Receta Rumfest's Ding Dong Cake
Rumfest's Ding Dong Cake in a blaze of glory
Every year, our friend Jayne’s Birthday
Celebration is declared Rumfest. That’s
a combination of her maiden name and the fact that Jayne’s Birthday is never
confined to a single day. It seems to carry on for at least a week, punctuated
with multiple events to celebrate her big day.
Before you go thinking this may have something to do with the fact that
Jayne was born on a Friday the thirteenth, I have to stop you. Triskaidekaphobia has nothing to do with
it. “Unlucky” thirteen has little to do
with Friday at all. It's a superstitition relating to Judas,
the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Supposedly he was the 13th to sit at the Last
Supper. But the Bible doesn't say anything about the order in which the Apostles sat. And if we’re discussing unlucky
numbers, Hexakosiohexekontahexaphobia, or fear of the number 666 has to be
added to a list that includes Tetraphobia, or fear of the number 4, which leads
buildings in most Asian countries to lack floors that include that digit. 17 is unlucky in Italy and 39 in Afghanistan
and 87 is unlucky when Australians play cricket. And get this, 13 is actually a lucky number
in Italy! I hope this clears things up
for you. But I digress…
The Facebook Post that launched the Ding Dong CakeAt any rate, Andrew was put in charge
of the cake for one celebration in Jaynedom.
He wanted her approval because who wants to bake a cake the birthday
girl wouldn’t like? So he posted a
picture of the cake on Facebook and darned if she didn’t immediately “Like” it.
So he was all set. The recipe came from
a blog called Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate, from a woman who had lifted it
from the Smitten Kitchen blog. Now I confess to never having actually eaten
Ding Dongs or their cousins from another mother, Ring Dings. But there’s a world of people who apparently
can’t live without them: When Hostess,
maker of Ding Dongs, went out of business in 2012 all production was
stopped. Fortunately, cooler heads
prevailed when it was announced that the new Hostess Brands would resume baking Ding Dongs on July 15, 2013. I still have never tasted one but I can tell
you that this cake is without question one of Andrew’s ten best…as the birthday
girl herself has attested. Here is the
recipe:
Smitten Kitchen’s Recipe for Ding Dong Cake
as adapted by Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate’s website.
Ingredients for the cake:
3
- ounces semi sweet baking chocolate (you can use chocolate chips)
- 1
- 1/2 cups brewed coffee
- 3
- cups sugar
- 2
- 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1
- 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2
- teaspoons baking soda
- 1
- teaspoon baking powder
- 1
- teaspoon salt
- 3
- eggs
- 3/4
- cup vegetable oil
- 1
- 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 1
- teaspoon vanilla
- For the
- cream filling:
- 5
- tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1
- cup milk
- 1
- teaspoon vanilla
- 1
- cup butter
- 1
- cup granulated sugar
- For
- the ganache
- 1
- 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1
- cup heavy cream
- 1
- tablespoon butter
First make the cake:
1. Chop
chocolate so no pieces are larger than a chocolate chip. Place chocolate in a
medium bowl or a 2 cup measuring cup and pour hot coffee over chocolate.
2. Let
sit for 5 minutes then stir, making sure all chocolate is melted and well
combined with coffee. Set aside to cool.
3. Sift
all dry ingredients together-sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda
and salt.
4. In
the a large mixing bowl (or the mixing bowl of your stand mixer) beat eggs on
medium speed until frothy.
Slowly
add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and chocolate-coffee mixture to eggs, beating well
to blend.
5. Add
in sugar/flour/cocoa mixture, one cup at a time, mixing just to combine after
each addition.
6.Pour
batter into 2 9 inch cake pans that have been well greased and lined with
parchment paper on the bottom.
Bake
in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, using toothpick to test for
doneness.
Let
cakes cool completely in pan. Using a plastic knife, run knife around edges to
loosen before turning out onto rack or plate.
Next Make the Cream Filling:
1. Pour
cold milk into a small saucepan. Before turning on the heat, whisk in flour so
no lumps remain. Turn heat on to medium low, and stirring, heat until mixture
is thick, like a roux. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and let cool
completely.
2. Cream
together butter and sugar on medium high speed, until fluffy, about 8 minutes.
3. Add
in the milk mixture and beat again until mixture resembles a whipped cream.
Assemble the Cake
1. Place
one layer of cake on an 8 inch cake circle, top side down. Cover with a thick
layer of cream filling then place top layer of cake, top side down, on top of
filling gently pressing down to secure layers. Place cake on a wire rack on top
of a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
Make the Ganache
1. Place
chocolate chips in a large measuring cup.
Heat
cream and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until boiling, careful
not to scorch.
2. Pour
heated cream over chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir chocolate to
make sure completely melted and smooth.
3. Slowly
pour ganache over top of cake, letting it drip down the sides. If needed use a
spatula to help spread ganache on top over sides.
4. When
ganache is set, cake can be transferred to a serving plate.
Chill
cake for 4 hours before serving.