An easy Neapolitan Cake made using just one cake batter! Three layers of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry combine to make one stunning layer cake covered in creamy vanilla buttercream.
I’ve had Neapolitan Cake on my mind for the longest time.
Three colourful layers of soft, tender cake, combining the flavour of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. Covered in vanilla buttercream and decorated with a boatload of candy, this Neapolitan Cake has ‘party’ written all over it.
If you want a stunning cake for your next celebration, this one’s for you!
When I started working on this Neapolitan Cake, I knew exactly what I wanted. For me, it was ALL about those gorgeous layers of chocolate, vanilla and hot pink..err..I mean strawberry.
I also wanted to make sure this cake recipe was e-a-s-y. Nobody wants to bake three different cakes and pile them together – can you imagine the dishes?
So this Neapolitan Cake is made using the ONE cake batter 💕
The perfect spin-off of my favourite Chocolate Chip Cake, this three layer beauty is essentially a vanilla cake made with butter, sugar, flour – and a little sour cream.
The cake batter is then divided into three. One stays as it is. That’s the vanilla layer, obvs. One layer gets a dash of strawberry extract and a little pink food colouring. And the final one, a touch of cocoa powder with a little extra milk.
What do you get? The ultimate Neapolitan Cake.
Because this cake has so much deliciousness ‘on top’ I wanted to make a simple vanilla buttercream. Of course, you could cover this beauty with chocolate frosting, but the vanilla is just perfect in my books.
It’s softly sweet and lets the cake shine. Plus I added a little bit of extra pizazz with all the candy that’s shoved on top.
I meant to decorate the cake nicely but I got SO excited by all the candy I bought, that I sort of just dived head-first into the cake, candy in hand. #storyofmylife
I covered the top of the cake in pieces of milk chocolate, white chocolate, Smarties, mini M&M’s and chocolate freckles. You, of course, can use whatever candy or chocolate you prefer.
My motto is more is more when it comes to candy and chocolate. #sorrynotsorry
So if you want a deliciously easy but totally stunning cake for your next celebration, birthday or family dinner, I’ve got you covered. Everyone will love this three layer Neapolitan Cake.
What is Neapolitan Cake?
- Neapolitan is a combination of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. My version uses one vanilla cake batter, that is then divided into three and flavoured to be vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.
Tips for making Neapolitan Cake
- My best tip for making a soft and tender cake is making sure your butter is at the right temperature. Start with room temperature butter – not fridge cold, and not melty by any means.
- When it comes to adding your milk to the cake batter, try not to overmix your batter. At this point, all you need to do is mix the cake batter on a low speed until all your ingredients are incorporated.
- It can be tricky to divide your cake batter into three. My advice? Weigh out the cake batter using a kitchen scale. This will ensure your layers are as even as possible.
- The key to perfect buttercream is also your butter temperature. If its too hard, it’ll be difficult to combine with your sugar. Room temperature will be perfect.
- My final tip is go crazy with the candy topping! #yolo
More layer cake recipes to try
- Chocolate Chip Cake
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake
- White Chocolate Mud Cake
- Death By Chocolate Layer Cake
- Black Forest Cake
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Neapolitan Cake
A three layer Neapolitan Cake covered in vanilla buttercream.
Ingredients
Vanilla cake
- 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 315 grams (2 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 240 ml (1 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 2 tablespoons full fat sour cream
Strawberry cake
- 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
- Pink food gel or food colouring
Chocolate cake
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk
Vanilla buttercream
- 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 625 grams (5 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 3–4 tablespoons full fat or whole milk
To decorate
- Assorted candy and chocolate*
Instructions
- Grease and line three 6-inch round baking pans. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk and sour cream and beat on a low speed until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Divide batter evenly into three. To one batter, add strawberry extract and a few drops of pink food gel and stir. To another, add the cocoa powder and extra milk and stir until smooth. Leave the final batter as is (that’s the vanilla layer).
- Pour each batter into your three prepared cake tins. Bake cakes in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Carefully remove the cakes and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make frosting, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, then add the vanilla. Add icing sugar, one cup at a time. Add a tablespoon of milk as needed. Continue until you have used all the icing sugar and milk and the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Use a serrated knife or a cake trimmer to even the top of both cakes. Place one cake on a small cake board, then cover the top with buttercream. Place the second cake on top. Cover top with buttercream.
- Add third cake on top. Cover the entire cake, top and sides, with remaining buttercream. Use a cake scraper to remove excess buttercream on the sides.
- Cover the top of the cake with your favourite candy and chocolates.
Notes
*I used pieces of milk chocolate, white chocolate, Smarties, mini M&M’s and Freckles.
Margaret says
I would like to ask if someone made the Napoleon cake in a 9 in tin… did you double the recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Margaret, I haven’t tested this recipe in a 9-inch pan, but yes you would likely need to double it or make the cake twice to make three layers.
Catherine says
Hi I’ve just made this cake but all three layers have come out in plain sponge, there no colour change in the sponge.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Catherine, did you add the pink food colouring to the pink layer? And the cocoa to the chocolate layer?
Maria says
Hi Jessica, I love all your recipes I’ve made thus far. I’m planning on making this cake for my nieces bday cake but decorating it with the frozen theme. It seems like I will need to make this cake 2 or 3 times though as I need it to be taller and feed more people. Could I just make it 3 times but the first one will be vanilla flavour, second strawberry and third cake as chocolate. So bake it all as one flavour and then halve them at the end when setting it up? Thanks in advance for your response. Maria
Jessica Holmes says
Yes absolutely Maria! I think that would be the easiest thing to do! Sounds wonderful.
Maria says
Hi Jessica, just made the strawberry layer, the batter tasted yummy but it looked like it had curdled a little. Could it be because I used cold milk and sour cream from the fridge? Should this be room temp or just left out for a bit? Thanks Maria
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Maria, it should be ok. It’s likely just because of the temperature of some of the ingredients – warm butter, cold eggs or milk – like you mentioned. I usually find it’s fine if I just get the milk, sour cream etc. out at the start of baking, but you could bring them to room temperature next time, if you prefer.
June says
It’s was a good moist cake and was easy well done
Jessica Holmes says
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Lily Rose says
Hello! I have three 4 inch mini cake pans. Would this recipe work okay for those?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, yes you could make a smaller three layer 4-inch cake. However the cakes will be a lot taller. You’ll need to be wary of how deep your cake pans are, as the extra cake batter may overflow.
Sam says
This recipie is fantastic can you help me I want to bake my daughter a 3 tier 11inch cake so I’m using 3 11inch cake tins what would be the quantity of ingredients needed please help she loves this cake so mutch wants it for her birthday
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sam, excited you want to try this cake. To convert cake pan sizes, you need to consider the volume size. See here for a handy guide on cake converting. My guess is you’ll need to make this cake batter three times.
Jessica says
I made this in 8 inch pans and didn’t change the recipe. The cakes were thinner but it was still delicious and soft! They cooked in 20 mins. Made it for my daughters birthday and everyone loved it! I also substituted the plain flour for self raising cake flour and it was still perfect.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Fantastic! Thank you for the kind feedback!
Rachelle says
Hi, was wondering if the same recipe could work for 3 8 inch pans rather than 6?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Rachelle, the recipe would make two 8-inch cakes. So the easiest thing to do would be to make it twice – to get the third layer – and freeze the extra cake layer for next time, or make a few extra cupcakes. Hope that helps!
Sarah says
I’m hoping to make this recipe for my daughters birthday next week. I have just done a trial by using a 1/3 of the recipe (to make 1 x 6inch tin) and the cake has sunk slightly in the middle and has stodgy texture in the middle. Only adjustment was that I swapped the sour cream for Greek yogurt. Any tips as to what I’m going wrong?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sarah, excited you are going to try this cake. It can be tricky to divide or multiply a recipe, but it definitely doesn’t sound right if the texture is off. If your cake sunk and stodgy in the centre, it sounds like it may have been under baked. I recently wrote a blog post about why cakes sink which might be helpful.
Nkiruka says
Tnkx, the cake looks so yummy, I can’t wait to try it
Lenny says
Hi, Jessica! Is this the same result with your Easy Vanilla Cake? Seems the methods a bit different.. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lenny, this recipe uses the traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar together (instead of the reverse creaming method used in my Vanilla Cake recipe), but the result is similar, yes!
Vanessa says
Hey Jessica. I made this cake over the weekend for hubby’s birthday.. AMAZING!!! As the others, I double the ingredients because my pan is big.
My question is, do you reckon I can freeze half of it? As I’m based in Sydney, and we’re in lockdown, and I still have most of the cake haha!
Please let me know.
Much appreciated <3
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Vanessa! So glad the cake was a hit! Yes you can freeze it. If it’s already frosted, sometimes buttercream can get a little smooshed as it thaws but it’ll still be delicious!
Vanessa Daccache says
Oh and Jess I have a lot of leftover buttercream (my bad I did 1.5 of the recipe).
How can I use them? other than making a cake 😀
Jessica Holmes says
You can definitely freeze leftover buttercream for your next cake or cupcakes!
Danushi says
Hi Jessica,
I want to make this Cake for this Sunday. Can I use cake flour instead of plain flour or all purpose flour?
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I haven’t tested the recipe with cake flour so I’m not sure I’m sorry!
Lisa says
I made the cake portion of this recipe, but not the frosting.
I only had 9 inch pans, and I doubled the recipe. I also added a little more cocoa and milk to the chocolate batter because it seemed too light. I cut each of the layers to fill them, so I ended up with a huge 6 layer cake! I filled the cake with a whipped creme frosting and fresh strawberries, and frosted it with chocolate ganache. I also made a small batch of buttercream to decorate with. It was a huge hit and looked beautiful inside and out.
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds incredible Lisa!
Sarah says
Hi Jess. Like others below I have 8 inch cake tins so I intend to make the recipe twice, ending up with 4 layers. I was just wondering though, would I need to increase the amount of ingredients going into the strawberry and chocolate layers to account for the extra batter in each layer? Thanks for your help. 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sarah, that’s a great question. I think it should be fine to be honest. The cocoa powder should cover it and you could maybe add a dash more strawberry extract. And then just use your eye to colour it. I hope that’s not confusing! Look forward to seeing your cake!