Mother’s Day so easy for me 🙂
This made my day! XOXO
Similar to the previous commenter, my mom LOVES these (she knows them as Ring Dings) but can’t find them where we live in California. I didn’t get to see her for Mother’s Day but I will this weekend and am totally making them for her! Couldn’t be happier to have come across this recipe, thank YOU!
YES! YAY!
Hi, I just made these this weekend. Although I’ve never heard of Ding Dongs before (I don’t think they’ve made it to the UK yet!) they looked too good not to try. We made them in a mini victoria sponge tray (similar to a cup-cake tray but the sides of the depressions are straight instead of sloped) so managed to make 24 cakes since there was no wastage in cutting out circles. The frosting, marsmallow stuff was amazing but made a HUGE quantity. I think a third of the recipe given above would have been enough for the fillings. The left-overs went to a good home though as I made meringues with it which turned out great.
The cakes were so moist and yummy, thanks so much for the recipe! Will definitely be making them again.
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Filling For Hostess Cupcakes : 2Tbsp flour , 1/2 c milk , 1/2 sugar , 1/2 crisco , 1tsp vanilla . Mix flour and milk cook , stir constantly, dont burn, when it thickens , remove from heat. Add sugar , crisco and vanilla . Beat and mix well, use an electric mixer works best,, Beat it untill it gets light and fluffy.
I have used back in the 70’s. It worked really well,
RE:Hostess Filling Reciepe: The amounts are 2Tbs flour 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup crisco 1/2 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla Cook flour and milk , stirring constantly , don’t burn When it thickens remove from heat, Add the 1/2cup sugar, 1/2 cup crisco and the 1tsp vanilla beat with electric mixer untill light and fluffy. I used this in the 70’s it work s,
i used to make the Suzy Q’s. Sorry about the omission in the above entry.
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I would make this, but I would make them in a square pan and cut them all square. Less waste and they would taste the same. I really don’t care if they are round or square. Looks yummy!
I love to cook and I have Never posted a comment on any food website or blog but, I just had to. I love Ding Dongs and we just made these today. Absolutely wonderful! Thank you for the wonderful ideas. I did put my layer cake in the refrigerator for a few hours it helped when I cut out the circles.
[…] But if you’re really upset, make some Ding Dongs yourself. […]
Now that hostess is gone I will definitely be making these. Can’t wait!! 😀
Thanks so much! I’ve been looking for a recipe! 🙂
I’m going to make these this weekend. Since I typically use Dutch process cocoa I need to buy some unsweetened cocoa.
I’ve heard that they now have a Dark Chocolate unsweetened cocoa. Would this throw the taste off? I usually use dark chocolate in my ganache as well. I’m wondering if that would take away too much of the sweetness…
Do you think they would freeze ok? Wrapped in foil & in a freezer bag?
Oh good question. I’m actually not sure. But cake traditionally doesn’t freeze terribly, so I’m guessing they’ll be ok. I’d make sure the chocolate ganache is set before wrapping them though. And then I’d wrap them in one layer of parchment, one layer of foil and then place them in a freezer bag. Hope they work out! Please le the know how it goes.
hey adrianna,
im about to make these and i was wondering when u cut a small hole for the filling, after filling then you just put the ganache on top right? u dont put the piece that you cut back on? i know its a stupid question, just wanted to make sure.
thankyou.
Nope. I put the piece back in. I cut the piece of cake out of the bottom, fill, put the piece back in its place and then I brush on the ganache. Hope this clears it up! Enjoy!
[…] to sit until the ganache is completely hardened. Enjoy! Recipe Source & Inspiration: A Cozy Kitchen Filed Under: Dessert← Share-It Saturday: Week 4Lemon Love […]
How clever!!! And they look delicious. My mother bakes everything from scratch, and it’s great to find a recipe like this to try.
Hello every booody helllo
Are there any changes for high altitude?
Oooo I’m not sure. I’ve always lived at sea-level. I’m sorry.
[…] loves the wrapped-in-tin-foil version. Since her birthday is fast-approaching, I decided to give A Cozy Kitchen’s recipe a whirl (which is adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe). I’m very grateful I tried […]
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Is there coffee in the original Ding Dong? I really don’t like the taste of coffee, so is there a substitute for the coffee?
Thanks
It’s there to enhance the flavor of the chocolate. You can’t taste it.
Hi! I’ve been reading your weblog for a long time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Tx!
Just wanted to mention keep up the good job!
Thank you so much for this recipe! These came out amazing. I had a sudden craving for a ring ding the other day and this definitely filled that void. The cake is moist and has a great texture. I was skeptical about the ganache at first thinking it was too rich. But I ended up spreading it around the little cakes nice and thin and once it set it was perfect. 5 stars from me!
Hi. What size cookie cutter did you use?
3-inch!
Would you ever imagine that Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer) took me here ? Ding Dong ! well.. Ill’ take inspiration from you for making my own rendition. I love to mess with chocolate things