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I am so excited to share these Homemade Ding Dongs with you today!! I first made these "Cauldron Cakes" back when the first Harry Potter movies started coming out. There are no images of them in the books or movies, but I noticed that their treats always seemed to be easy to hold and eat without much fuss. Adding a handle to them equates fuss in my book, so I didn't bother adding them. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!
Yummy chocolate cake surrounding a green marshmallow flavored filling and covered in chocolate ganache makes the perfect, fun treat! Now if you really want to go wild...like say you're throwing a Harry Potter Halloween Party and you want something a little more Cauldron Cake style.....
Then you cut a hole in the top to fill with your yummy filling and sprinkle with green decorative balls...or should I say bubbles? Don't they look like little cauldron's with a bubbling witches brew? Either way, they are insanely delicious! Alex's friend Chris loved them and ate 3 or 4 at the party!!
The length of this recipe may seem a bit daunting, but they are actually pretty easy to make.
How to make homemade ding dongs:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 mini bundt pans with baking spray and set aside. Yes you could use regular muffin pans, but they won't be as cute or have the rounded shape. Add 1 Tablespoon of espresso powder to water and set aside to dissolve.....
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, and sugar.....
Add the espresso water and vanilla and beat until well combined.....
Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until well combined.....
Fill prepared pans about 1/2 full with batter.....
And bake for 18 to 20 minutes.....
Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. They will shrink up and start to pull away from the sides.....
Flip cupcakes out onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely.....
While cupcakes are cooling, prepare the Chocolate Ganache. Place chocolate, cream, and butter in a large bowl.....
Place in the microwave and heat on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir and continue heating and stirring in 15 second intervals until smooth and completely melted.....
Dip each cupcake in the ganache one at a time and place on wire rack lined with parchment paper/silpat to set.....
When the chocolate has set, make the Buttercream Filling. Beat shortening and butter together in a large bowl.....
Add the meringue powder, salt, LorAnn Oils Marshmallow Flavor, green coloring, and powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, adding water as needed to achieve desired consistency.....
To fill the ding dongs, use a long, thin tip to fill cupcake from the bottom.....
***if you do not want the chocolate to melt in your hand, hold the cupcake with a piece of waxed paper. 😉 To fill the cauldron cakes, chose a large decorative tip.....
Use a cupcake corer or apple corer to remove the center of each cupcake. Be careful not to push the corer all the way through.....
Insert decorative tip into the cavity and fill with frosting, allowing it to ooze over the top. Decorate with decorative green ball candies.....
Wands at the ready.....Accio Cupcake! Repeat as many times as necessary. 😉
Okay, I know some of you are asking why I used marshmallow flavoring instead of just using a marshmallow cream filling? I am not personally a fan of marshmallow fluff/cream. It's extra sweet and contains high fructose corn syrup, so I generally avoid it. I added the marshmallow flavoring to give it an unexpected flavor, not just boring vanilla. I was also dying to try out the marshmallow flavoring that LorAnn Oils sent me, and it worked perfectly!
More delicious Harry Potter Party treats:
- Butter Beer Cocktail
- Gillyweed {Spinach} Dip
- Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls
- Cauldron Cakes aka Homemade Ding Dongs
- Witches Brew Cocktail
- Polyjuice Potion
- Crispy Roast Potatoes
- Gourmet Caramel Apples
- Classic Roast Chicken
- Chocolate Caramel Pretzels {wands}
- Troll Booger/Bogeys {slime green popcorn}
Enjoy!!
Homemade Ding Dongs
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 cups superfine sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cups canola oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cup fresh water
- 1 Tablespoon espresso powder
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3.4 ounce package devil's food instant pudding mix
- ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Ganache
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk {can} or heavy cream shake well before opening
Filling
- 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 teaspoon LorAnn Oils Marshmallow Flavor
- 1 Pound powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon meringue powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 mini bundt pans with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, and sugar.
- Dissolve the espresso powder in the water, and add to bowl. Add the vanilla and beat until well combined.
- Stir in the flour, pudding mix, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- Beat until mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Pour into prepared pans {about half full} and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck into the center of cupcake.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes.
- Flip out onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
To make the Chocolate Ganache:
- Place chocolate, coconut milk, and butter in a large bowl.
- Microwave on HIGH for one minute, stir.
- Continue heating chocolate and stirring in 15 second intervals until completely melted.
- Dip cooled cupcakes into ganache and place on wire cooling racks to set.
To make the Filling:
- Beat butter and shortening together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the marshmallow flavor and meringue powder.
- Stir in the powdered sugar, then beat until light and fluffy.
- Add water as need to thin.
- To Assemble Cauldron Cakes:
- Use a cupcake or apple corer to remove the center of each cupcake.
- Place filling into a pastry bag with tip of your choice, and pipe into the center of the cupcake overflowing the edges as desired.
- Decorate with green colored beads.
To Make Ding Dongs:
- Fill a pastry bag with a thin decorating tip. The long cupcake filling tip works best.
- Stick the tip into the bottom of the cupcakes and fill with frosting.
Marcie@flavorthemoments says
Homemade Ding Dongs -- awesome! I know these would taste way better than the original too.
Lisa Johnson says
Yes they do Marcie, they don't taste like plastic,lol. Ding Dongs were my favorite when I was a kid, back when they were in foil wrappers!! They ruined them for me. 😉
Seana Turner says
These could possibly be my favorite of all your recipes - they look terrific. The "bubbles" really make them look like cauldrons. Any child in your life is very lucky:)
Lisa Johnson says
Awe, thank you so much Seana!
Julie @ Tastes of Lizzy T says
These look delicious, Lisa. I've never made homemade ding-dongs. This could be dangerous!
Cathy@LemonTreeDwelling says
As always, I'm so impressed by the creativity and intricacy of your recipes! You make everything so unique and special, and these homemade ding dongs are no exception!!
Mary Ellen says
These look so fun. Isn't Halloween a fun time to cook. Thanks for sharing.