Salted Caramel "Ding Dong" Cake

Salted Caramel "Ding Dong" Cake might be just the dessert you are searching for. This recipe serves 12. This recipe covers 11% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. One serving contains 566 calories, 8g of protein, and 37g of fat. If you have cake flour, butter, natural cocoa powder, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 45 minutes.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat cake panswith nonstick spray. Line bottom of panswith parchment-paper rounds; coat paper.

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Oven

Place cocoa powder and chocolate in amedium metal bowl.

Ingredients you will need

Cocoa Powder

Chocolate

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Bowl

Pour hot coffee over.

Ingredients you will need

Coffee

Let stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Stirin buttermilk and vanilla; set aside.

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Buttermilk

Vanilla

Whisk cake flour and next 3 ingredientsin a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer,beat sugar and butter in a large bowl untillight and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Cake Flour

Butter

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Hand Mixer

Whisk

Bowl

Add eggsone at a time, beating to blend betweenadditions and occasionally scrapingdown sides and bottom of bowl. Beat untillight and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

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Bowl

Add dryingredients in 3 additions, alternating withchocolate mixture in 2 additions, beginningand ending with dry ingredients. Dividebatter evenly between pans; smooth tops.

Bake cakes until a tester inserted into thecenters comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

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Oven

Transfer to wire racks; let cakes cool in pansfor 10 minutes (cakes will deflate slightly).Run a knife around pans to loosen cakes;invert cakes onto racks. Peel off paper andlet cakes cool completely. Turn cakes over.

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Knife

If needed, use a long serrated knife to cutoff bumps or trim dome from top of eachcake to create a flat, even surface.

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Serrated Knife

Place chocolate andsalt in a medium bowl. Stir sugar and 1/4 cupwater in a medium deep saucepan overmedium-low heat until sugar dissolves.Increase heat and cook without stirring,occasionally swirling pan and brushingdown sides with a wet pastry brush, untilsugar is deep amber, about 9 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Pastry Brush

Sauce Pan

Bowl

Frying Pan

Remove from heat and gradually add cream(mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir overmedium heat until caramel bits dissolve.

Ingredients you will need

Caramel Bits

Cream

Pour over chocolate in bowl.

Ingredients you will need

Chocolate

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Add vanilla; stiruntil mixture is smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Vanilla

Let cool slightly.

Place 1 cake layer in springform pan.

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Springform Pan

Pour1 cup ganache over. Chill until set, about30 minutes. Cover remaining ganache andlet stand at room temperature.

Place 2 tablespoons coldwater in a small heatproof glass or metalbowl.

Sprinkle gelatin over; let stand untilgelatin softens, about 10 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Gelatin

Pour water to a depth of 1/2" into a smallskillet set over medium heat.

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Water

Transfer bowlwith gelatin to skillet; stir until gelatindissolves, about 2 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Gelatin

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Remove bowlfrom skillet. Set aside.

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Frying Pan

Place cream and powdered sugar in alarge bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanillabean. Using an electric mixer, beat creamuntil soft peaks form.

Ingredients you will need

Powdered Sugar

Cream

Seeds

Equipment you will use

Hand Mixer

Bowl

Add gelatin; beatfilling until firm peaks form.

Ingredients you will need

Gelatin

Spoon filling over chilled ganache oncake layer in pan; smooth top. Gently placesecond cake layer on top. Cover tightly withplastic wrap and chill until cream layer isset, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Ingredients you will need

Cream

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Remove sides from springform pan.Using a knife or offset spatula, scrape offany filling that may have leaked out frombetween cakes to form smooth sides.

Equipment you will use

Offset Spatula

Springform Pan

Knife

Transfer cake to a wire rack set inside arimmed baking sheet.

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Wire Rack

Rewarm remaining ganache until justpourable. (Microwave in a microwave-safebowl, or set a metal bowl over a largesaucepan of simmering water until justwarm, not hot.)

Ingredients you will need

Water

Equipment you will use

Microwave

Bowl

Pour ganache over cake,tilting cake as needed to allow ganache todrip down sides and using an offset spatulato help spread ganache, if needed, to coversides of cake. Chill until ganache is set,about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Cake can be made2 days ahead. Cover with a cake dome; chill.

Ingredients you will need

Spread