Neapolitan Cake
An easy, fun cake with a layer of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.
Servings 12
Ingredients
- ⅓ of a 16.5 oz box strawberry cake mix 154 grams or about 1 cup Duncan Hines brand
- ⅓ of a 16.5 oz box of vanilla cake mix 154 grams or about 1 cup
- ⅓ of a 16.5 oz box of chocolate cake mix 154 grams or about 1 cup
- Oil eggs and water as directed on the box of each (probably 3 eggs, 1 cup water and ⅓ or ½ cups oil)
Vanilla Frosting
- 2 sticks 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar plus more if desired
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Whole milk as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 8 inch round metal pans and line with circles of parchment. The strawberry cake mix is sticky! Dust pans with flour.
- Have ready 3 small to medium size mixing bowls. Measure out your cake mix in each bowl. If you have a scale, that's the best way to do it.
- Add eggs, oil, and water using ⅓ the amounts called for on the packages. Beat the cake batters as directed with a handheld electric mixer. Pour into the pans and bake for about 22 minutes or until they spring back when touched.
- Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn from the pans and let cool completely.
- Frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating and scraping the bowl. Add the cream and vanilla and continue beating, then add the milk until you reach a consistency that works for you. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
- Ice and stack the cakes with a very thin layer of this frosting, then set the cake on a parchment lined tray and put in the freezer. This step is optional, but frozen cakes are easier to frost.
- Once you have your "crumb" layer (thinly frosted cake), spread the vanilla icing all over the cake and decorate.
Notes
A scale is the very best way to measure out cake mix, but if you don't have one you can use about 1 cup of each of the Duncan Hines flavors. Other brands might have different volumes per gram weight, so again -- using a scale is the best method. For a 9 inch cake, use half of each box rather than a third.