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Best Neapolitan Layer Cake: Strawberry, Vanilla & Chocolate

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A stunning three-layer cake featuring strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate flavors, born from a happy kitchen accident. Perfect for celebrations, this cake is tender, balanced, and topped with strawberry buttercream and a chocolate ganache drip.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, room temperature
  • ⅓ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ⅓ cup (80ml) hot coffee or hot water
  • ⅓ cup (110g) strawberry jam or preserves
  • Red food coloring (optional)
  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened (for buttercream)
  • 3 ½ cups (420g) powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup (80g) strawberry jam or preserves (for buttercream)
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • ½ cup (120ml) heavy cream (for ganache)
  • 1 cup (170g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (for ganache)
  • Fresh strawberries, sliced (for decoration)
  • Chocolate shavings (for decoration)
  • Vanilla bean or sprinkles (for decoration)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Lightly flour the sides.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla extract. The mixture may look slightly curdled.
  5. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk in two additions, starting and ending with flour. Mix just until combined. Fold last bit by hand.
  6. Divide batter evenly into three bowls (about 1 ½ cups each).
  7. For chocolate layer: whisk cocoa powder with hot coffee until smooth, then fold into one bowl of batter.
  8. For strawberry layer: fold strawberry jam into second bowl. Add red food coloring if desired.
  9. Leave the third bowl as is for vanilla layer.
  10. Pour each batter into prepared pans. Bake for 22-28 minutes, rotating pans halfway. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
  11. For strawberry buttercream: beat 1 cup softened butter for 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, strawberry jam, heavy cream, and salt. Beat on low until combined, then on medium-high for 3 minutes until fluffy.
  12. For ganache: place chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Heat heavy cream until simmering, pour over chocolate, let sit 2 minutes. Add butter and stir until smooth. Cool 10-15 minutes.
  13. Assemble cake: place one layer on serving plate (chocolate on bottom). Spread about ¾ cup buttercream. Repeat with vanilla and strawberry layers. Apply thin crumb coat, refrigerate 20 minutes, then apply final coat.
  14. Pour ganache into piping bag. Drip around top edge of cake, then fill top center. Refrigerate 15 minutes to set.
  15. Decorate with fresh strawberries, chocolate shavings, and sprinkles. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

Room temperature ingredients are crucial. Don’t overmix the batter. Layer chocolate on bottom, vanilla in middle, strawberry on top. Chill cake before ganache drip for cleaner drips. Cake tastes even better on day two.

Nutrition

Keywords: Neapolitan cake, layer cake, strawberry cake, vanilla cake, chocolate cake, birthday cake, celebration cake

Find it online: https://bakebelle.com/best-neapolitan-layer-cake-strawberry-vanilla-and-chocolate/