This Copycat Hostess Ding Dong Cake recipe is a rich, decadent chocolate cake, with a creamy filling and chocolate ganache spread over the top! So easy, you’ll love it!
Remember Hostess Suzy Q’s? These Chocolate Whoopie Pies remind me of that classic treat! Or try our easy homemade hostess cupcakes next!
Why Make a Ding Dong Cake
Growing up my mom would buy us Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies and Hostess snacks for our lunch boxes. We never knew what she would come home with, but I always got a little giddy when a box of Ding Dongs were in the cabinet.
Two layers or chocolate cake with a cream filling, all coated in chocolate ganache.
Look familiar? Today’s Ding Dong Cake is just that, only….bigger!
How to Make a Ding Dong Cake
Bake the Cakes. Start by baking up two 9-inch chocolate cakes. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe for this, so fudgy and perfect. If you choose to go with a boxed mix, make sure it’s a rich and fudgy version, like a Devil’s Food cake.
Cream Filling. Next you’ll make the cream filling. It’s a less sweet buttercream frosting, sometimes called Ermine frosting. A friend at our old church called it boiled milk frosting. But I think that sounds gross, so let’s call it cream filling.
You’ll first put your cold milk and flour in a small saucepan and whisk until the lumps are gone. Heat this up until thick, stirring the whole time. You want to keep stirring and heating until it becomes thick, almost like pudding. Be patient.
Once your milk mixture is thick, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. COOL. Very important here. You don’t want this warm and melting your butter in the next step.
In a mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Slowly add in the COOLED milk mixture, beating until it resembles a thick whipped cream or frosting. Don’t be scared if it initially appears curdled, keep beating!
Assemble. Spread this thick layer of cream filling between your two cooled chocolate cake layers.
Cover in Ganache. Whip up some chocolate ganache (follow recipe instructions below) and pour it over the top and sides. Allow it set, and enjoy.
More Copycat Recipes
- Decadent and delicious, these Copycat Hostess Cupcakes are better than the original! Fudgy with a cream filling, just like the original!
- These Flourless Chocolate Cookies are a chewy cookie with a crunchy topping! You’ll love the rich chocolate flavor in a unique cookie! Move over Starbucks, we’ve got a copycat recipe on our hands!
- Making Homemade Cracker Jack popcorn is super easy and delicious! Sweet and crunchy, this addictive caramel corn is better than the original!
- The BEST Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake recipe starts with two layers of homemade red velvet cake with a layer of cheesecake in the middle. Topped with delicious cream cheese frosting and white chocolate curls!
- Delicious, easy, copycat Twinkie Cake recipe made with yellow cake and sweet whipped cream filling. The perfect, not overly sweet, cake recipe!
Easy Cake Recipes
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Ding Dong Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup strong brewed coffee cooled
- ½ cup milk
For the cream filling:
- 5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
For the ganache:
- 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate morsels 12 ounce
- 1 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the cake:
- Spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a measuring cup, combine cooled coffee with milk*. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for 5 minutes with an electric mixer. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Slowly add in dry ingredients and alternate with the coffee/milk mixture (about 3 additions of each).
- Once all the ingredients are added, beat cake mixture for about 2-3 minutes until fluffy (scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed).
- Divide cake batter into the two cake pans. Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool about 10 minutes in pan. Invert on a wire rack and cool completely.
For the cream filling:
- In a small saucepan, combine the flour with milk, whisking until lumps removed. Turn on medium heat and continue to whisk until mixture becomes thick, like a pudding.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool completely.
- In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar, beat until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Slowly add in the COOLED milk mixture, beating until combined. It may curdle slightly in the beginning, that’s okay, keep beating until it becomes the texture of whipped cream!
For the ganache:
- In a glass bowl (safe for the microwave) combine semi sweet chocolate with heavy cream. Heat for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth (you may need to heat for another 15-30 seconds). Do not over heat. Set aside while you begin to assemble the cake.
To assemble:
- Place first layer of cooled cake on a cake plate. Top it with ALL of the cream filling. Add the second layer of cake on top.
- Slowly pour the ganache over the cake, using an offset spatula to help cover the top and sides. Allow to set, about 15 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- The coffee in the cake does NOT give it a coffee flavor, it just boosts the chocolate flavor. If you desire, you can replace the 1/2 cup of coffee with an additional 1/2 cup of milk instead (making the total amount 1 cup of milk)
- Freeze Cake. Wrap slices of cake in plastic wrap and slide into freezer safe ziploc bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator and serve.
Video
Nutrition
This Copycat Hostess Ding Dong Cake recipe is a rich, decadent chocolate cake, with a creamy filling and chocolate ganache spread over the top!
Wondering if this would work doing cupcakes, splitting in half and adding filling the covering with the chocolate? I’ve never made the cake version myself. But I need to make 100 servings making them plate well. Thought this might work. Any thoughts?
Love this cake! (Well, not actually me, I’m keto). My husband requested this for his birthday party after I made one for my son’s girlfriend’s birthday. I make it in stages. I baked the cake yesterday, made the cream filling this morning, and will put it together before the party. Thank you for such a delightful recipe.
That’s a great idea. Thank you !
Can this cake be put in the freezer until ready to serve
the cake was delicious but the filling made the top slide all over the place, I couldn’t get it to stay put. I put it in the fridge overnight and will add more ganache to try again
I put the bottom of the 2 layers together to assemble. Cooled the cooked spread for awhile. I poke holes in the layers w a fork then spread the cooked filling on each layer. I put in fridge for about an hour then assembled the cake
I bake this cake for my husband the other day he absolutely loved it. I decided to share with a few family and friends. Their response was just as exciting as my husband. They all agreed it does taste like ding dong.
I’m constantly trying new recipes at least once a week. Thank you Aimee for sharing!
Love Love Love this recipe!
Can you make this cake completely gluten free, and dairy free, by this I mean substitute the butter for margarine and the milk to almond milk, I have many allergies but I very much want to bake this cake, it looks amazing thank you
Mary, I made this with gluten-free flour and almond milk and it came out amazing!
I made this delicious cake gluten free and dairy free using 1-1 flour , strong cold coffee for the milk, melted margarine, chocolate pudding dry, an extra egg and a gluten free cake mix. It was delicious and I have made it several times for my gluten free family members. Thank you for sharing
Almost done with the assembly smells great. My big question which I did not see anywhere is once finished is it left out or refrigerated? Are leftovers also left out or refrigerated? I saw the freezer comments but not my question. Thank you!
Oh wow! This cake looks incredible and so delicious! Very excited to make this for my hubby and daughter! Chocolate is a major must in this household!
Hi there,
I am making this cake today. I have a couple of questions.
1. I am using a box cake as I don’t have time to make from scratch. Do I still add the coffee to it?
2. Should I refrigerate it as I will be serving it tomorrow for a birthday party.
Thanks.
Nope, make the boxed mix as directed on the package. And yes, because of the cream filling, I would refrigerate the cake.
This cake is so amazing! I am definitely making this again!
This is my new go-to chocolate cake. It’s absolutely like the ding dong snacks from my child hood. But SO Much better! And WOW just WOW using coffee in the cake mixture. Such a great secret ingredient. It tastes wonderful!
My ganache was so running. How do I make it thicker so it doesn’t run off and is more like your picture?
Holy COW. This cake is absolutely amaaaaaazing! No joke, tastes just how you’d imagine it would by the title. The filling is so light and fluffy and the cakes is delicious, even on its own. So glad I found this recipe:)
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake 🙂
Love your metal beaded cake stand! Where can I buy one just like it? I’ll be trying to cake this weekend for a birthday party.
I got it at Target a couple years ago.
I was not impressed….sorry. It was a lot of work, it doesn’t taste bad, the filling is very light and fluffy, the cake is very moust, my husband likes the dark chocolate aspect. But I was so looking forward to a ding dong….which I love, but it didn’t taste remotely like one.
Cakes stuck horribly even though I used butter and flour Ididn’t have shortening. The 1 1/2 cup whipping cream was way too much …. I had to add more and more chocolate.
It says 1 1/4 C. not 1 1/2 Cups of whipping cream.
Next time try using parchment paper in your cake pans to prevent the cakes from sticking. You can get directions on how to grease and flour your cake pans along with the use of the parchment paper. If done correctly, nothing should stick and you should be successful.
I make parchment circles to put in the bottom of the pans. It’s an extra step, but worth it when the cake comes right out.
Took me a bit longer to make but it turned out perfect
I made this cake last night. We all loved it. I made it as directed although I probably cooked the milk, flour mixture a little longer than pudding consistency due to comments about a flour taste. There was no flour taste. My cream center had no crystal grit to it. So delicious so rich. Thanks for the recipe.
Can this be made the day before and refrigerated? Is Dutch cocoa the same as dark chocolate cocoa powder?
My filling mixture never un curdled after adding the cooled milk mixture. Had to throw everything away!
I made this cake for a school teacher,s birthday and it was a hit. Thank you for sharing.
The filling is terrible. Way too greasy and gritty. I tried adding more of the cooked flour and milk mixture to offset it. Still bad. I’m a VERY experienced baker and have made bombes, croissants, danishes, yeasted breads, créme patisserie, soufflés, cheesecakes,cookies,and so much more so it is not as if I don’t know what I’m doing. What a disappointment and waste of ingredients.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. Although many people have made it successfully, this might just be a taste and texture issue for you. It definitely should NOT be gritty.
I make the filling all the time as a frosting. If it’s gritty you didn’t whip it long enough