Neapolitan Pound Cake

This ice cream-inspired Neapolitan Pound Cake has amazing chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavor and looks beautiful when sliced!

We have a Neapolitan Layer Cake in our Cake Recipes section that we love, and this pound cake recipe is just as delicious!

Whether you are baking this Neapolitan Pound Cake for a birthday party, potluck, or just because- it is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

How to Make a Neapolitan Pound Cake

This Neapolitan Pound Cake is based in part on our Classic Pound Cake- it is ultra moist and buttery, has a fine crumb, and wonderful flavor.

If you love pound cake recipes, you will love this cake with its layers of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.

You can find the full, printable recipe further down in this post, but here is a rundown of our steps!

For the Strawberry Reduction

Puree Strawberries & Heat: The strawberry reduction is an optional step but we wanted some "real" strawberry flavor in our cake.

We liquified about 6 strawberries in a blender to make ½ cup of puree and heated in a saucepan for about 10-15 minutes to cook it down to ¼ cup.

A reduction like this enhances the strawberry flavor while also reducing the amount of liquid. Allow this to cool before using in the recipe.

Additional Strawberry Flavor

In addition to the strawberry reduction, we felt that the strawberry batter needed an extra flavor boost- so we also added powdered Strawberry Jello. (You could substitute ¾ teaspoon strawberry extract for the Jello powder).

Time Saving Option for Strawberry Layer

If you don't have time to do a strawberry reduction, or if you'd just rather not, simply flavor your batter with only Jello powder (4 teaspoons) or Strawberry extract (¾ teaspoon) it will still be delicious!

For the Neapolitan Pound Cake Batter

1. Prepare the Pan: Grease and flour a tube pan.

2. Preheat: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3. Flour Mixture: In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt to combine. Set aside for later.

4. Butter and Sugar: Cream the butter with the paddle attachment in your mixer, gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Eggs: Add the eggs one at a time blending after each to incorporate.

6. Milk Mixture: Add the vanilla extract to the 1 cup of milk.

7. Adding Dry and Wet Ingredients: With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the butter, sugar, egg mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. We add the dry ingredients three times and milk twice. Mix just until combined.

8. Divide Cake Batter: Divide the batter between three bowls (We left the vanilla batter in the mixing bowl). Using a measuring cup for dry ingredients, we scooped approximately 2.5 cups of batter into one bowl, 2.5 cups of batter into another bowl, and the remaining approximately 3 cups of batter stayed in the mixing bowl (this remaining batter will not be tinted- it will be our vanilla layer).

9. For the Strawberry Batter: Stir the ¼ cup of the cooled strawberry reduction into one of the bowls of vanilla batter until well blended. We felt that it needed an additional boost of strawberry flavor and so we also stirred in 3 teaspoons of strawberry Jello powder. You could also use ¾ teaspoon of Strawberry Extract instead of Jello Powder. * See Notes. Add a touch of pink coloring gel to achieve desired shade of pink

10. For the Chocolate Batter: Dissolve 2.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder into 2.5 tablespoons of very hot water. Allow to sit for a few minutes. Stir this mixture into one of the bowls of vanilla batter until well blended to create chocolate batter.

11. Layer the Batter: Spread the strawberry batter into the bottom of a bundt pan, smoothing with the back of a spoon.

12. Next, pour and spread the chocolate batter right on top of the strawberry, gently smoothing to completely cover the first layer.

13. Finally, spread the vanilla cake batter on top, gently spreading with the back of a spoon.

14. Time to Bake! Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

15. This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of cake batter.

16. Allow the pound cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before flipping out onto wire rack.

Decorating the Neapolitan Pound Cake

• You can decorate the cake however you like! We made a simple chocolate glaze (ganache) in the microwave to add drips of chocolate to our cake, as well as a simple vanilla glaze.

• We tinted a portion of our vanilla glaze pink so that all flavor colors were represented ;0)

• We applied the glazes with three disposable piping bags with the tip snipped away- one for each color.

• Using a piping bag will give you the most control, although you can also just spoon on the glaze if you'd like!

Another option instead of using a glaze is just a dusting of powdered sugar (lightly tapped through a sifter).

As always, a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream is always a great way to top a slice of pound cake! We hope that you enjoy this recipe!

Such a pretty slice!

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this Neapolitan Pound Cake as much as we have.

If you love pound cakes, we have so many more to share with you! Some our most popular are: Buttermilk Pound Cake, Sour Cream Pound Cake, Lemon Pound Cake, and Strawberry Pound Cake.

We also have a delicious Strawberry Shortcake with Pound Cake recipe!

Neapolitan Pound Cake

BY Melissa and Bebe

This moist ice cream-inspired Neapolitan Pound Cake has amazing chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavor!

Course: Dessert

Servings: 15

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Ingredients

• ▢ 3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 3 cups (600g) sugar
• ▢ 5 large eggs, room temperature (If in a hurry, you can place the eggs into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.)
• ▢ 3 cups (375g) all purpose flour, (not self-rising)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (2g) salt
• ▢ 1 cup (235g) whole milk
• ▢ 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract

For the Strawberry Batter

• ▢ These are add-ins after batter has been divided into bowls
• ▢ ¼ cup Strawberry Reduction Reduced from ½ cup strawberry puree- about 5-6 strawberries.
• ▢ Strawberry Flavor- In addition to the strawberry reduction you can also add 2-3 teaspoons Strawberry Jell-O powder or ¾ teaspoon Strawberry extract for an added boost of strawberry flavor. (See Notes for reduction alternative)
• ▢ Pink coloring gel for desired shade of pink cake batter and glaze.

For the Chocolate Batter

• ▢ These are add-ins after batter has been divided into bowls
• ▢ 2 ½ Tablespoons (18g) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• ▢ 2 ½ Tablespoons (36g) very hot water

For the Vanilla Glaze (tinted pink & white)- Optional

• ▢ 1 cup (115g) confectioner's sugar (measure then sift)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 to 3 Tablespoons milk 28g to 42g

For the Chocolate Glaze

• ▢ 2 oz Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate
• ▢ 1 oz Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream

Instructions

• For the Strawberry Reduction
• For the Strawberry Reduction: Puree approximately 5-6 Strawberries (fresh or frozen) in a blender to create ½ cup of strawberry puree (liquified strawberries). *See Notes
• Pour ½ cup of the strawberry puree into a small saucepan and simmer over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes or until reduced to ¼ cup- stir frequently. Set aside and allow to cool. This can be made in advance and refrigerated if you'd like. **See Notes for reduction alternative

For the Cake Batter

• Grease and flour a tube pan. (I used a 15 cup bundt pan. If you use a smaller one, just make sure that there is at least 1 ¼ inches between the top of your cake batter and top of pan before baking.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt to combine. Set aside for later.
• Cream the butter with the paddle attachment in your mixer, gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time blending after each to incorporate.
• Add the vanilla to one cup of milk.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the butter, sugar, egg mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. We add the dry ingredients three times and milk twice. Mix just until combined.
• Divide the batter between three bowls (We left the vanilla batter in the mixing bowl). Using a measuring cup for dry ingredients, we scooped approximately 2.5 cups of batter into one bowl, 2.5 cups of batter into another bowl, and the remaining 3 cups of batter stayed in the mixing bowl (this remaining batter will not be tinted).

For the Strawberry Batter

• Stir the ¼ cup of strawberry reduction into one of the bowls of vanilla batter until well blended. We felt that it needed an additional boost of strawberry flavor and so we also stirred in 3 teaspoons of strawberry Jello powder. You could also use ¾ teaspoon of Strawberry Extract instead of Jello Powder. * See Notes
• Add a touch of pink coloring gel to achieve desired shade of pink

For the Chocolate Batter:

•  Dissolve 2.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder into 2.5 tablespoons of very hot water. Allow to sit for a few minutes. Stir this mixture into one of the bowls of vanilla batter until well blended to create chocolate batter.

Layer the Batter

• Spread the strawberry batter into the bottom of a bundt pan, smoothing with the back of a spoon. Next, pour and spread the chocolate batter right on top of the strawberry, gently smoothing to completely cover the first layer. Finally, spread the vanilla cake batter on top, gently spreading with the back of a spoon.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of batter.
• Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack before turning out.

For the Vanilla Glaze

• Stir ingredients until smooth.  If it becomes too thin, you can add more confectioners sugar. If the glaze is thicker than you'd like, add additional milk just a few drops at a time. 
• Put half of the glaze (or less if you want less pink drips) and tint with a small amount of pink coloring gel. Put each color of glaze into a disposable piping bag and snip the tip when you are ready to apply to the cake. (If you don't have a piping bag, you can spoon it over the cake, or add to a ziplock bag with the corner snipped away).

For the Chocolate Glaze

• Combine the 2 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate and 1 oz. heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave in small increments (30 seconds or less), stirring occasionally in between, until the chocolate is *almost* completely melted.
• Then, allow to sit a minute or two and gently stir to melt any remaining pieces of chocolate. Cool the ganache to desired consistency for dripping. We like to apply the drip using a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away. (If you aren't doing the vanilla glaze, and would like extra chocolate glaze, you can double this recipe).

Decorating the Cake

• We applied the vanilla glaze (tinted pink & white) as well as the chocolate glaze to our cooled cake using disposable piping bags with the tip snipped away. (You could substitute ziplock bags with a corner snipped away, or even just drizzle the glaze on with a spoon.)
• We hope that you enjoy this recipe!

Notes

We wanted to use the strawberry reduction to add a little "real" strawberry flavor in the cake. However, if you don't have strawberries on hand or would just rather not do the reduction, you can also get strawberry flavor by stirring in Strawberry Jello powder or adding Strawberry extract. You can just slightly increase the amount called for in the recipe.

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