I've been super busy so it took me a while to get around to it, but here's a scratch Neapolitan Layer Cake. We loved it! The boxed cake mix Neapolitan version was good, but it was fun making one with flour sugar and butter.
For the chocolate layer, I used the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe. And since the Hershey's cake calls for all-purpose flour and is a bit denser, I needed a yellow cake recipe that also used all-purpose flour and had a similar density. The recipe that saved the day was an old Betty Crocker recipe called "Bonnie Butter Cake". I made the batter in two separate bowls, but substituted a little strawberry gelatin powder for some of the sugar in one layer, and added a bit of strawberry extract. This added just the right amount of artificial (but still tasty) strawberry flavor. However, a dash of strawberry extract enhanced it a bit. Finally, the color from the Jell-O made food coloring unnecessary, as it added just the right shade of pink.
The recipe looks terribly long, but it's not. I just broke the Bonnie Butter Cake into two parts so I could mix it in separate bowls. The chocolate layer takes about 2 seconds to put together. Most of the ingredients are just repeated.
Recipe
Scratch Neapolitan Layer Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Batter:
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons 4 oz all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup boiling water or very hot coffee
Yellow Cake:
- 1 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons 6 oz all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter softened -- but still cool (not melted at all)
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
Strawberry Cake:
- 1 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons 6 oz all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter softened but still cool (not melted or partially melted)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons dry strawberry Jell-O
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon strawberry extract optional
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have ready 3 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans.
- Prepare the chocolate cake first. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour through cocoa powder. Add the oil, milk, egg, vanilla and stir until well mixed. Stir in the boiling water or coffee. Beat with an electric mixer for about 30 to 60 seconds or until smooth, then pour into the pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack and let cool completely.
- While chocolate cake bakes, wash out the mixing bowl and beaters and start preparing the other two batters. Try to time it so they’re ready to go in the oven a little after the chocolate cake is ready. You don't want to let the batters sit too long.
- For each of the two batters, measure out the flour, baking powder and salt in separate bowls. Set aside
- Working with two mixing bowls, put the butter and sugar for each batter in a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in each bowl. Add one egg to each bowl and beat until light and fluffy, then add the flavorings. To one bowl, beat in the vanilla. To the other, beat in the strawberry Jell-O, and both extracts.
- With a big spoon or a heavy duty scraper, add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour, to the yellow batter and mix by hand until smooth. Batter will be thick. Repeat procedure with the strawberry batter.
- Put the batter into two cake pans and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert and let cool completely.
- To assemble, frost and stack the cakes so that the chocolate is on the bottom, vanilla is in the center and strawberry is on top. Or stack it the way you want. It's not like I'm the queen of everything and you have to follow orders.
- Frosting: Beat 3 sticks (12 oz) softened unsalted butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add 4 ½ cups of powdered sugar. After adding about half of the sugar, add 3 tablespoons of heavy cream and continue beating in remaining sugar. Continue beating and scraping sides of bowl, adding whole milk as needed, until you reach a smooth consistency. For a sweeter frosting, add a little more powdered sugar and milk. Beat in a pinch of salt (or omit if you used salted butter for some reason).
Update on the Scratch Neapolitan Layer Cake
This one is still getting good reviews, and I've even been told it works with self-rising gluten-free flour. If you are confused about when to add the sugar in the chocolate cake, it is added with the other dry ingredients.
Anna says
Can't believe I didn't mention that! I used three 9 inch round cake pans.
Dominyck Hubbard says
What size pan did you used for this recipe? I was planning on making it myself, and need to know what size pan to use
Ursula says
Thank you, used to have an old recipe for Neapolitan cake but it was lost in one of my moves. This one is similar and I am grateful for it, I will make it soon.
shirley says
Thanks Anna. I think? if I ever make this again ... I'd use a scratch recipe that includes cream cheese ... and go on from there. Right now its not on my agenda ... but I'm a bit leery of using many of the cake mixes with 'old' favorite recipes ... but maybe could figure it out... but not this year! You do this stuff SO well.
Anna says
Just went back and looked at the old recipe Shirley mentioned. Now that the amount of cake mix per box has been reduced from 18.25 oz to 15 or 16.25 oz depending on the brand, the old Bake-Off recipe probably needs some adjusting. Yet another reason to go with scratch!
Anna says
Shirley, that's a good one! You and I talked about it 4 years ago.
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2010/04/neapolitan-bundt-cake/
I need to make it again and maybe jazz it up a bit. All those drink mixes are still available, so no worries there ;).
shirley says
This looks SO yummy, Anna. However, I seldom make layer cakes --- bundt or sheet ...don't know why. Tho I have to say MY favorite Neopolitain is still the one from PBO book - 22nd bake off ... don't know if they still make that strawberry drink powder that was used ... should check some day I guess! Everyone always loved to see this cut - and the swirls were so pretty.
Katrina says
Love that you made a scratch version of this. Not a fan of cake mixes.
Todd says
I had a very large slice of this last night for dessert and it was awesome. My slice also had some chocolate ganache, a small splat of whipped cream, and a cherry on top. Highly recommended.
lisa keys says
genius recipe and I love not needing the food color
Anna says
Sue, yes. I've used it in baked goods -- specifically, the lemon flavored type.
Sue says
Have you tried or seen a recipe that uses pre sweetened Koolaid mix for the sugar in a cake? Do they even make pre sweetened Koolaid anymore? That seems like another way to get some color and flavor in the strawberry layer. Time to Google it I think. 🙂
Anna says
Sue, that was a good cake too. It kills me to look at it, though. I really should have added red food coloring.
Avril, thanks!
Cheryl, yes! I was thinking maybe a fudge icing or a chocolate glaze could be poured over the white icing -- kind of like in this old Halloween cake. https://www.cookiemadness.net/2007/10/creepy-chocolate-layer-cake/
I'm going to do that next time.
Cheryl says
I'm thinking a cream cheese frosting would really be tasty with maybe some type of chocolate as decoration. Kind of like an ice cream sundae using neapolitan ice cream and hot fudge topping.
The strawberry layer looks really moist and dense--not sure about that.
avril says
Gorgeous cake! 🙂
Sue says
This is a really fun idea for a cake. I wonder what it would be like with a layer from this recipe? https://www.cookiemadness.net/2014/02/scratch-strawberry-layer-cake-with-strawberry-cream-cheese-icing/
Wish I could come up with the time and an excuse to try it.
Anna says
Thank you, T! I loved the Neapolitan aspect, but along the way I discovered that the "Bonnie Butter Cake" is a pretty nifty little yellow cake recipe. I typically only use cake flour for yellow and white cakes, but the AP flour worked out really well in and the cake didn't have a cornbread like texture, which can happen with some AP flours.
T. Martin says
I was never a fan of Neopolitan ice cream but this looks really delicious.