Recipe: 3 Layer Neopolitan Birthday Cake

Do you want to know my big fat secret to this cake.  Duncan Hines Cake Mix.  With a little oomph.

Neopolitan Cake Recipes

CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA

For the chocolate and vanilla layers I used a Duncan Hines Devils Food and a  Duncan Hines French Vanilla mix.  And then I souped them up.

• 1 cake mix
• 1 3.9 oz (small box) instant jello pudding ( choc or vanilla respectively)
• 2 TB flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup applesauce

Combine dry cake mix, pudding and flour in mixing bowl, then dump in everything else.  Mix on low for 1 min, medium for 2 minutes until well combined.  Prepare a 9″ round cake pan with cooking spray and a piece of parchment paper cut to fit.  Pour half the batter into the pan, and then make 12 cupcakes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Or you could make two layers, but I didn’t need five layers of cake.  I didn’t need 24 cupcakes either, but those were easy to deliver to friends and family!

STRAWBERRY

For the Strawberry Layer I used this recipe for pink cupcakes.  It made one 9″ round layer for my cake.  If you think you need ANOTHER 12 cupcakes, double it.

• 1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tea vanilla
• 3/4 cup sliced strawberries. Puree in blender
• 1/4 cup milk (mix with strawberry puree)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tea baking powder
• 1/8 tea salt (omit if you used salted butter)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Combine the sliced strawberries and milk in the blender.  Starting with the wet ingredients, alternately add wet and dry in batches, mixing well after each addition and ending with the last of the dry stuff.  Scrape sides often, and mix well.  Pour into a greased and parchment lined pan and bake for 26-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

DELICIOUS PINK FROSTING

I started by whipping about a cup and a half of whipping cream into very stiff peaks with a few drops of red food coloring.  Then I beat together in my mixer 1 8 oz package of neufatchel cheese (the low fat cream cheese substitute) and a cup of butter.  When that was nice and fluffy I added a splash of vanilla and about half a 32 oz bag of powdered sugar.  Then I folded in the whipped cream, and added more powdered sugar until it was as thick as I wanted it.  I kind of made this up as I went along, I don’t think frosting is an exact science.    It made enough frosting to do this big three layer cake, and frost all 24 cupcakes.  Once your cakes are all completely cooled layer them up with a lot of frosting and decorate! I used Strawberry Whoppers to decorate around the bottom edge of the cake.  After I was done frosting everthing I put the whole cake back in the fridge to help the frosting firm up a bit.  And getting a three layer cake on a pedestal to fit into the fridge was probably the hardest part about the whole cake making experience.  It was time consuming (hello, you are making three different kinds of cake!) but not hard at all.

And it turned out to be a perfectly delicious cake for Creamie’s party.  Enjoy!