Holy Cow Batman....are those handmade ding dongs?

So I decided to take on making homemade ding dongs this past week. My oldest had school off and figured with all the rain outside, baking would be a good distraction from our "boring" house. These little pockets of deliciousness were not easy to make but soooooo worth the time. How did I decide to make these? Why Pinterest is the evil monster that inserts these recipes into my mind!! I found this recipe and had to try it. I believe the recipe is originally from Smitten Kitten but I found it at Beantown Baker. I followed it to a tee since this is the first time I have made anything like this. Here is our adventure:


Cake:

• 3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate ( I just used chocolate chips)
• 1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 3/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line bottoms of 2 10-inch round cake pans with wax paper and grease paper. If you don't have 10-inch cake pans, you can make 2 9-inch cake pans and a dozen cupcakes. I had plenty of batter left over so I opted for cupcakes. I thought the cupcake pan was the perfect mold for ding dongs. I greased them up really well but the cakes didn't come out. Next time I would just put liners in, fill them, and then continue with making ding dong cupcakes.  

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored. Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. The cupcakes didn't take this long, probably about 30-40 minutes.

 

Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

7 minute frosting:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Use frosting the day it is made.

The next time I make these, I would only make half the frosting. I hate throwing away frosting, especially one that takes quite a while to make. 

Ganache:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-ounce pieces - I have found that ghiradelli chips work well for ganache

Heat the heavy cream and the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil.

Place the semisweet chocolate in a 3-quart stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.

I again had quite a bit of this left over which is ok. You can keep this in the fridge for a little pick me up in your coffee or you can let it come to room temperature, whip it with a mixer, and frost some yummy cupcakes with it. 

Ok so here came the fun part. 

Assembling the ding dongs:

Once the cake layers have cooled completely, use a small round cookie cutter to cut small circles of cake out of the layers. 

Enjoy the scraps or save them for cake balls.

Using the cone method, scoop out a small portion of cake from each circle. I used a knife to carve out a small cone. Next time I would make a bigger or wider cone. Be careful not to poke through the bottom. BUT if you do just place a little piece of the cut out cake over that whole. 

Fill with 7-minute frosting and replace top of cake. I had to cut most the cones off of the cut out pieces because you want this to be fairly flat so that the ding dong will look flat.

Don't they look so fantastic!!

Using a pastry brush or spoon, cover individual cakes with ganache. Allow ganache to completely set up before serving. I used the brush method. I did this during nap time and instructed my lovely son that he was in charge of any emergency that might arise seeing as my fingers, arms, and somehow my mouth :) were covered in chocolate as I was doing this. So be ready for a mess.....but it was so worth it! Look at it!!

These were a huge hit with the family and they are on their way across the street to some of our fabulous neighbors! I would/will make these again....just not until I can work off the ones I have already eaten!!

A huge thanks to the Beantown Baker for her inspiration for these yummies! 

Happy Monday everyone!!