Neapolitan Layer Cake

Happy Easter!!! And of course, Happy 3rd birthday to my sweet baby girl! I can't believe how time flies. Because today is Easter, we decided to celebrate my daughter's birthday next weekend. So we'll be taking her to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. However, we still wanted to commemorate her special day. So aside from the festivities of Easter and the Easter Egg Hunt, I wanted to make something special for her. I came across this Neapolitan Layer Cake from Annie's Eats about 2 months ago. The first thing I thought when I saw this was how beautiful the cake looked and how my daughter would love it because its pink! I had to make it a point to make it for her birthday.

This was quite a complicated recipe that consisted of 5 components: the chocolate cake, the vanilla cake, the strawberry cake, the vanilla buttercream that went in between the layers, and finally the strawberry buttercream that topped off the cake. When I studied the recipe, I started to get intimidated. So I wanted to do some sort of practice run by making the strawberry portion of this cake and made them into Strawberry Cupcakes. When the cupcakes turned out well, I became relieved and even more excited to make the cake.

It actually took me 2 days to make this cake. One day was used to bake the cakes and layer the cakes with the vanilla buttercream. The other day was used to frost the whole thing. I tackled the cakes by baking them all at the same time because the temperature and amount of time it required to bake were the same. And then I used a lot of butter for both buttercreams. So this cake is, by no means, for the diet-conscious. Like me and hubby. But it was for our daughter. So a few more calories won't hurt.

I was very pleased with the way the cake turned out. It looked so pretty with all the different layers of cake. I'm not a cake decorator, so the cake did have a few rough edges as far as the exterior appearance, but it was still delicious. It was well received by everyone who had it. The birthday girl didn't have much of the cake. She was busy with the Easter Egg Hunt and all the gifts she received today. But I hope someday she'll appreciate all the little things I do for her. Happy Birthday, my little munchkin! I love you ♥

Chocolate Cake

3/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

6 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 large egg

1/2 cup black coffee

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Grease and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of round parchment/wax paper.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, oil and egg. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Blend in coffee, buttermilk, and vanilla extract just until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Pour into prepared baking pan and set aside while making the other cakes.

White Cake

2 large egg whites

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup very cold water

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1) Grease and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of round parchment/wax paper.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium high and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer eggs into another bowl and set aside.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and butter and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Lower the mixer to low speed and beat in dry ingredients just until incorporated. Blend in water, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients just until incorporated. With a silicone spatula, stir in about a quarter of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until the batter is smooth and no streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and set aside.

Strawberry Cake

1 1/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 packet of strawberry gelatin

1 stick butter at room temperature

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup sweetened strawberry puree (fresh or frozen strawberry that is pureed and sweetened with a little sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of round parchment/wax paper.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, butter and strawberry gelatin. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat eggs into the sugar mixture, one at a time , mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Blend in the milk and vanilla extract. Add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Blend in the strawberry puree.

3) Pour batter into prepared pan. Place pans with chocolate, white and strawberry cake batter in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cakes are done when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen from the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack to cook completely. Once cakes have completely cooled cut the cake horizontally into 2 thin layers. Set aside.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

1) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter on medium-high until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vanilla extract and continue beating for another 15 seconds. Lower the speed to medium-low and slowly add confectioner's sugar and salt until most of the sugar is moistened. Add cream and beat on medium-high until it becomes light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically as needed.

1) Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently , until mixture reaches 160 deg F and sugar has dissolved.

2) Transfer mixture into bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes (mixing bowl should be cool to touch).

3) Reduce speed to medium and add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (or longer. It will eventually come together). Blend in strawberry puree until smooth and completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

To assemble cake

1) Place one of the cake layers on the bottom of a cake board or cake platter. Top with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream. Place a layer of strawberry cake on top and top with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream. Place a layer of white cake on top and top with another thin layer of vanilla buttercream. Repeat the process with the remaining strawberry and then chocolate cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the strawberry buttercream. Transfer the remaining strawberry buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip for detailing as desired.