How to Make Neapolitan Cake with Boxed Cake Mix
Bakery-style cakes don’t have to be hard to make — and this Neapolitan Cake is the perfect example! Using boxed cake mix, this classic layered cake creates that iconic Neapolitan color and flavor with ease. It’s simple to make and perfect for any celebration where cake is required (and honestly, when isn’t cake required?).
If you looking for another fun and colorful recipe, try our Funfetti Buttercream Frosting that will make any dessert feel like a party!
Ingredients Needed:
- Vanilla Cake Mix
- Vanilla Ice Cream, Melted
- Strawberry Ice Cream, Melted
- Chocolate Ice Cream, Melted
- Eggs, Room Temperature
- Vegetable Oil
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Strawberry Flavoring (I Use LorAnn Oils Strawberry Flavor)
- Pink Gel Food Coloring (I Use Chefmaster Neon Brite Pink)
- Confectioners’ Sugar
- Unsalted Butter, Partially Melted (Warmer Than Room Temperature But Not Fully Melted)
- Heavy Cream
- Vanilla Extract
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this Neapolitan Cake taste like?
This Neapolitan Cake has a light airy texture. It’s a fluffy and slightly crumby cake. When baked properly, the crumbs are moist and airy but not dry. It has a nice combination of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate in each bite.
Do I microwave the ice cream or let it melt in bowls on the counter?
The ice cream should be left out on the counter to soften at room temperature. Split the colors of ice cream up into separate bowls before letting it sit out to melt. Microwaving the ice cream would separate the fat from the other ingredients.
Why do some ingredients in this Neapolitan Cake need to be room temperature, melted or softened?
Using ingredients that are all around the same temperature help the cake batter to blend together properly.
Using partially melted butter in the frosting helps to bring the frosting to an easy to pipe consistency.
Why does my baked Neapolitan Cake taste so dry?
Typically a cake that bakes up dry means too many dry ingredients were added or the cake was baked for too long. Since the majority of dry ingredients are already measured for you in the boxed cake mix, a dry Neapolitan Cake is likely due to over baking. Use a toothpick to check for doneness of the cake. If a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean without wet batter stuck to it, the cake is done baking. If your oven tends to run hotter than others, start checking for doneness at 28 minutes instead of the 30 minutes called for in this recipe.
Why didn’t my Neapolitan Cake rise?
Since this cake uses a boxed mix that includes any baking soda or baking powder needed, if your cake doesn’t rise it may mean that the boxed cake mix was expired. Check the best before date on the box before starting the recipe.
Another common reason for a cake to not rise properly is that the batter is too wet. Use a food scale to measure all the ingredients so that too many wet ingredients aren’t added in error.
This cake is designed to be baked in a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan. If baked in a smaller pan, the cake will overflow and not rise properly.
Why did my Neapolitan Cake sink in the middle once cooled?
Cakes that sink in the middle once taken out of the oven are usually under baked. Before removing the cake from the oven to cool, check for doneness using a toothpick. If a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with wet batter stuck to it, the cake needs a few more minutes of baking time.
My frosting is too thick to pipe. Help!
If this frosting is too hard to pipe, try mixing in an additional tablespoon or two of heavy cream until the desired consistency is reached.
Helpful Information:
- For the best results, use a food scale to measure all ingredients.
- Be sure to use ice cream, not ice milk or frozen dessert. For the most cost effective recipe, buy a Neapolitan ice cream then use separate clean spoons to scoop out the vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice creams separately.
- The flavoring I use is the LorAnn Oils Strawberry Flavor which is a super strength flavoring. If you are using something not quite as potent, you may want to double the amount of flavoring you use.
Neapolitan Cake
Ingredients
For The Cake:
- 1 box vanilla cake mix 375 grams
- 1/3 cup vanilla ice cream melted, (80 ml)
- 1/3 cup strawberry ice cream melted, (80 ml)
- 1/3 cup chocolate ice cream melted, (80 ml)
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60 ml)
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (5 grams)
- 1/8 teaspoon strawberry flavoring I use LorAnn Oils Strawberry Flavor
- pink gel food coloring I use Chefmaster Neon Brite Pink
For The Frosting:
- 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar (420 grams )
- 1 cup unsalted butter warmer than room temperature but not fully melted, (227 grams)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (60 ml)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (15 ml)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (10 grams)
- 1/8 teaspoon strawberry flavoring I use LorAnn Oils Strawberry Flavor
- pink gel food coloring I use Chefmaster Neon Brite Pink
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside for now.
- Split the dry cake mix evenly into 3 separate medium-sized bowls (125 grams of dry cake mix per bowl).
- In the first bowl, combine 125 grams of the dry cake mix, vanilla ice cream, 1 egg and 1/3 of the vegetable oil (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon = 20 ml). Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 1 minute until combined well. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In the second bowl, combine 125 grams of the dry cake mix, strawberry ice cream, 1 egg, 1/3 of the vegetable oil (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon = 20 ml), strawberry flavor and 1 drop of pink food coloring. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 1 minute until combined well. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The amount of food coloring you use depends on how bright you want the pink cake batter to be.
- In the third bowl, combine 125 grams of the dry cake mix, chocolate ice cream, 1 egg, 1/3 of the vegetable oil (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon = 20 ml) and cocoa powder. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 1 minute until combined well. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Using 3 separate spoons (1 spoon per cake batter), drop spoonfuls of batter into the prepared cake pan in a random pattern alternating between the 3 different colors of cake batter. These spoonfuls should be small enough that when you cut slices of the baked cake you’ll have some vanilla, strawberry and chocolate cake in each piece.
- To smooth out the batter before baking, give the bottom of the filled cake pan a few light taps on the counter to settle the batter into an even level.
- Bake for 30 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely before adding frosting.
For The Frosting:
- Place the confectioners’ sugar, butter, heavy cream and vanilla extract into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, start beating the mixture on a low speed until you no longer see dry streaks of confectioners’ sugar. Then increase the speed to high and beat for 5 minutes (using a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl often) until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Separate the frosting into 3 separate bowls (about 230 grams per bowl).
- Leave one bowl as is – this will be the vanilla frosting.
- For the second bowl, beat in the pink food coloring and the strawberry flavor until well combined. The amount of pink food coloring you use depends on how bright you want the pink frosting.
- For the third bowl, beat in the unsweetened cocoa powder until well combined.
- Place the frostings into 3 separate icing piping bags. You can do this with or without piping tips. For this cake design, I used Wilton 21 and Wilton 22 piping tips.
- Pipe stripes of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate frosting vertically lengthwise down the cake. Make thin stripes so that each slice of cake gets a bit of each flavor of frosting.
- Store leftover cake in a sealed food-safe container at room temperature for up to 3 days.