A classic childhood snack: the Neapolitan ! Homemade with its vanilla and cocoa sponge cakes, its fine chocolate ganache, and its white icing with chocolate vermicelli... Ultra soft, and so comforting! A real treat for young and old, for dessert or snack.

What you will like about this Neapolitan recipe

flavors : the good taste of vanilla and cocoa combined with a fine, melting chocolate ganache…
texture : super soft, like the original! (but with good ingredients unlike the industrial one)
difficulty level : don't let yourself be impressed by the different stages of making a Neapolitan, it takes a little time, but I assure you that the result is worth it! For speed, I cook the vanilla sponge cake and the cocoa sponge cake in one and the same place. rectangular mold (I created a separation in baking paper) this saves time, and has sponge cakes of the same height.

Homemade Neapolitan recipe - Lilie Bakery

Ingredient details

eggs : it makes medium sized eggs for this recipe. They need to be at room temperature, that’s important.
granulated sugar : I used classic powdered sugar, I didn't want brown sugar to keep a nice color contrast, and preserve the taste of the original Neapolitan.
milk/cream : you need whole milk and 30% whole cream to ensure a very soft Neapolitan.
chocolate sprinkles : they can be found in small bottles in the pastry section of the supermarket.

How to make a homemade Neapolitan?

We grease and shirt one rectangular mold
We put a baking paper separation in the pan
We prepare sponge cake dough
Divide the dough in two : cocoa and vanilla
We pour in the mold on both sides
We bake
We prepare chocolate ganache
We cut the 3 strips of sponge cake
We cover them with ganache to stick them to each other
We cut the sides Neapolitan so that it looks beautiful!
We prepare white icing
Place it on top with chocolate vermicelli

NB: the complete list of ingredients and the detailed recipe are given at the bottom of the page.

Neapolitan baking in the same mold - Lilie Bakery

Neapolitan sponge cake strips - Lilie Bakery

My tips for making your Neapolitan a success

place your ingredients at room temperature before starting the recipe (cream, milk and eggs) because this has an impact on the final softness.
the butter must be melted and above all cooled/warmed before being incorporated into the dough to avoid any temperature shock.
wait until the sponge cakes have cooled before unmolding them: this is to avoid breaking them, as they are thin and soft.
take a long serrated knife (bread knife type) to cut each side of the Neapolitan and thus have a beautiful rectangle.
do not add too much milk to the white icing to prevent it from flowing down the sides of the Neapolitan.

How to store your Neapolitan?

Once made, the Neapolitan is a cake that keeps at room temperature for up to 3 days, in an airtight container. This prevents it from drying out and therefore retains all its softness.

You can possibly place it in the refrigerator, still in an airtight container, but it will lose a little of its softness – its taste will be the same nonetheless.

Other recipes to try

If you like easy-to-prepare family recipes, then I advise you to take a look at these other recipes from the blog:

If you make this homemade Neapolitan, don't hesitate to rate the recipe below and tag @liliebakery on Instagram so I can see your cute cakes!

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4.7 on 26 votes

Very Soft Homemade Neapolitan

A very soft Neapolitan, with its vanilla and cocoa sponge cakes, its chocolate ganache and its white icing like the real thing!

Prep time30

Cook time20

Total50

Recipe type: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: French

Keyword: cake

Yield: 6 people

Equipment:

Ingredients:

Sponge cakes

3 medium eggs
130 g granulated sugar
45 g heavy whipping cream 30% at room temperature
80 g melted and cooled unsalted butter
90 g whole milk at room temperature
35 g oil sunflower type
185 g all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
8 g baking powder
1 cs natural vanilla extract
10 g bitter cocoa

Chocolate ganache

100 g 52% cocoa dark chocolate
100 g heavy whipping cream 30%
10 g unsalted butter

White icing

70 g icing sugar
1 cs milk or + if necessary
Chocolate vermicelli

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 170° traditional heat. Grease and line a 30x20cm rectangular mold like me or a 20x20 mold and a 10x20 mold (we will ultimately obtain a 10x20cm Neapolitan).
If you use a rectangular mold like me, divide it into two parts by adding folded baking paper (20x20 on one side and 10x20 on the other) to cook the two vanilla and chocolate doughs at the same time ( see my step-by-step photos).
Separate the whites from the yolks.
Whisk together the egg yolks, powdered sugar and liquid cream for about 3 minutes, until the mixture turns white.
Then add the cooled melted butter and mix. Then add the milk and oil together and mix.
Separately, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add twice to the dough. Do not overmix: just enough so that you no longer see the flour in the dough.
Beat the egg whites with a mixer then add them to the dough in three batches using a spatula so as not to damage the egg whites.
Separate the dough by dividing 2/3 on one side and 1/3 on the other. In 2/3 of the dough, add the vanilla and mix gently. In 1/3 of the dough, incorporate the bitter cocoa, still using a spatula.
Pour the cocoa paste into the smallest part of the mold (1/3) and pour the vanilla paste into the largest part of the mold (2/3).
Bake for around 15-18 minutes: the sponge cakes should be plump and slightly golden. Then leave to cool completely in the mold before unmolding so as not to break the sponge cakes.

Chocolate ganache

Heat the liquid cream in a saucepan, as soon as it comes to the boil, pour in two batches over the chocolate cut into pieces. Mix to obtain a smooth and shiny ganache. Add the butter in small pieces and smooth. Cover the ganache with film and place in the refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes/1 hour: until it takes on the consistency of a spread.

Installation

Cut the tops of the cakes if they are not quite flat. Cut the vanilla sponge cake in half to obtain 3 strips of cakes (see step-by-step photos)
Place the first vanilla strip, cover it generously with chocolate ganache with a spatula. Place the chocolate strip and press lightly. Place ganache with a spatula. Place the last vanilla strip. Check that everything is straight. Wrap everything tightly in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Then trim the edges of the Neapolitan with a long serrated knife to obtain clean, smooth edges.

White icing

Mix the icing sugar and milk to obtain a fairly thick mixture that can still be spread. If necessary add a few drops of milk: do not add too much to avoid it being too liquid (if this is the case add icing sugar to balance).
With a tablespoon, place a thin layer of icing on top of the Neapolitan and spread to the edge, taking care not to drip any over the sides.
Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles. Allow the white icing to set at room temperature before serving.

Notes:

Neapolitan is a cake that keeps at room temperature for up to 3 days, in an airtight container. This prevents it from drying out and therefore retains all its softness.

Did you make this recipe?Tag @liliebakery on Instagram so I can see the result :)

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