When I started off baking, I always stuck to the basics; vanilla or chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. It was fun, easy to make, and tasted good, which is always the most important thing. However, as the years went on, I thought that I needed to improve upon my simple recipes, elevating them to a new standard. The best way to do this was to better my recipe and my technique, improving on the overall flavor and look of the cake. I modified my cake recipe and changed my classic american buttercream to an italian meringue buttercream. It took a few years, but I finally came upon recipes that I liked and was willing to call my own.

A few weeks ago, I used these new recipes to make my sister’s birthday cake, a neapolitan cake. It took a little bit of time, but it was definitely a hit among a bunch of 5 year olds and their parents. Putting these cakes together was a good way to spice the things up, and a great way to get interest among people. So if you are looking for a simple snack or a birthday masterpiece, this is definitely your recipe.

Ingredients:

Other Tolls:

• Electric Mixer with a Paddle and Whisk attachment
• 2 8’’ round cake pans
• Saucepan
• Candy Thermometer
• Spatula
• Offset Spatula
• Food Processor
• Parchment Paper

Instructions:

Start off by preheating the oven to 350, then prepare your cake pans. Line the bottom of your pans with parchment paper. Now after all this prep will can make our cakes, starting with vanilla. To make the vanilla cake:

• In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
• Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate container
• In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 4-6 minutes
• Add the egg whites one at a time to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix again
• Alternate adding the flour mixture in 4 parts and the milk mixture in 3 parts, starting and ending with flour
• Pour the batter into one lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean

While the vanilla cake bakes, wash up the mixing bowl so we can make the chocolate layer of our Neapolitan Cake. To make the chocolate cake:

• Boil the water, then mix with the cocoa powder. After allowing the mixture to cool for a few minutes, add the milk and vanilla extract
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt
• In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 4-6 minutes
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix again
• Alternate adding the flour mixture in 4 parts and the chocolate mixture in 3 parts, starting and ending with flour
• Pour the batter into the other lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean

After both the cakes are baked, allow them to cool, in their pans for at least an hour. During this time, we can make our strawberry italian meringue buttercream. To make the buttercream:

• Blend up the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor.

• Cut up the butter into pieces, about 10 per stick
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water and mix with a rubber spatula
• Turn the burner on medium and heat until the temperature reaches 240°. This should take about 5-7 minutes
• While the sugar syrup heats up, beat the egg whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks, 3-4 minutes
• When the sugar reaches the right temperature and the eggs are at the right stiffness, slowly add the sugar to the egg whites. The mixer should be on high speed during this process.
• Allow this meringue mixture to mix for about 4 minutes to cool down
• Slowly add the butter, a piece at a time, and mix well after each audition. This will take awhile, and the mixture will not look like its coming together, but I promise it will. Also don’t be alarmed if it looks split at one point, that just means that it is about to form into the perfect buttercream.
• When the mixture in smooth, add in the vanilla extract, and mix for another minute
• Add the strawberry powder, and mix until combined

After your buttercream is made, and your cakes are cooled, it time to decorate!!! This is one of the tricky parts of making a cake, because it is all about the look. Knowing how to frost a cake is an art, it takes time and practice to get it right, so don’t be afraid if the first cake you make doesn’t look the best. Here is a short list of steps that need to be followed to get a cake as perfect as possible:

1. Level your cakes but cutting off the dome that appears on the top of them. This makes the cake be flat when you are decorating, and not bumped.
2. Place the vanilla cake onto a plate and center it
3. Add an even layer of strawberry buttercream to the top of the cake
4. Place the layer of chocolate cake onto the buttercream, centering it with the vanilla cake.
5. Frost the cake with a thin layer of buttercream, and place it in the fridge to cool.
6. After about 20-30 minutes of cooling, take the cake out of the fridge and apply another thicker layer of buttercream to the cake.
7. Smooth out the cake, then place it back in the fridge to cool

While the cake is cooling in the fridge, you need to make your ganache topping to drip from the top of the cake. To make the ganache:

• Chop up the milk chocolate into small pieces and place in a small bowl
• Warm up the heavy cream in the microwave until it almost boils. This should take about 30 seconds
• Pour the warmed cream on top of the chocolate, and leave to sit
• After about 5 minutes, stir everything together to create a smooth chocolate ganache.
• If some of the chocolate isn’t melted, microwave again on 10 second burst, stirring every time until the ganache is smooth.
• Allow the ganache to cool on the countertop

After the ganache is made and cooled, and then cake has chilled in the fridge for about 45 minutes, it is time to finish the cake. To finish the cake:

• Take your cake out of the fridge and quickly pour the ganache into the direct center of the cake
• Allow the ganache to drip down the sides of the cake, forming a drip pattern along the edges
• Place any decoration you want onto the cake, like sprinkles, then put the cake back into the fridge
• When it is time to serve the cake, take it out of the fridge and put candles into the cake

Congrats, you did it! The cake took a while, but it is finally finished and the best part is finally here. YOU GET TO EAT THE CAKE!

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Bakers call this a crumb coat, because it locks all the crumbs into the bottom layer of buttercream, so the finish on the cake with be smooth and crumb free.