Description
A stunning tri-colored dessert featuring chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry layers with rich frosting—perfect for birthdays, celebrations, or whenever you crave a classic twist.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 0.5 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 0.5 teaspoon almond extract
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 0.33 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 0.25 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 0.25 cup cocoa powder
- Pink food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.
- In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.
- Cream butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts.
- Divide batter into three bowls: leave one plain (vanilla), mix cocoa into one (chocolate), and add pink coloring to the third (strawberry).
- Pour each batter into prepared pans and bake 25–30 minutes, rotating halfway. Toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Beat butter for frosting, then gradually add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Divide: mix cocoa into one, leave one plain, and tint one pink.
- Assemble by layering chocolate with chocolate frosting, then vanilla with vanilla frosting, and top with pink layer. Frost the entire cake with remaining frosting.
Notes
Cool layers completely before frosting. Use natural pink coloring if preferred. Crumb-coat for best results.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 485
- Sugar: 65g
- Sodium: 285mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 78g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 95mg
Keywords: neapolitan cake, chocolate vanilla strawberry, tri-flavor cake, layer cake, party dessert