This neapolitan cake with swiss meringue buttercream is perfect for those who cannot chose a flavor! The vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate cake layers are each surrounded by their corresponding swiss meringue buttercream flavor.
The vanilla layer tastes like a sugar cookie in cake form. The strawberry layer is bursting with fresh strawberries. And the chocolate layer is, well, chocolatey. This cake is definitely a project you need to be well prepared for before beginning, but don't worry, I walk you through everything you need to know below!
For more layer cake recipes, try Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting, Graham Cracker S'mores Cake, Caramel Layer Cake with Vanilla Bean German Buttercream, and Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake.
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Ingredient Notes
- Cake Flour: You can use all-purpose flour if that's all you have on hand, but cake flour gives each layer a beautifully soft, velvety texture!
- Cocoa Powder: For the chocolate cake, you'll need just a touch of cocoa powder. I used dutch process cocoa powder, but you can use what you have on hand.
- Granulated Sugar: Yeah, you're gonna need a lot of this.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder gives each cake layer the rise they need!
- Unsalted Butter: You'll need one stick of butter in total for the cake, and 3 ½ sticks for the buttercream.
- Neutral Oil: Use vegetable or canola oil.
- Whole Milk Plain Yogurt: Always use whole milk plain greek yogurt! Alternatively, you can use sour cream.
- Whole Milk: Be sure to use whole milk! The full fat content adds flavor. Plus, reduced fat milk has fillers and added sugar, which we do not want!
- Vanilla Extract: Don't skimp on the vanilla!
- Eggs: For the vanilla and strawberry cakes, you'll use only egg whites, but for the chocolate cake you'll use a full egg. You'll also need 8 egg whites for the swiss meringue buttercream.
- Chocolate: Use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate to melt and add to the chocolate swiss meringue buttercream.
- Fresh Strawberries: You'll add fresh pureed strawberries to the strawberry cake.
- Strawberry Jam: You'll add strawberry jam to the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream. It doesn't add very much color, so you can add a tiny bit of pink food gel, if you would like.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this Neapolitan cake recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1: Make cake batters and bake. Combine the wet and dry ingredient mixtures for each respective cake batter until you have your batter prepared for your chocolate layer, strawberry layer, and vanilla layer. Bake the chocolate layer for 32-35 minutes, the strawberry layer for 28-30 minutes, and the vanilla layer for 25-28 minutes.
STEP 2: Make buttercreams and assemble. Make your swiss meringue, then divide it into three parts and mix in the strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla fillings respectively. Layer the chocolate cake on the bottom, spreading chocolate buttercream on top, followed by the strawberry layer and buttercream, and then the vanilla.
Expert Baking Tips
- I recommend splitting up the components as much as possible. Make the cake layers the day before you would like to decorate it. Wrap each layer in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use. Plus, decorating with frozen cake layers is much easier and doesn't require a crumb coat!
- DO NOT add the butter to the swiss meringue until it has cooled down to below 85 degrees F. I have made the mistake of adding it too soon, and the meringue ended up melting the butter and turned the whole thing into a soupy mess. If your meringue has reached stiff peaks before it is cool enough, turn the mixer down to low speed and keep it there until it reaches the right temperature.
- To ensure completely flat cake layers use cake strips on the outside of your pans. I like the ones by Wilton! Cake strips ensure that the cake bakes evenly, rather than the outside of the cake baking faster than the center, which makes the cake rise more in the center. If you bake cakes often, these are a very good investment! You can also make DIY ones by wrapping wet paper towels with aluminum foil and wrapping them around the cake pans.
- Notice that each of the cake recipes call for different bake times. These bake times may differ for you, as all ovens are different. The best way to tell if a cake is done is by inserting a tooth pick to see of it comes out clean, pressing the top of the cake to see if it springs back, or seeing if the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan.
Recipe FAQs
This cake is made with three separate recipes for each layer. I chose not to use one base cake recipe that you separate into three bowls, adding strawberry to one, cocoa powder to another, and leaving the last plain. If I did this, then the the liquid to dry ratios would be off, and the result would most likely be a soggy strawberry cake and a dried out chocolate cake. Each batter also uses a different mixing method.
Nope! For the swiss meringue buttercream, you will make just one recipe, divide it in three, and add vanilla to the first, strawberry jam to the second, and chocolate to the third.
Store cake slices in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
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📖 Recipe
Neapolitan Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake:
- 90 g cake flour
- 84 g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 38 g unsalted butter, room temp
- 32 g neutral oil, room temp
- 56 g plain greek yogurt, room temp
- 56 g whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg white, room temp
For the Strawberry Cake:
- 90 g cake flour
- 84 g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 38 g unsalted butter, room temp
- 32 g neutral oil
- 38 g plain greek yogurt, room temp
- 38 g whole milk, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 86 g fresh strawberries, pureed
- 1 egg white, room temp
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 70 g cake flour
- 22 g cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 38 g unsalted butter, room temp
- 90 g granulated sugar
- 32 g neutral oil
- 1 egg, room temp
- 56 g plain greek yogurt, room temp
- 56 g whole milk, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 280 g egg whites, about 8
- 430 g granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 396 g unsalted butter, 3 ½ sticks (room temp, but on the cooler side)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80 g strawberry jam, room temp
- 165 g semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, then whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl combine the oil, yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
- Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.
- Add half of the wet ingredients to the dry, then scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg white to soft peaks. Gently fold it into the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-28 minutes.
For the Strawberry Cake:
- Grease and line a 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, then whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl combine the oil, yogurt, milk, vanilla, and pureed strawberries.
- Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.
- Add half of the wet ingredients to the dry, then scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg white to soft peaks. Gently fold it into the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 28-30 minutes.
For the Chocolate Cake:
- Grease and line a 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then whisk to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for 1-2 minutes. Add the oil and egg and beat on high for 2 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the yogurt-milk mixture to the fat-sugar-egg mixture. Do not over mix. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, then transfer to the prepared pan.
- Bake the chocolate cake for 32-35 minutes.
For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- In a double boiler, heat the egg whites, sugar, and salt, whisking frequently until it reaches 160 degrees F or until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites do not feel grainy.
- Transfer the egg white mixture into a bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. Turn the mixer down to low speed, and wait until the meringue cools down to at least 85 degrees F.
- Cut the butter into cubes and add to the meringue one piece at a time, allowing each piece to fully incorporate before adding the next. Once all of the butter is added, it will likely look curdled, but keep beating for a few more minutes and it will come together.
- Once the buttercream has mostly come together, change the whisk attachment to the paddle and keep mixing on low speed until homogenous and smooth.
- Divide the buttercream equally into three bowls. In the first bowl, stir in vanilla, in the second strawberry jam, and in the third melted chocolate. You can add pink food gel to the strawberry buttercream if you would like.
For Assembly:
- Secure the chocolate cake layer on the cake stand with a small amount of frosting on the bottom. Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to measure out the frosting for each layer. I used a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop and put 3 scoops of frosting on each layer. Add the chocolate buttercream to this layer, then place the strawberry cake layer on top. Add 3, 3tbsp of strawberry buttercream on top, then place the vanilla cake layer on top.
- If your cake layers were frozen overnight (which I highly recommend doing), then there is no need for a crumb coat. For this layered buttercream look, you'll start with the vanilla buttercream on the top and around the sides of the vanilla cake, making it as even and smooth as possible. Take this buttercream as far down as the top of the strawberry cake.
- Next, add the strawberry buttercream, layering over only about an inch of the vanilla buttercream. Do the same thing with the chocolate buttercream.
- Keep the cake at room temperature until ready to serve.
Notes
- I recommend splitting up the components as much as possible. Make the cake layers the day before you would like to decorate it. Wrap each layer in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use. Plus, decorating with frozen cake layers is much easier and doesn't require a crumb coat!
- DO NOT add the butter to the swiss meringue until it has cooled down to below 85 degrees F. I have made the mistake of adding it too soon, and the meringue ended up melting the butter and turned the whole thing into a soupy mess. If your meringue has reached stiff peaks before it is cool enough, turn the mixer down to low speed and keep it there until it reaches the right temperature.
- To ensure completely flat cake layers use cake strips on the outside of your pans. I like the ones by Wilton! Cake strips ensure that the cake bakes evenly, rather than the outside of the cake baking faster than the center, which makes the cake rise more in the center. If you bake cakes often, these are a very good investment! You can also make DIY ones by wrapping wet paper towels with aluminum foil and wrapping them around the cake pans.
- Notice that each of the cake recipes call for different bake times. These bake times may differ for you, as all ovens are different. The best way to tell if a cake is done is by inserting a tooth pick to see of it comes out clean, pressing the top of the cake to see if it springs back, or seeing if the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan.
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