This soft Neapolitan Marble Cake is swirled with vanilla, strawberry and chocolate and topped with strawberry icing. It looks fancy, but it’s easy to make! Everyone will love this beautiful, delicious cake.
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This neapolitan cake is a beautiful cake flavored with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. It looks fancy but is made with one batter. You’ll love the three flavors and fluffy, moist texture!
You’ve tried Neapolitan ice cream, but how about the cake? This cake is called a Neapolitan cake because of the three different flavors. The three flavors makes this cake is a crowd pleaser!
For another delicious loaf cake, try my cranberry orange pound cake, peach cobbler pound cake recipe, and chocolate chip loaf pound cake.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- The three flavors are made from just one batter! We start with one vanilla cake batter. Divide it in 3 and leave one part vanilla. We add cocoa powder to one part and stir freeze-dried strawberries into the rest!
- This neapolitan pound cake is beautiful and delicious! Everyone will love it.
- It is tender and moist.
- Strawberry icing makes a pretty, simple and delicious topping! If you love strawberry desserts, try my strawberry pound cake recipe.
Ingredients
Below are useful notes on some of the ingredients used in this recipe for neapolitan cake.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour or cake flour.
- Butter: Butter adds flavor. Use unsalted room temperature butter.
- Sour cream: Full fat, room temperature sour cream. It adds flavor and moisture.
- Milk: Use whole fat toom temperature milk.
- Freeze dried strawberries: Freeze dried strawberries are strawberries that have been sliced and dehydrated. They shouldn’t have any additional ingredients added to them. You can use freeze dried strawberries and pulse them into a fine powder using a food processor or buy them in ready-to-use powder form. You may or may not be able to find freeze dried strawberries at your local grocery store. I have seen them at Target and Amazon also sells them.
- Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened or Dutch processed cocoa powder. Dutch processed cocoa will give you a darker cake with a more intense chocolate taste. Try my raspberry and chocolate cake or chocolate chip zucchini loaf for another chocolatey cake recipe.
For the full list of ingredients and their measurements, please see recipe card below.
Substitutions & Variations
- Swap out whole milk for 2 percent milk.
- Use buttermilk in place of both sour cream and milk.
- Add a few drops of gel or liquid red food coloring to the strawberry batter for a more vibrant color. I prefer gel food coloring.
- For extra strawberry flavor, spread up to 4 tablespoons of strawberry jam over the strawberry layer.
- Enjoy the cake as is. Instead of icing, sprinkle the cooled cake with cocoa powder, freeze dried strawberry powder and/or powdered sugar!
Instructions
Below are directions on how to make this neapolitan cake recipe.
Step 1 (Picture 1 above)–Beat the butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla.
Step 2 (Picture 2 above)– Stir in the dry ingredients alternatively with the sour cream and milk. Stir only until combined. Avoid overmixing.
Step 3 (Picture 3 above)–Combine the cocoa powder and hot water in a bowl. Add the freeze dried strawberry powder to another bowl. Stir 1/3 of the batter into the bowl with cocoa powder and another 1/3 of the vanilla batter into the freeze dried strawberry powder. Leave the remaining 1/3 of the batter plain.
Step 4 (Picture 4 above)–Spread the strawberry batter into the bottom of the loaf pan.
Step 5 (Picture 5 above)– Next, spread the chocolate batter on top.
Step 6 (Picture 6 above)– Top with the vanilla batter. Use a butter knife or skewer to run swirls from side to side and top to bottom. I only ran my knife through a few times. Swirl more for more of a swirled, marbled look. Smooth top of cake before baking.
Step 7 (Picture 7 above)– Bake at 350 F for 50-58 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
Step 8 (Picture 8 above)– Stir ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over the room temperature cake.
Expert Tips
- Avoid overmixing. Stir the dry ingredients and the cocoa powder and freeze dried strawberries into the cake til just combined. Overmixing can give the cake a tough texture.
- Keep an eye on your cake. Oven temperatures can vary and cakes can go from finished to overbaked quickly. Start checking for doneness at around 45 minutes.
- Use a metal pan. I don’t recommend baking with a glass loaf pan.
Recipe FAQs
Like the classic ice cream flavor, Neapolitan cake is made with vanilla, strawberry and chocolate!
I recommend a 9×5 inch loaf pan. A standard 8.5×4.5 inch (1 pound) loaf pan should also work.
Store the neopolitan cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
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Neapolitan Marble Cake
Equipment
- 1 Loaf pan
- Freeze dried strawberry powder
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour all purpose flour can be used as a substitute
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup whole milk room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream room temperature
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder preferably Dutch processed
- ¼ cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons freeze dried strawberry powder
- 3 tablespoons strawberry jam* optional, but recommended for strawberry flavor, see recipe notes
- red gel food coloring use a little to get the color you like
Strawberry Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¾ tablespoon freeze dried strawberry powder
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan, line it with parchment paper leaving excess paper hanging over the sides along the length of the pan and butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir or lightly whisk to combine the sour cream and milk. Set aside.
- Add the cocoa powder to a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the hot water and stir with a spoon or spatula until combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand held mixer), beat the butter and sugar 4-5 minutes, til light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time and mix until combined then add the vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Use a spatula to stir in the dry ingredients alternatively with the sour cream and milk mixture. Stir only until combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Add the freeze dried strawberry powder to a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the bowl (a little more than 1 cup). Don't worry if the batters aren't divided exactly into thirds. Stir the strawberry powder into the batter til combined.
- Add another 1/3 of the vanilla batter to the bowl with the cocoa powder. Stir til combined. Leave the remaining 1/3 of the vanilla batter in the bowl.
- Spread the strawberry batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. For extra strawberry flavor, spread 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry jam over the strawberry batter. The strawberry jam is optional.
- Next, spread the chocolate batter on top. Top the chocolate batter with the vanilla batter. Use a spatula, back of a large spoon or an offset spatula to spread the batter.
- To marble the cake, run a butter knife or skewer to run swirls from side to side and top to bottom. Turn the pan and swirl the knife through the batter one more time. The cake pictured was only lightly marbled. Swirl more for more of a marbled look. Smooth top of cake with a spatula or offset spatula before baking.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 58 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack.
Strawberry Icing
- Stir ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over the room temperature cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
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