Jos Louis Cake a.k.a. Copycat Ding Dong Cake
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Jos Louis Cake a.k.a. Copycat Ding Dong Cake. Based upon the famous Canadian snack cake, this recipe has proven to be one of the most popular dessert cakes ever on Rock Recipes.
This Jos Louis, chocolate marshmallow cake, is a pretty simple dessert with three components, chocolate cake, a marshmallow-like filling and a chocolate covering.
I wanted to create a recipe that pays homage to the popular Jos Louis snack cake from Vachon here in Canada. South of the border, the closest thing you guys in the US would know to this snack cake is a Hostess Ding Dong.
I was tempted to use my Red Velvet Cake Recipe, as the base for this cake. That's because the cake in an actual Jos Louis, does resemble that flavour and texture of a red velvet cake.
Feel free to try that too though if you like. I always say any recipe is just a base to make a version that's all your own.
I wanted to keep it simple though, so I've used my super-easy, standard, one-bowl Chocolate Cake recipe instead. That recipe is simply add the ingredients to the bowl, mix until smooth, pour and bake.
The filling and finishing of a Jos Louis Cake (or Copycat Ding Dong Cake)
The marshmallow filling is a scaled down version of the recipe we have used hundreds of times in our Black & White Cake. That was our kid's favourite cake when they were growing up. I could practically make it in my sleep.
To finish the cake I covered the whole thing in a layer of chocolate ganache. The advantage of a softer ganache than straight melted chocolate is that it is softer and easier to cut.
No cracking of the chocolate as you cut, to ruin the presentation of your slices.
As I was finishing this cake off, my daughter arrived home with a bunch of 13 year-olds. They were working on a school film project so this one did not last long!
Each and every one of them said it was far better than its namesake. Try it and see if you agree.
For another Vachon favourite, take a look at these easy Homemade Flakies using store bought frozen puff pastry sheets!
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Chocolate Marshmallow Cake (Jos Louis Cake)
Chocolate Marshmallow Cake (Jos Louis Cake) Based upon the famous Canadian snack cake, this recipe has proven to be one of the most popular dessert cakes ever on Rock Recipes..
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoon . baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup soured milk
- 1 cup black coffee
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Marshmallow Frosting
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoon corn syrup
- ⅓ cup water
For the Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- 2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup whipping cream
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.
- Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 inch cake pans or one large 10 -12 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The time will be longer for a larger pan. Cool completely.
For the Marshmallow Frosting
- In a small saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer or when a teaspoonful of the mixture dropped into ice water forms a soft ball that holds its shape when cool.
- Whip the egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla extract to soft peaks in a large bowl. With the mixer on medium high speed, slowly begin to pour the sugar syrup down the side of the egg white bowl in a thin continuous stream. Continue to whip the frosting until it forms stiff peaks.
- Fill your cake immediately with this frosting while it is still slightly warm as it is easier to spread smoothly than if allowed to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- Scald whipping cream almost to boiling and pour over the chocolate chips. Let stand for 3-4 minutes before stirring well until smooth.
- Split a single layer of the cake horizontally and fill the center with the marshmallow frosting. Finally spread the chocolate ganache over the cake and allow it to cool. Serve.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
16 servingsAmount Per Serving Calories 450Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 35mgSodium 247mgCarbohydrates 69gFiber 3gSugar 51gProtein 5g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Jos Louis cakes were one of the staples when I was in high school. Along with french fries and gravy with a steamed hot dog, the Jos Louis was the perfect dessert for a Montreal high school student in the 1970's. We loved our Swiss Rolls, May West's, Jos Louis, and some kind of flaky thing that I forget the name of. Thanks for this recipe!
Sounds like Montreal wasn't all that different from St. John's.
I was actually thinking of creating a Mae West Cake next, although my sister wants a Billot/Log cake.
Please make a May West cake! I love May Wests with a deep, deep passion - I'm surprised to find very little mention of them online, and so far no homemade versions. What's up with that? May Wests rule!
I'm giving it some thought Andreae. I might need to experiment with the cake part a little. Mae West cake is always so dry, so I want a moister version without being too dense. I have an idea for the filling that might work. I'll let you know if i need a taste tester. 😉
great cake! what is soured milk? Is it buttermilk?
You can use buttermilk but soured milk is simply milk with a little lemon juice or vinegar added to sour it.
In 1 cup of milk how much lemon juice or vinegar would you add and which do you prefer to use?
a tablespoon will do. I usually use lemon.
This cake is super yummy! The icing is almost too sweet though. Question: What do you do with your extra marshmallow filling? It ended up being WAY more than I needed.
It's great on cupcakes and in whoopie pies!
BTW, I retract my "too sweet" comment above. Once the cake cooled down, the icing wasn't too sweet.
A question about the icing , though. The icing on your cake looks nice and smooth. Mine hardened and didn't cut nice (although it certainly added to the Jos Louis effect!). Did I do something wrong?
Sounds like you may have boiled your sugar for too long.
I made this cake and everyone loved it, I will definitely make it again and again.
Okay....getting closer to 300 lbs! I'm naming you as an accessory to the crime! :). Beautiful looking cake!
Thanks so much for this cake recipe. I made it yesturday afternoon with my daughter who loves anything with chocolate on it or in it. The cake is so tender amd the ganache was decadent. It kind of reminds me of a devils food cake. I will definitely be using this cake recipe as a base for other chocoalte cakes. Thanks again!
Made this cake today. It is excellent. I used both layers of cake. Cut them in two so it was a four layer cake and used all the marshmallow filling. You don't need a very big piece. It's rich but sooooo good.
I made this cake today. I cut the two layers in half and used all the marshmallow filling. So it's a four layer cake. Very rich but very good.