Description
A nostalgic and visually stunning three-layer cake featuring distinct chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors, finished with a rich, fresh strawberry buttercream frosting made from real fruit.
Ingredients
Scale
- 450g (3 ½ cups) All-Purpose Flour
- 500g (2 ½ cups) Granulated Sugar
- 225g (1 cup) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 4 large Eggs, room temperature
- 360ml (1 ½ cups) Whole Milk
- 2 tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 60g (¾ cup) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 450g (1 lb) Fresh Strawberries
- 480ml (2 cups) Heavy Cream, cold
- 120g (1 cup) Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted
- 115g (½ cup) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder and Salt (for batter)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Dust lightly with flour.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, cream room-temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla bean paste.
- Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
- Divide batter equally among three bowls. Leave one plain (vanilla). Add cocoa powder to the second bowl. Add 100g finely chopped fresh strawberries to the third bowl.
- Pour batters into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate pans halfway through.
- Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- For frosting: Hull and halve 350g strawberries. Toss with 2 tbsp sugar and macerate for 15 minutes. Blend and strain to make ½ cup puree. Cool to room temperature.
- In a chilled bowl, whip heavy cream and softened butter until soft peaks form.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cooled strawberry puree. Whip on high until stiff peaks form.
- Assemble cake: Place vanilla layer on plate, frost, add chocolate layer, frost, add strawberry layer. Cover entire cake with remaining frosting and smooth sides.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Notes
Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature except the heavy cream for frosting. Do not frost warm cake as the frosting will melt. Macerating strawberries is crucial to prevent watery frosting. The cake improves in flavor after sitting in the fridge overnight.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 40
- Sodium: 220
- Fat: 28
- Saturated Fat: 17
- Carbohydrates: 52
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 6
Keywords: Neapolitan cake, strawberry frosting, layer cake, homemade cake, strawberry dessert, vanilla cake, chocolate cake, party dessert