Ding Dong Cupcakes

Please welcome Jess from Sweetest Menu as she shares another mouthwatering recipe, Ding Dong Cupcakes! Be sure to show her delightful blog some love for me. -Tessa

Hi friends! Jess here from Sweetest Menu, ready to share another delicious recipe with you. You might remember last month I shared my recipe for Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Whoopie Pies. Well  today I have another chocolatey treat for you – Homemade Hostess Ding Dong Cupcakes! Soft and fluffy chocolate cakes that are filled with a light and creamy marshmallow filling and topped with gooey chocolate ganache. And of course, they have the final signature Hostess Cupcake swirl made with a simple vanilla buttercream. This is one heavenly cupcake!

I seriously LOVE cupcakes. Whenever we visit the States we always make it a priority to visit Magnolia Bakery or Sprinkles Cupcakes  (or preferably both). But making cupcakes at home is super fun too. These cupcakes are just gorgeous, because not only is there chocolate cake but chocolate ganache too. It’s a lovely smooth and light topping compared to piles of buttercream frosting. But the best part? The hidden filling inside! This marshmallow filling is so creamy, it tastes just like store bought marshmallow fluff or creme and just about melts-in-your-mouth.

You know what’s funny is we don’t actually have Hostess Ding Dongs in Australia. But thanks to American TV, we have grown up hearing about Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Yodels and Hohos. I think it’s part of the reason why I love to visit the supermarkets over in the States so I can buy and taste all these foods we’ve heard about for so long. I’m always eating chocolate bars and trying new candy over there. In fact, last time we visited, we stuffed our suitcases with so many baking ingredients, including tons of different flavoured Oreos. I’m sure anyone who opened my suitcase would have been slightly perplexed! #foodbloggerlife

Recreating these Ding Dong Cupcakes was so darn fun! I ate more than my fair share along the way but I was so happy with the result. The chocolate cupcakes themselves are seriously light and fluffy. Once they are cooled, you just have to cut out a hole in the top so you can pipe the marshmallow filling inside. Just be careful not to eat all the cut outs as you do need to put a lid back on! Then you whip up a chocolate ganache that gets poured over the top. I love to have it dribble over the sides but you can pop it into fridge for a bit longer if you like a thicker ganache.

Once the chocolate ganache has set a little, you can get to piping on that white swirl. You just mix together a small amount of vanilla buttercream and spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Then away you go creating those signature swirls! Finally, it’s time to eat them! Your family and friends are going to LOVE you for making these!

4.50 from 4 votes

How to make

Ding Dong Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

You are going to love these homemade Ding Dong Cupcakes! Chocolate cupcakes filled with a sticky marshmallow filling and topped with chocolate ganache. Decadent and downright delicious!

Ingredients

Chocolate cupcakes

• 3/4 cup (105 grams) plain flour
• 1/2 cup (40 grams) cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated or caster sugar
• 1/4 cup (45 grams) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk

Marshmallow filling

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated or caster sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate ganache

• 2/3 cup (100 grams) dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) thickened or heavy cream

Vanilla buttercream

• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (90 grams) icing or powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Chocolate cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 360 F (180 C). Line a 12 hole muffin tin with patty cases. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and then add the sugars – give it a stir. Place the butter in a microwave safe mixing bowl and pop into the microwave for 10 seconds or so at a time, until it is just melted. Give it a stir with a fork to eliminate any lumps. Then add the eggs and vanilla to the butter, along with the buttermilk and whisk together until smooth. Then add the wet butter mixture into the dry mixture and fold until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared patty cases and pop into the oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes before setting the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Marshmallow filling

1. To make the marshmallow filling, add a few inches of water to a medium saucepan and place on a medium heat. In a small heatproof bowl, add your eggs whites, caster sugar and cream of tartar. Whisk together. Then pop the bowl over the saucepan, ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. As the egg whites heat, whisk gently by hand the entire time. You’ll want to heat the egg white mixture to 120 F (50 C) which you can test by sticking a candy thermometer into the mixture or go by feel (the mixture should be hot to the touch) – should be around 5-6 minutes or so. The mixture should become smooth and the sugar should be dissolved. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and place in the base of a stand mixer (or simply use a hand beater) and beat on medium speed for approximately 7 minutes until the mixture is fluffy, white and voluminous. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds or so.
2. Use a knife to cut out a hole in the middle of each cupcake – but keep these cake cores. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip with the marshmallow fluff frosting and pipe into the middle of each cupcakes – be careful not to overfill them. Then cut the tops off your cake cores and press on top of the marshmallow filling so the cupcake has a closed top once again. Continue with all 12 cupcakes.

Chocolate ganache

1. Then it’s time to make the chocolate ganache. Roughly chop your chocolate and place into a small bowl. Then gently heat your cream over a low heat on the stove until it becomes warm to the touch but do not boil. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and leave for approximately 1-2 minutes. Then gently whisk the mixture until combined and smooth. Pop the chocolate ganache into the fridge to cool and thicken slightly for about 20 minutes or so. It’s really up to you how thick or thin your would like the ganache. You can refrigerate it for longer if you want it thicker. Give it a stir and then drizzle over the top of each cupcake. I like to remove the cupcake liners here so the chocolate ganache can drip down the sides.

Vanilla buttercream

1. Finally, it’s time to make the buttercream for the swirls. In a small bowl, add your butter (ensuring it is nice and soft) and give it a good stir with a spoon. Then add half of your powdered or icing sugar, milk and vanilla and stir together. Once it is smooth, add the rest of the powdered or icing sugar. Then transfer this mixture to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and pipe the swirls on top. Just make sure the ganache has set slightly so the two frostings don’t run together. Enjoy!

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American

Recipe by Jess Holmes

Author: Jess Holmes

Jess loves to create, bake and shoot American-inspired recipes from her Australian kitchen at sweetestmenu.com. With a background in advertising, she is a copywriter by day and a recipe creator/dessert taste-tester by night (and on the weekends). Even at her work desk, you will find her daydreaming about calorie-laden sweets and counting down the days to her next trip to the USA.