Chocolate cake with creamy marshmallow filling and chocolate ganache. If you like the classic snack cakes you'll love our Ding Dong cake!
You might also like our copycat Hostess cupcakes, our Hostess cupcake COOKIES, or our copycat Star Crunch cookies!
Watch our step by step video!
Ding Dong Cake
Hostess Ding Dong snack cakes are a classic chocolate cake snack filled with marshmallow cream and covered in chocolate. Ding Dong cake is a fun twist. Made with a boxed cake mix, this Ding Dong cake is easy to make! Want to make your cake from scratch instead? No problem---check out my classic chocolate cake recipe! It's a great recipe and {almost} as easy as a boxed mix. I love that it is made from cocoa powder, but still has a rich chocolate taste.
Ding Dong Cake Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- You'll need a boxed chocolate cake mix plus the eggs, vegetable oil, and water needed to make it (or use my classic chocolate cake recipe).
Creamy Filling
- The marshmallow cream filling is made from butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and marshmallow creme.
Chocolate Ganache
- The chocolate ganache is made from semi-sweet chocolate chips and heavy cream. This gives the dessert an amazing chocolate flavor.
Ding Dong Cake Instructions
(scroll to the end of the post for an easy-to-follow recipe card)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and water in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 30 seconds using an electric hand mixer. Scrape the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Beat an additional 2-3 minutes.
Pour cake batter into a greased 9x13" baking dish (or pan sprayed with cooking spray).
Bake the cake for 28-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely.
Combine butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat on medium-high speed with an electric or stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in marshmallow creme by hand.
Spread over cooled cake then chill the cake in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes (this step can be sped up by placing the cake into the freezer until the frosting is set). We want to make sure that the ganache doesn't melt into the frosting, but sits on top. So chilling/freezing the cake for a little while will accomplish that.
Pour chocolate chips into a bowl.
Heat cream in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat until it starts to steam and bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. You just need to heat the cream, not boil it.
Pour the hot cream over chocolate chips and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
Stir (whisk) the chocolate and cream until smooth and creamy.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator or freezer, pour the ganache over the cake, and spread evenly with a rubber or offset spatula.
Chill cake for 30-45 minutes. The ganache will be soft, but won't stick to your finger if you touch it.
Slice the cake into 12-24 slices using a serrated knife.
Cover the cake with plastic wrap to keep fresh. Leftover cake is best stored at room temperature and will last up to 5 days!
Ding Dong Cake Recipe
Ding Dong Cake
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 chocolate cake mix (15 oz. boxed cake mix)
- 1 ¼ cup water
- ⅓ cup oil
- 3 whole eggs
Marshmallow Creme Filling
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 7 oz. marshmallow creme 1 tub
Chocolate Ganache Icing
- 1 ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
Swirl Icing
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13" baking dish.
- Mix cake mix, oil, eggs and water on low for 30 seconds.Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into cake pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cake cool completely.
Marshmallow Filling
- Beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together until whipped and creamy. Stir in marshmallow creme by hand.
- Spread filling over cooled cake with a rubber spatula or butter knife. Chill the cake for 30-45 minutes.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place chocolate chips into a bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan on the stove until it begins to steam and bubble around the edges (not boil). Remove from heat.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Let stand 3-5 minutes. Stir chocolate and cream until completely smooth.
- Pour ganache over cake and spread evenly. Chill cake for 30-45 minutes, just until the top is set. Allow cake to come to room temperature then cut into slices.
- Store leftover cake at room temperature, covered in plastic for up to 5 days. This recipe makes 12 giant slices or 24 regular slices of cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Stacked cake variation: make the cake in 2 (8" or 9") cake pans. The marshmallow frosting will ooze if used as a filling between cake layers so you'll want to use a vanilla buttercream frosting recipe instead. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake. Let the ganache set up before serving.
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