Ding Dong Cake!! Allergy friendly!

I’m starting with this disclosure. The photos do not do this cake justice. Which means I will have to set up another day to make this cake and give it the proper photo shoot it deserves. In the meanwhile, I just couldn’t wait to share, so here you go!

Alright friends… Some occasions just call for cake, do they not? And sometimes sweet synchronicity is just undeniable, and then you end up with Ding Dong Cake! Gluten-free, egg-free, beyond-what-my-taste-buds-could-dream-of, divine yummilicious-ness!

It all started with a friend sharing one of those cute 90-second videos with a recipe for a copycat Hostess Ding Dong recipe, but in cake form. They happened to use a cooked frosting for the filling and I remembered making cooked gf, dairy-free frosting earlier this year so my gears started turning.

I mean, I am not one to toot my own horn, but this cake was beyond words. Seriously. No, it wasn’t the prettiest cake I’ve ever made, but if you’ve ever dabbled in the weird science that is baking without wheat, milk or eggs then you might be as amazed as I was that this actually just happened!

So, here’s what usually happens when a recipe catches my eye.

1. I see all the substitutions that will need to take place before I even consider it.
2. Recon. I google the recipe to find variations and see if anyone else has tried it with all the modifications I will need to make. This usually leads to step #3.
3. I get my mad scientist hat on, wait, do they wear hats? Correction, I get my mad scientist lab coat on (yeah, that’s better!) and go to work, stitching up various recipes with my own concoctions.
   Then when someone asks for the recipe, I laugh. (Muah-ha-ha-ha!!!) Ok, not really, but I do chuckle because usually I’ve been so busy with my creation that I haven’t written anything down! So tonight, I did my best to jot it down in case anyone else wants to try this crazy cake.

Here are the recipes I used for inspiration:
https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/crazy-cake-gluten-free-chocolate-cake/
https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/the-best-vanilla-frosting/
https://www.thespruce.com/vegan-dark-chocolate-ganache-1001556

For the cake*

2 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Namaste GF from Costco)
1 cup teff flour
1/2 cup (40 g) unsweetened raw cacao powder
1 3/4 cups (400 g) organic sugar
1 ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons Kerrygold butter, melted
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups (16 fluid ounces) brewed coffee, dry red wine ( I used ¾ cup coffee, ¾ c goat milk kefir and ½ cup leftover Barbera wine from Chiarella vineyards in Angels Camp-yummm)

*I accidentally added a few ground up coffee beans because I forgot to sift the cocoa before adding it to the sugar. So I added the dry mixture to my small grinding Vita-mix container, forgetting there was maybe 1 Tbsp of ground coffee in there so it just became part of the cake. Everyone got a few grits of coffee bean in a few bites, but it actually gave it a nice flavor, so I may do it more purposefully next time, grinding it finer and adding more!

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare to 9” pans by lining with parchment, using some coconut oil to make the parchment stay in place. I also line the sides of the pan when baking without eggs or gluten.

Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl, blend the wet in the Vita-mix, then add the wet to dry and stir just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for approx. 30 min until toothpick comes out clean. The toothpick test doesn’t always work for GF cakes, but it did this time!

While the cake is baking, start on the cooked frosting.

3 1/2 tablespoons tapioca starch/flour
3/4 cup organic sugar
Dash (1/8 teaspoon) Himalayan salt
3/4 cup milk of choice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 tablespoons Kerrygold butter, at room temperature

• Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside. In a small saucepan, place the tapioca starch, sugar and salt, and milk. Whisk until smooth.

• Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until thickened and the whisk leaves behind a visible trail, about 3-4 minutes. With tapioca, this seems to turn incredibly fast. It will almost gel up rather than just thicken, so be ready to pull it off quickly. The original recipe said to scrape it into a bowl, but my saucepan was small enough to fit inside the bowl of ice water, so do what works for you. No need to dirty more dishes!

• Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches room temperature (temperature matters tremendously here).

• Place the cooled flour and sugar mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (a handheld mixer will work just fine here, but see note below*), add about 1/3 of the butter and the vanilla and mix on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining butter, mixing until smooth. Turn the mixer to high speed and mix for about 3 minutes or until the frosting turns white and becomes light and fluffy. The frosting can be used immediately or can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a few days. Allow to come mostly to room temperature before using.

*The last time I made this frosting, I used a stand mixer and it kept climbing up the mixer and honestly, I almost trashed it. I kept having to stop and scrape it down and I even think I added more butter to try to weight it down, which finally helped. This time I used the stand mixer and it worked like a charm. It will work either way, but if you have the choice, go with the stand mixer.

Once the cake is cooled, spread the cooked frosting in the center as your filling. Place the 2nd layer on top.
Prepare your ganache. Ganache is so incredibly easy and flexible. I always change the amounts and it has never come out wrong, but here’s how I did it today.

10 oz dark (70%) chocolate
2/3 can of full-fat coconut milk
½ tsp vanilla
Dash (1/8 tsp) Himalayan salt

Break the chocolate into a bowl
Heat the coconut milk until it bubbles at the edges, then pour it over the chocolate. You can wait until the chocolate melts, or if you’re impatient like me, start stirring to help it along. Then add a few sprinkles of salt and the vanilla.

Here’s the part I should have had photos of, but we had company and my photographers (aka @crowbarkids) were off playing with their guests, so you’ll just have to imagine it.
Start pouring the ganache onto the top of the cake slowly, spreading a bit with the back of a spoon to help make sure you don’t miss any areas. We ended up with a puddle around the cake, but no one seemed to mind the extra chocolate when they were served, so there.
Then we ate our dinner and had a lively conversation, so the cake may have set for maybe 45 minutes? Don’t quote me, but we were able to cut into it successfully! Of course, I forgot to wipe off the knife between slices, but then again, I had a horde of hungry children hurrying me as I was trying to get a few decent shots, so please forgive me, ok?

I chose @Crowbarmama as a handle because I believe in doing the best you can with what you have on hand. The crowbar is a multi-purpose tool. You’ll notice my photography is a bit rough, my grammar is not the most polished, but as a homeschooling, homesteading mama of 4, if I waited to take my photos until the light was perfect or re-edited my posts a 5th time ( I shoot for 3 drafts), I would never get a post out!

Don’t sweat the small stuff, just Crowbar it!

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