Chocolate Layered Ding Dong Cake
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If you like the original Hostess Ding Dong Cake, this copycat version will make you fall in love with it. Rich, moist chocolate cake layered with a creamy, not-too-sweet filling and coated in a decadently rich fudgy icing. I originally thought this would be an eight serving cake but after attemping to eat one of those pieces, I decided it will easily feed 16. IT IS THAT RICH AND DELICIOUS!!!
This Ding Dong Cake is a larger and more delicious version of those snack cakes we all grew up loving. And, if you can’t get enough of chocolate desserts, you need to try Festive Chocolate Peppermint Cake Roll, Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls With Chocolate Chips or Instant Pot Hot Chocolate Cheesecake With Marshmallow Topping.
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Why You Will Love This Ding Dong Cake
- Lightly sweetened cream filling layered between a rich, moist, dark chocolate cake, topped with a silky fudge icing.
- Very impressive cake to serve to guests
- Can freeze and bring out when you need a beautiful, delicious dessert.
Ingredients to Make Ding Dong Cake Recipe
Chocolate Cake
- granulated sugar
- all-purpose flour
- cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder (cacao is just a little more intense but both give great flavor).
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- eggs – room temperature
- sour cream
- vegetable oil
- vanilla extract
- coffee (strong coffee, either brewed or instant. Can use leftover from your morning coffee.
Filling
- solid shortening – like Crisco. Trust me, the filling will not taste like shortening.
- butter – Use the real butter. Nothing like the flavor of real.
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract – Real vanilla is always best.
- evaporated milk – Adds a rich tang.
Chocolate Icing
- butter
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- powdered sugar
- buttermilk
- vanilla extract
How to Make Chocolate Ding Dong Cake
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly coat with non-stick baking spray.
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add in wet ingredients. Mix well.
- Pour into pans and bake on center rack of oven for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool completely on wire racks.
- Trim dome off the top of one of the cake layers. This will help assure that the layers will stack more level. When making a layer cake, it is important to level the bottom layer to help the cakes to stack well and not lean, You can do this with a long knife but I recommend picking up one of these handy dandy cake levelers. They are inexpensive and work well for the job.
Filling
- In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, whip up the solid shortening softened butter, granulated sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla for about 10 minutes. Mixture will be light and fluffy.
- Place the cake layer that you have trimmed the dome onto a serving platter with the cut side up. This is your bottom layer.
- Spread the filling evenly across the bottom layer.
- Place the top layer on the filled layer with the dome side up.
Chocolate Icing
- Combine melted butter and cocoa powder.
- Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and buttermilk. Mix on high speed until light and silky. If icing seems too think to spread well, add a little milk at a time until the desired consistency.
- Spread the icing evenly across the top and sides of the cake. To make this job easier, I recommend using a cake turntable and icing spatulas.
- Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
What to Serve With Ding Dong Cake
- Crockpot Hot Chocolate Rich Creamy Delicious
- Easy Homemade Chicken Crepes With Asparagus
- Milk and Honey Drink
How to Store and Freeze This Chocolately Ding Dong Cake
This homemade Ding Dong Cake will keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days if covered well. To freeze, cut the chilled cake in individual slices and wrap in plastic wrap. Store the slices in an airtight freezer container. They should stay good for about 3 months. When you want to serve, simply remove the slices you need and allow to thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Can you freeze Ding Dong Cake
Yes, wrap each piece of the chilled cake in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for about 3 months.
What is a Ding Dong cake
Ding Dong cakes are those delicious litle snack cakes made by Hostess that we all loved as a child. Made of chocolate, filled with cream and iced with chocolate we couldn’t get enough of them.
Recipe for Ding Dong Cake
Ding Dong Cake
Rich, moist chocolate cake, filled with a cram layer and topped with a dark fudgy chocolate icing.
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Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 617kcal
Equipment
- layer cake pans
- cake leveler
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups flour
- ¾ cup cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup strong coffee
Filling
- 1 cup solid shortening (like Crisco)
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
Chocolate Icing
- ⅔ cup melted butter
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray lightly with a non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl , combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add in the eggs, sour cream, vanilla and oil, mixing well with an electric mixer. Stir in the coffee.
- Pour cake batter into the pans and bake on the center rack of your oven for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove cake from oven and cool completely on wire racks.
- After completely cool, you can remove the top dome off of one of the cakes so they will stack well. You can use a large knife for this or a cake leveler.
Filling
- In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, whip up the solid shortening softened butter, granulated sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla for about 10 minutes. Mixture will be light and fluffy.
- Place the cake layer that you have trimmed the dome onto a serving platter with the cut side up.
- Spread the filling heavily onto the bottom layer, covering well to the edges. Try to smooth the icing evenly across the cake.
- Place the top layer on top of the filling.
Chocolate Icing
- Combine melted butter and cocoa powder. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and buttermilk. Mix on high speed until smooth and creamy. If icing seems too thick to spread easily, add a little milk, a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency.
- Spread icing evenly across the top and sides of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake for several hours before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to a cup of milk as a substitute.
- A cake leveler is a handy tool to remove the dome of the cake to allow the layers to stack well.
- An offset spatula is very helpful to spread the icing onto the sides of the cake.
- This recipe can also be baked in a 13×9 inch pan if you like. You can either put the filling on the top of the cake and then ice on that or you can cut the cake into layers and fill between the layers.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 617kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 358mg | Potassium: 275mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 68g | Vitamin A: 597IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 2mg
If you try this layered Ding Dong cake recipe, please come back and let us know how you like it.
