Chocolate Ding Dong Cake Recipe

This Chocolate Ding Dong Cake Recipe is rich, moist, and layered with a dreamy filling that takes it over the top. Simple ingredients and deep chocolate flavor make every bite unforgettable.

If you are familiar with my blog, I have a recipe for Yellow Cake with Cream Filling (copycat Twinkies). That recipe came to me from my mom’s best friend, someone who’s been a huge part of our family my whole life. It’s hands-down my favorite cake recipe on my blog and the chocolate version is a close second. My mom's best friend doesn't like chocolate (can you imagine!) so she never made a chocolate version of the cake. I, being a chocoholic, immediately made the chocolate version, which is my husband's favorite! 

This cake is super simple to make because you start with a boxed cake mix. However, you have to dial up the ingredients to the cake mix by replacing the water with milk, adding an extra egg and/or replacing the oil with melted butter. The milk adds fat and richness and the extra egg gives you a firmer structure and makes it slightly denser, but in a soft, bakery-style way. By making these simple changes, you have a cake that tastes more like it's made from scratch.

Let's talk about that creamy filling that starts with a flour and milk base and once thickened and cooled, it’s whipped with sugar, butter, and shortening until it becomes the silkiest, fluffiest cream filling you’ve ever tasted. It’s not overly sweet and balances so well with the rich cake layers. The key is to mix it well because the you want it creamy and fluffy with no grainy texture from the sugar. The final piece, and what makes this a true Ding Dong Cake, is the thick chocolate ganache poured over the top of the cake. It’s made from just two simple ingredients semi-sweet chopped chocolate and heavy cream. Pour it slowly over the top layer and let it drip slightly over the sides.

What You Need

• Chocolate Cake Mix

• Milk

• Eggs

• Oil

• Flour or Corn Starch

• Sugar

• Salt

• Crisco

• Butter

• Vanilla Extract

Tips for Making Chocolate Ding Dong Cake

• Use room temperature ingredients

• Don’t over mix the batter, once your dry and wet ingredients are combined, stop mixing. 

• Cool cakes completely before assembling

• Level your cake layers - if the tops dome while baking, use a serrated knife to gently even them out which will give it a more stable and professional-looking layer cake.

Other Delicious Cakes

Cinnamon Roll Cake Rhubarb Dump Cake Lemon Pudding Pound Cake

How to Make Chocolate Ding Dong Cake 

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare two (8-inch round) cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the cake mix with 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup oil, and 3 eggs and mix until all ingredients are combined. Transfer to the two prepared round cake pans and divide the cake batter evenly between each. Bake according to package directions, typically about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. When the cake is done, remove from the oven and place on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely in the pans.

Above Left: Cake mix, milk, oil, and eggs ready to mix. Above Right: Baked cake cooling on wire rack.

Step 2: While the cake is cooling, chop 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate into small pieces and set aside. Prepare the filling. In a small saucepan, make a roux by bringing 5 tablespoons flour (or 2 1/2 tablespoons corn starch) and 1 cup milk to a boil, stirring constantly. The consistency will be thick and creamy. Set aside and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. 

Milk and flour ready to make the roux.

Step 3: In a large bowl, combine 1 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup Crisco, 1/2 cup butter (room temperature), and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix well with an electric mixer until creamy. Once the roux has cooled, add to the sugar mixture and mix until the filling is thick and creamy. Give it a taste because you do not want there to a grainy texture from the sugar. If there is, keep mixing until fluffy. This may take 5 minutes of mixing to get the desired consistency! 

Mixing the creamy filling until it is light and fluffy with no grainy texture.

Step 4: Remove the cooled cakes from the pans and place on a wire rack with a pan below. Using a serrated edged knife, trim the dome off the bottom cake layer, if necessary.  Use an offset spatula to spread the filling evenly across the bottom cake layer. Then gently place the second cake layer on top (flat side up for a clean finish) or dome side up as in the photos. Press lightly to help it settle.

Cake with filling ready for the ganache!

Step 5: In a small sauce pan, combine the chopped 4 ounce bar semi-sweet chocolate with 1 cup heavy whipping cream. Cook on low heat, slowly melting the chocolate and allowing the mixture to thicken, about 2-4 minutes. Allow the ganache to cool and thicken in the pan for an additional 15 minutes. Once cool, give it another good mix and slowly pour over the entire top layer of the cake and allow it to run down the sides of the cake, giving a waterfall look. The excess ganache will land in the pan below the wire rack. Allow the ganache to set up, then move to a cake plate or cake carrier and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Above Left: Wet ganache over the cake. Above Right: Cake set up and ready to serve.

How to Store Chocolate Ding Dong Cake

This cake is even better the next day because the flavors deepen and the filling sets up just right. Store the entire cake in an airtight container or loosely wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. 

Let the cake sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes before serving to soften the filling and enhance the flavor.

Chocolate Ding Dong Cake ready to enjoy!

This cake is a showstopper that looks fancy but comes together with simple steps. Whether it’s your first time baking a layered chocolate cake or you’ve tried dozens of chocolate cake recipes, this one delivers every time. From the smooth ganache to the cloud-like filling, every bite is Forkin' Good! 

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