This is the original Neapolitan Rose Cake… everything else is just a copy! 🙂 This cake is always a showstopper. Not only are people in love with how it looks, but who can resist vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate? Don’t miss my 50 Best Cake Recipes if you love baking!
Neapolitan Cake (Box Mix Version)
There is a lot going on with this cake so I recommend starting out with cake mix. Meaning, bake 1 box of white cake in two 8-inch round cake pans, 1 box of strawberry cake in two 8-inch round cake pans, then 1 box of chocolate cake in two 8-inch round cake pans. You will only need one layer of each (1 white, 1 strawberry, 1 chocolate) so be sure to wrap up the other layers tight and freeze until the next time you want to make this amazing cake!
Neapolitan Cake (From-Scratch Version)
If you happen to want to make this cake from scratch I recommend baking one day then assembling and decorating the next.
I made my perfect chocolate cake, a strawberry cake, and a white cake in 8-in round cake pans. I added pink food color to my from-scratch strawberry cake to ensure it was a gorgeous shade that matched the buttercream.
Neapolitan Buttercream
I used the basic buttercream recipe below for the white and strawberry layers. Prepare your buttercream as directed and then divide into 2 bowls. One will stay white (vanilla) and the other will be tinted pink. I also added strawberry extract to the pink buttercream so it would taste like it looks!
For the chocolate, I made a 1/2 batch of my favorite Chocolate Buttercream. You can make a full batch and freeze it with your other chocolate cake layer to save steps for the next time you prepare this cake! When freezing buttercream I place it in an airtight pastry bag, seal it, then drop that into a plastic bag. Allow it to come to room temperature before piping.
Rosette Cake
To pipe this cake I started by placing my remaining buttercream (after you have added frosting between the layers and done a light crumb coat) into pastry bags fitted with 1M or 2D tips. Start and the bottom of the cake with chocolate and begin by piping a rosette. I like to end the rosette on top, leaving the “tail” where it will be hidden by the next row. Try to begin and end each flower in the same way to have a consistent overall look. You can find detailed information on a Rose Cake Tutorial here.
Next time I make this cake I will start by placing my chocolate cake on the cake stand and covering it with chocolate buttercream, not the strawberry as I did for the pictures.
Basic Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
- 32 ounces confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons whole milk, up to ½ cup
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Beat butter in bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. (about 3 minutes)
- Add vanilla extract.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in confectioners' sugar, milk, and salt; frequently scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Once incorporated, whip frosting for at least 3 minutes on medium-high to high. (My mixer went for 7 minutes)
- If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in additional milk.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I am TOTALLY IN LOVE with this cake – its my birthday on the 4th June and i would LOVE to be able to make this for myself and my friends!
Any chance you could give the full sponge and all recipe?!!?
Love Katharyn xxx
Superb! I will be trying to make this Friday for a Saturday birthday party….Thanks for sharing this…it’s so awesome of you.
I made this and it was a great hit at the birthday party. Of course mine was not nearly as pretty as your but it sure tasted good and I enjoyed the fun of making it. I will make it again and this time try harder at making mine as pretty as yours! Thanks again for the post.
Janet
I´ve just started taking my baking a bit more seriously and I have to say congratulations! you are really inspiring. I would love to be able to do all the great things you do! maybe some day… Thanks for sharing this cake, I´ll try and make it for my mom as well!
Amazing! I missed this on instagram which is just as well else I would have been salivating over it all night. The rose design is also in Fiona Cairns birthday cake book too. It is on my list to do as I would love to try an ombre one but am not sure where to start but that is half the fun!
Hi! I am so thankful for kind and supportive readers who reach out and offer up encouragement in spite of it all. 🙂
Wow, wow, wow! I love it! It’s gorgeous as always!!!!
Absolutely stunning! I am really going to give this a try sometime soon. If you hear loud crying and gnashing of teeth south of you, you’ll know it didn’t go well. 🙂
xo
Pat
WOW! I am floored. I may need to do this for mother’s day. Thanks for all the inspiration, Amanda!
Oh my goodness. I fainted too! I made your rose cake for our baby girl’s first birthday. She was born on Valentine’s Day, so the only cake I could possible make was the rose cake. It wasn’t as pretty as yours, but I got so many compliments on it…and I am NOT a cake decorator by any means. And thank goodness it was easy too…I already had a Wilton 1M tip. Thank you for the cakes…keep ’em coming!
So, are you saying that you invented the rose technique? If so, that’s pretty cool. I’m a big fan of it.
I am saying that I was the first to cover an entire cake in them. The rose “technique” existed before my cake simply because the 1M tip existed! People used them on cupcakes only. I was the first to use the 1M tip all over a cake. I didnt actually know that until *after* I made it! And thank you! 🙂
That’s HUGE!!! The allover technique is EVERYTHING! That’s really a big accomplishment. It’s like a cake frosting movement and you started it 🙂
lol you are too cute! I like the way you think. 🙂
I am absolutely in love with this cake and I’m planning on making it for my Mum for mother’s day this weekend.
I’m in Australia and our measurements are slightly different – would you please be able to tell me what the weight equivalent of a cup of butter for the buttercream would be? I really don’t want to get it wrong!
Many thanks.
Here, hope this helps! 🙂
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=cup+of+butter+is+how+many+ounces&btnK=