I found this fab-looking Ding Dong Cake recipe on Chocolate, Chocolate and More and knew that I had to try it. We had some family over this past weekend so I decided to use the extra company as an excuse to whip up a large and decadent cake. 

It. Was. Amazing.

Rich chocolate cake, Light, smooth, creamy filling topped with a decadent chocolate ganache.

My gorgeous-gluten-eating-sister-in-law graciously assisted in the taste testing. I think she approved:)

We may or may not have shared a slice before dinner. Don’t tell 🙂

And despite the beauty of it and the number of steps, it really wasn’t too difficult to make. If you’ve never made a cake from scratch, I’d recommend starting with something a little more basic but in reality, you could probably pull this off and wow all your friends. 

Enough talking though, go MAKE THIS CAKE!

Better-Than-Ding-Dongs Cake

ThereIsLifeAfterWheat.com

*gluten-free *soy-free *oat-free

Notes:

• My flour mix works sooo well for cakes that I highly recommend it.
• That being said, Jules Shepard’s gluten free flour mix works wonders as a thickening agent so I highly recommend it for the filling. Buy a bag or two and use it in all your sauces and gravies and you won’t miss the old-fashioned wheat stuff at all. She also has an amazing looking pretzel recipe I’ve been aching to try.You may be able to substitute corn starch in this recipe, but I haven’t tried doing so myself. 

Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate (original recipe says you could use chocolate chips)
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 3 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix (add 1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum if flour doesn’t have any.)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt (sea salt is best)

Filling:

• 5 T GF Jules Flour
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup butter (I used real, salted, butter)
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Ganache:

• 1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 T butter

Instructions:

For the Cake:

1. Chop chocolate into pieces the size of chocolate chips and put into a medium bowl.
2. Pour hot water over chocolate and let sit about 2 minutes, until chocolate is completely melted.
3. Stir until all melted chocolate is incorporated into the water. Set aside.
4. In bowl of stand mixer (if you don’t have one, just use your regular bowl and hand mixer), Whip whole eggs with whisk attachment about 3 minutes until very frothy.
5. Add canola oil, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix briefly to combine.
6. Add flour mix, sugar, xanthan gum if needed (only if your flour mix doesn’t have any added), baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix on medium speed using paddle attachment for 3 minutes.
7. Add chocolate mixture and mix until smooth.
8. Preheat oven to 325º F.
9. While oven is preheating, spray two 9″ round cake pans with cooking spray or generously grease. Use your pans to trace two 9″ circles on parchment paper and cut them out. Place one on the bottom of the inside of each of your greased pan, and lightly spray with cooking spray. This will make removing your cakes a lot easier!
10. Pour batter into pans, about 2/3 full. I had enough batter to make two mini loaf pans as well. If I would have used all the batter for the cake, it would have overflowed, so only fill 2/3 full!
11. Bake cake for 30-40 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Watch the cake carefully, it’s much better if it’s moist!
12. Let cake cool for 30 minutes in the pan before inverting onto cooling racks. Peel the parchment paper off the cakes and let cool completely (I covered with a light towel and cooled overnight)

For the Filling:

1. Measure Jules flour mix (or cornstarch) into a medium saucepan.
2. Gradually add milk, whisking as you go, until mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.
3. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick like a roux. It should be like a really thick, sticky pudding. This should take about 5 minutes or so. Add vanilla.
4. Scrape mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely cool.
5. In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar with whisk attachment about 8 minutes, until smooth and very fluffy. Add milk/flour mixture and whisk another 5 minutes or so on high, scraping sides often, until it is no longer grainy. It should be creamy and fairly light.
6. Slice the mounded top off one of the 9″ cakes, so that  it is flat. and place it on a rack over a wax paper or foil-lined cookie sheet.
7. Spread filling evenly over this cake, and invert the other cake over the filling so the rounded top is upside down. Press down gently.

For the Ganache:

1. Put chocolate chips in a medium bowl.
2. Heat cream and butter over medium heat just until boiling. Be careful not to scorch.
3. Pour cream over chocolate chips and let sit for a few minutes.
4. Stir together well until mixture resembles a thick chocolate sauce, all chocolate is melted, and all ingredients are combined.
5. Slowly pour ganache right over your cake. It will spread over the cake as you pour, but you may have to smooth it out a little with a spatula so the ganache will run down the sides.
6. Let sit for about 4 hours.
7. When ganache is set, you can (carefully) remove the cake to a serving platter, slice and serve.
8. Store leftovers (if there are any!) in the fridge.