Julie Clark
Updated:
Ho Ho Cake Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
6 layers made of chocolate cake, fluffy frosting and chocolate ganache. This ho ho cake recipe is a grown-up version of your favorite lunchroom snack.
My dad had a work party at our house last week, and I was excited to be in charge of making a few desserts for it. Well, a couple of desserts turned into about 3 dozen cookies and 2 colossal cakes. I was baking all morning getting things in the oven, icing cakes, and rolling cookies into balls and then in sugar. Whew! Talk about a long morning!
One of my favorite parts, though, was to make this beautiful Layered Ho Ho Cake recipe. It’s pretty simple for a 3 layer cake and is a showstopper for parties! And it’s based on those lunchroom favorites, Hostess Ho Ho rolls with chocolate cake and cream filling. (Have you tried our twinkie cake yet?)
About this Ho Ho Cake Recipe:
For the chocolate cake in this recipe, I used the same recipe that I used for my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake. This time, though, I used a cooked frosting recipe that will taste just like the ho ho filling that you love.
And what goes on top? A thick layer of semisweet chocolate ganache, which is simply melted chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream.
Recipe Variations
- Don’t want to make cake from scratch? Use a box cake mix.
- This is one of the best chocolate cake recipes, so you can use any frosting you’d like! Try chocolate buttercream frosting.
Storage Instructions
Store this cake in the fridge if you are not eating it right away. I removed the ho ho cake from the fridge about an hour before we were going to eat it. We all actually liked the cake better on the second day. The layers seemed to settle together.
If you’ve got leftovers, store them in the fridge in an airtight container to keep it neat and tidy.
Ho Ho Cake Recipe
6 layers made of chocolate cake, fluffy frosting and chocolate ganache. This ho ho cake recipe is a grown-up version of your favorite lunchroom snack.
Servings 12
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
Chocolate Layer Cake:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup freshly brewed strong hot coffee
Creme Filling:
- 1 1/4 cups 2% milk
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
Chocolate Ganache
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour 3 round 8-inch cake pans.
- Add the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk well. 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a stand mixer, mix the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla together. Slowly add in the mix of dry ingredients while the mixer is on low. Add the coffee and make sure everything is combined. Batter will be very thin. 1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 large large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup freshly brewed strong hot coffee
- Divide the batter evenly into the three prepared pans and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. While the cakes are cooling, make your filling.
- For the creme filling, combine the milk and flour in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. It should get to be the consistency of runny pudding, which will take about 10-15 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Press plastic wrap down on top of the flour mixture while it is cooling so it does not form a "crust" on top. Cool to room temperature. 1 ¼ cups 2% milk, 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- While this is cooling, cream together the rest of the filling ingredients in a large bowl: the sugar, butter and shortening, on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cooled flour & milk mixture and beat on high for 7 minutes. 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup salted butter, ½ cup vegetable shortening
- Spread this filling between the cooled three layers of cake. Now it is time to add chocolate ganache! Place the chocolate chips in a bowl. Set aside. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan on medium heat until it is very hot and near boiling. (You can also heat it in a microwave). Then remove it from the heat and immediately pour it over the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with a lid or plate and let the it sit for 3 minutes. Then, stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow it to sit for about 20 minutes until the ganache thickens a bit. 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Once the ganache is ready, pour it over the top of the layer cake. Use a spoon to spread it out towards the sides of your cake so it runs down a bit on the sides.
- Decorate the top with Swiss Cake Rolls, if desired. Store this cake in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 12 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 759kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 760IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 2.3mg
I LOVEEEEEEEE THIS SO MUCHHHHH ITS SOOOO GOODDD
Use toothpicks pressed down through the layers to keep it in place…4 should suffice. Just press them under the top surface a half inch.
Hi , I would like to know what is the vegetable shortening and what’s it substitute??
Thanks alot … I really love all your recipes.
This has been a very popular recipie. If it hasnt been said before. Use top quality chocolate chips or the ganache will not work…i use ghirardelli
Love this recipe
Having family and friends over for dinner Saturday! Going to try my best to do this. One of our local restaurants serves HoHoCake and I always order a piece of the lovely indulgence. I’ve looked at many recipes called HoHoCake recipes and this is one of the only that doesn’t have raw egg in the ganache frosting layer. Ok, I admit I do eat raw eggs on occasion but I wouldn’t serve them to a guest. What if they got sick and it was because of what I served? The horror. I was also going to cheat and use a… Read more »
Can I make the center cream the day before and put it together the next day?
Hi,
I was just wondering if, when making the filling for this cake, if I could use
Half & Half in place of the milk?
Hi! what is your thought about substituting the heavy cream in the ganache with light cream? I happen to have a quart of light cream on hand, thought I’d give this a try. Goodness that is a gorgeous cake!
Thanks for this recipe, my children (including husband) enjoyed it. I can not have dairy or gluten so I was wondering if there is a way to make it that way?