Newlyweds and Neapolitan

Social Sunday

One of my best friends got married over the weekend (congratulations Lindsay and Jason!), and what a beautiful wedding it was. It was in NY, so the weather was much cooler than what we are used to in Florida, but it was fun to dress up in winter-wear again. We even got to see some snow!

Anyway, Lindsay and I met during our internship at Walt Disney World 4 years ago, and we quickly found out that we shared a love for sweets. It was Lindsay's first time living away from her family, and her birthday fell during our program. She was happy to be celebrating her birthday with Mickey Mouse, but also sad that her family wasn't going to be with her. She told of us her birthday tradition of having a Neapolitan layer cake every year and how she was looking forward to having it again when she returned home. To give her a taste of home (literally), our other roommates and I contacted Lindsay's mom and asked for the recipe to that delicious sounding Neapolitan cake. Our plan was to make it while she was at work and surprise her with a birthday celebration when she got back. The recipe is tricky because it involves halving boxed cake mixes and piling on 3 cake layers making it a very tall. What a fun time we had preparing it and all of the other birthday surprises! Our internship time together was unforgettable, and it was due to the amazing girls I got to share it with while living together for those quick 5 months. This edition of Social Sunday goes to my dear Lindsay Sitter, formerly known as Lindsay Scott. Love you girl!

Neapolitan Cake

Ingredients
-1 box white cake mix
-1 box chocolate cake mix
-8oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
-1 box strawberry cake mix
-1/2 cup chopped strawberries
-8 cups confectioner's sugar
-3 tsp vanilla
-6 tbsp milk
-1/2 cup softened butter

Directions
1. Make white cake according to package instructions for 2-layer 9" cake. Split the batter in half and reserve the other half for something else.
2. Make chocolate cake according to package instructions for 2-layer 9" cake. 
3. In a double boiler over medium-low heat, add chocolate chips stirring constantly until completely melted and smooth. Be sure to remove chocolate from heat immediately after it is all melted so as not to burn the chocolate. 
4. Stir melted chocolate into chocolate cake mix. Split the batter in half and reserve the other half for something else.
5. Make strawberry cake mix according to package instructions for 2-layer 9" cake. 
6. Puree strawberries in a blender.
7. Stir strawberries into strawberry cake mix. Split the batter in half and reserve the other half for something else.
8. Bake the 3 cakes according to boxes' instructions (if different, an average time will do).
9. Mix sugar, vanilla, milk, and butter until well blended leaving you with a frosting-like consistency. For a more liquidy frosting, add more milk.
10. After cakes have cooled completely, layer them in whichever order you would like (we did vanilla on top, strawberry in the middle, and chocolate on the bottom) with your desired amount of frosting in between each layer. There will be extra frosting for you to use for something else.

Wow, was this cake delicious or what?! The simplicity of starting with a boxed cake mix and adding something special to each layer really enhanced the flavors and made this dessert one of my favorites. The cake did not last long in our apartment!

*Use the extra batter from each cake mix and extra frosting to make Neapolitan cupcakes with a little batter in each! What a great way to celebrate with work or school friends without having to share your big and beautiful cake :)
*Use the extra batter from each cake mix and extra frosting to make Neapolitan cake pops!
*Unused batter will last covered in the refrigerator for a few days.