• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Everyday Southwest
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
  • Recipes
    • Authentic Mexican Food Recipes
    • Baking
    • Best Pumpkin Recipes for Desserts, Dinners & More
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Desserts
    • First Courses
    • Healthy
    • Holiday desserts
    • How to
    • Light and Healthy
    • Main Dishes
    • Party Food and Snacks
    • Popular Posts
    • Side Dish
    • Southwest Pantry
    • Super Bowl
    • Vegetarian
  • Cookbook
  • 200 Appetizers
Home » Homemade Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe

Homemade Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe

Your favorite Ding Dong snack cakes just had a Strawberries and Cream makeover. This Ding Dong Recipe is filled with big strawberry flavor and is the perfect treat for a party, a holiday, a lunch or a little snack for that special “someone.”


Homemade Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe

Hostess Ding Dongs are one of our favorite childhood snacks. What am I saying? They are still a favorite snack and are a “must have” item in any of our picnic baskets. My husband won’t leave on a camping trip without them.

If you aren’t sure what a Ding Dong is, they are small, round cakes (about the size of a hockey puck) that are filled with a whipped cream type center and dipped in chocolate. I say whipped cream “type” center because I’m not sure anyone really knows exactly what is in the “official” Ding Dong Recipe. Like all commercial baked goods, Ding Dongs do have a their share of preservatives.

Homemade Strawberry Ding Dongs

One night, I had a dream… well it was more of an idea, anyway, I thought it would be a special treat to make homemade Ding Dongs for my husband’s birthday.  They were such a big hit that I decided to make them again only this time, I thought I would make them for me. Yep. A Ding Dong Recipe for Mom.

So, why not make them one of my favorite cake flavors, STRAWBERRY!

Genius! It worked out great and the Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe was born!

Since making my first batch (pictured) I have made them for Baby Showers, Easter, Valentine’s Day AND a fancy, shmancy ladies luncheon.

I hope they will become a favorite of your’s, as well.

How to make Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe:

Tips, Tricks and What to Watch Out for—

This Homemade Ding Dong Recipe is relatively easy BUT it does require some time. If you have not worked with dipping chocolate or candy melts before, please, please, please allow extra time. Better yet, make and fill the cakes the day before they are needed. Just wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill.

Homemade Strawberry Ding Dongs

  • I used my favorite Strawberry Cake Recipe for this batch of Strawberry Ding Dongs.  You will notice that the “crumb” of the cake is a little “rustic” with large crumbs and large air pockets. They are delicious but, they do take a little extra care to dip in chocolate and smooth around the sides..
  • You can use a Strawberry Cake Mix (I use Duncan Hines). This will give you a finer crumb and be a little quicker to dip in chocolate or candy melts.
  •  Be sure to use parchment paper when you bake your cake, it will make the cake easy to handle and will peel away some of the darker, outer cake.
  • Cool cake on a rake until cool to the touch.  Wrap cake in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 4 hours. Chilling the cake will make it easier to cut out and coat with chocolate.
  • Turn cake out of the pan with the presentation side (smoothest side that will be the top) up. Remove parchment paper.
  • Cut out circles of cake using biscuit or cookie cutter with tall sides.
  • Place cake circles on a wire cooling rack smooth.

Strawberry Cake for Ding Dongs

 

  • Whip the filling after the cake has chilled or keep the filling refrigerated until ready to use.
  • Use a piping bag with a small tip for the filling. I use a tip to fill eclairs and cream puffs (shown above).
  • Poke the tip of the pastry bag into the center of the Ding Dong and slowly fill with cream filling.
  • Watch carefully so that the filling does not escape through the top of the Ding Dong.
  • It is better to make several small holes in the Ding Dong to fill the cake with filling than to have the filling come out the top or sides (see below).

Strawberry Cake for Ding Dongs

  • Place the Ding Dongs on the wire rack and set the rack over a cookie sheet or sheet pan to catch the excess chocolate. You can reuse the chocolate.
  • Chill the Ding Dongs until ready to coat in chocolate. They will be easier to coat with chocolate or candy melts. Cover with plastic wrap if it will be longer than a few minutes.

Strawberry Cake for Ding Dongs with White Chocolate

  • Melt chocolate or candy melts over a double boiler until melted and smooth. DO NOT allow the water or steam to drip into the chocolate or candy melts.
  • If the chocolate is too thick, use a few pieces of Wilton Candy Melt EZ Thin or grated paraffin wax ( I use Gulf Wax that can be found in the “canning section” of the grocery store and can be used for food products).
  • Keep the hot water from melting the chocolate or candy melts.
  • Use a small off-set spatula to coat the bottom of the Ding Dongs.
  • Turn Ding Dong over and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour chocolate or candy melts over the Ding Dongs. Dip the off-set spatula into the really hot water to heat the spatula. Dry the spatula and use it to smooth the sides and top of the Ding Dongs, if necessary.
  • Leave Ding Dongs on the rack for the coating to set and harden. DO NOT refrigerate at this point.
  • When the Ding Dongs are set, wrap individually in colored candy foils or seal in an airtight container. Separate layers of Ding Dongs with parchment paper.

Strawberry Cake Ding Dongs

I hope you love these little Strawberry Ding Dongs! They are a fun treat for anyone you love!

Let me know how you like them or have a question about them. You can follow me on Everyday Southwest’s Facebook Page and leave a comment there OR you can always leave a comment here on the blog.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

Sandy

Homemade Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe

Homemade Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe

Sandra Hoopes
These adorable Homemade Ding Dongs are packed with big strawberry flavor! They a perfect for a special event or just to say "I love you." 
Be sure to leave extra time for making these, they are not difficult but they do take extra time.
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 hrs
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 3 hrs 40 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • 1 18.25-ounce box white cake mix
  • 1 3-ounce box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin
  • 1 15-ounce package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup water

Cream Filling

  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Coating

  • 2 12 ounces of good quality white chocolate (not chocolate chips) or pink candy melts
  • paste food coloring (if using white chocolate
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons Wilton Candy Melt EZ Thin or grated paraffin

Instructions
 

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • Chocolate Coating
  • 2 (12 ounces) of good quality white chocolate (not chocolate chips) or pink candy melts
  • paste food coloring (if using white chocolate
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons Wilton Candy Melt EZ Thin or grated paraffin

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 9 by 13 cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, combine cake mix and
gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs,
oil, and water. Beat on medium speed with
an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into
pan.
  • Bake for 30 to 40 minutes
or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Let cake cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and remove parchment paper. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.

Cream Filling

  • Place water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to soften 5 minutes.
  • Dissolve gelatin by microwaving for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir. Repeat this process 2 times or until gelatin is melted.
  • Let gelatin stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Gelatin should be liquid but not hot when added to cream.
  • Beat cream, powdered sugar and vanill

Chocolate Coating

  • Melt white chocolate or candy melts over a double boiler. Do not allow any water drops or steam to get into the chocolate. Stir occasionally. Heat until melted and smooth.
  • If the chocolate is too thick, stir in few flakes of EZ Thin or grated paraffin at a time until desired consistency.
  • If using white chocolate, color the chocolate with paste food coloring by dipping a toothpick into food coloring and transferring a small amount at a time into chocolate. Stir coloring into chocolate. If the col

Filed Under: Baking, Desserts, Easter Recipe, Holiday desserts, How to, recipes, Valentine's Day Tagged With: Ding Dong Recipe, Homemade Ding Dong Recipe, how to chocolate coating, how to make ding dongs, strawberry cake recipe, Strawberry Ding Dong Recipe, strawberry recipe

Previous Post: « DIY Nachos Recipe for a Crowd
Next Post: Albondigas! Easy Mexican Meatballs Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carol Hicks

    February 13, 2018 at 7:40 am

    Valentine Heaven!

    Reply
  2. ANN*H

    February 13, 2018 at 9:47 am

    5 stars
    yummy looking cant wait to try them -thanks

    Reply
    • Sandy

      February 13, 2018 at 10:07 am

      Hope you love them, Ann*H!

      Reply
  3. Denay DeGuzman

    February 18, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    5 stars
    These scrumptious strawberry ding-dongs were made as a surprise treat for one of my friends who didn’t have a Valentine’s Day date. They were a huge pick-me-up for her, and later she called to ask me for the recipe. I can hardly wait to make these again. But the next batch will be just for my husband and me!

    Reply
  4. Wendy O'Neal

    February 19, 2018 at 3:31 am

    5 stars
    I made these for my daughter to give to her friends for Valentine’s Day. They were so fun and delicious.

    Reply
  5. Crystal Lopez

    March 26, 2018 at 6:42 am

    5 stars
    Seriously too good to be true! Yum! What a special treat! I love, love, love strawberry cake so these are right up my alley!

    Reply
  6. Joanie

    March 26, 2018 at 7:27 am

    5 stars
    These were definitely a childhood favorite and this recipe certainly does bring back memories! I loved your easy step-by-step instructions, thank you! This recipe is going into my files so I can make it again and again!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Sandy is a former elementary educator whose love for cooking has gone out of control. She has completed a degree in culinary arts and is now a food writer, photographer, cookbook author and co-creator of the popular website Everyday Southwest. Read More…

Mom’s Authentic Mexican Tamales Recipe

Authentic Mexican Tamales Recipe

Corn Pudding with Green Chiles – Southwest Style

Corn Pudding with Green Chiles Casserole

Recipe Categories

Looking for Something?

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy