My Neapolitan traybake is the ultimate summer sweet treat! It's an easy, no-bake dessert with a chocolate biscuit base, strawberry milk jelly filling and vanilla buttercream topping.
I am so super excited to share my Neapolitan traybake with you! I've been dreaming this up for months now, and since the sun has been SHINING in Scotland this week, I thought now was the perfect time to make it!
This is a bit different to any of the other no-bake traybakes I've made before and I'm so proud of the recipe! It has a chocolate biscuit base, a milky strawberry filling, and a smooth vanilla buttercream topping. The flavours taste absolutely divine together, just like the classic ice cream, and the bars look so fun and summery! I can't wait for you to try them.
As always, I've written the full ingredient and equipment list, step-by-step instructions, top tips and FAQs below. I write these posts to help beginner bakers get things right on the first go, so I hope you find them helpful! If you'd like to jump straight to the recipe card, you can find it at the end of the post, or use the 'jump to recipe' button at the top of the page. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Here's everything you'll need to make these no-bake squares:
- Butter: Use real butter for this recipe, not margarine.
- Golden syrup: This adds sweetness to the biscuit base and helps with binding.
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened is best.
- Digestive biscuits: We'll mix these with the butter, syrup and cocoa powder to create the chocolatey base.
- Semi-skimmed milk: We'll use this in the filling and in the topping. You'll need roughly 120ml.
- Strawberry jelly powder: I recommend Hartley's sugar-free jelly powder- you'll need half of the twin pack.
- Condensed milk: Make sure you don't confuse this with evaporated milk. I've written a post about the difference here: Condensed Milk Vs Evaporated Milk- What's the Difference?
- Icing sugar: For the vanilla topping.
- Vanilla extract: 2 teaspoons, for flavour.
Kitchen stuff
Make sure you also have the following equipment on hand:
- 8x8-inch tin: Use this tin size for nice chunky slices.
- Baking paper: To prevent sticking. Make sure you line the sides too, which will help your layers look neater when you cut into your Neapolitan squares.
- Small saucepan: For melting the wet ingredients for the base, and for warming the milk for the filling.
- Food processor: Or a powerful blender, to blitz the biscuits. You can also do this manually by bashing them with a rolling pin- just make sure the crumbs are very fine.
- Electric whisk: This is optional, but whisking the buttercream helps get rid of some of the yellowy colour.
- Mixing bowl: A large one (or two) for the biscuit base and vanilla topping.
- Utensils: You'll need a couple of wooden spoons, a hand whisk, a teaspoon, and a sharp knife.
How to make Neapolitan traybake
Ready to get started? Here are my step-by-step instructions for you to follow along.
For the chocolate layer
Step 1: Line an 8x8-inch tin with baking paper. If you don't have this tin size, you can use my cake tin converter to adjust the recipe for your tin.
Step 2: Add 350g of digestive biscuits to a food processor or blender and blitz until you have fine crumbs. Pour them into a large bowl.
Step 3: To a saucepan, add 150g butter, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of golden syrup. Place over low heat, mixing gently as you go, until the butter has melted.
Step 4: Pour the melted mixture into the bowl with the biscuit crumbs and mix well until evenly coated. Then press this mixture into your lined tin.
For the strawberry layer
Step 1: Add 100ml semi-skimmed milk to a small saucepan and heat it gently until warm. It should not be boiling or bubbling- just some light steam.
Step 2: Once the milk is warm, remove it from the heat and immediately whisk in 11.5g strawberry jelly powder. Once it's dissolved, stir in 250g condensed milk.
Step 3: Pour the strawberry layer over the biscuit base, then refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, until you can lightly press on it without leaving a mark.
For the vanilla layer
Step 1: Add 200g soft butter to a bowl, then mix to loosen it.
Step 2: Mix in 400g of icing sugar, a little bit at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Step 3: Add a small splash of milk to loosen the mixture if needed. It should be thick but spreadable. You can give it a mix with an electric whisk to make it pale and fluffy.
Step 4: Spoon the mixture over the strawberry layer and gently spread it out.
Step 5: Refrigerate for 1 more hour to set then cut your traybake into squares and enjoy! I made 9 Neapolitan squares for the photos but actually ended up cutting those in half to make 18, as it's a very rich dessert.
Top tips
- Not a fan of digestive biscuits? Use bourbon biscuits for the base instead! Mix 350g bourbon biscuits with 115g melted butter and 90g condensed milk.
- For a beginner-friendly alternative, the strawberry layer can be swapped for strawberry buttercream. To make this, follow the instructions for the vanilla layer then stir the strawberry jelly powder into that.
- For a cute decoration, add some hundreds and thousands sprinkles on top of the vanilla layer before setting.
FAQs
These squares will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge. Keep them in an airtight container to preserve freshness.
I don't recommend freezing these Neapolitan bars as the gelatine in the filling will not defrost very well. They're best served from the fridge. For a freezer-friendly alternative, you can use my strawberry coconut bars filling- just move the servings slider to '8 bars' to fit in with the rest of this recipe.
This will happen if the milk was too hot when you added the jelly powder. It should be roughly 40-45 °C when you stir the powder in (a cooking thermometer is great for checking this). This temperature is warm enough to dissolve the gelatine without breaking down its structure. If you don't have a thermometer, remove the pan from the heat when the milk starts steaming- it should never boil or bubble.
More no-bake traybakes
- Bourbon biscuit traybake
- Custard Cream biscuit slice
- Raspberry Ruffle traybake
- Gingernut slice
- Mint slice
I hope you like my Neapolitan traybake! If you give these bars a go at home, please leave a rating and comment below to let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Neapolitan Traybake
Ingredients
Chocolate base
- 350 g Digestive biscuits
- 150 g Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons Golden syrup
Strawberry filling
- 100 ml Semi-skimmed milk
- 11.5 g Sugar-free strawberry jelly powder
- 250 g Condensed milk (weigh it in grams, not ml)
Vanilla topping
- 200 g Butter, softened
- 400 g Icing sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla extract
- Splash Milk (as needed to loosen the mixture)
Instructions
Chocolate base
- Line an 8x8-inch tin with baking paper.
- Blitz the digestive biscuits into fine crumbs then pour them into a large bowl.
- Add the butter, cocoa powder and golden syrup to a saucepan. Place over low heat and stir gently until melted and combined.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl with the biscuits and mix well until all the crumbs are evenly coated. Press it firmly into your lined tin.
Strawberry filling
- Pour the milk into a small saucepan and heat it over low heat until warm. Do not boil it- it should be lightly steaming but not bubbling.
- When the milk is warm, remove it from the heat and use a hand whisk to stir in the strawberry jelly powder. Once the jelly powder has dissolved, add the condensed milk and mix gently until combined.
- Pour the strawberry mixture over your biscuit base then pop it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, until it's firm enough to touch without leaving a mark.
Vanilla topping
- Add the butter to a large bowl and mix well to loosen. Add the icing sugar a little bit at a time until it's all mixed in, then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Use an electric whisk to mix the buttercream with a small splash of milk, until it becomes pale, fluffy and spreadable.
- Spoon the icing over the strawberry layer in the tin and gently spread it out.
- Pop the whole thing back in the fridge for 1 more hour, then cut into slices and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and serve chilled.
- The vanilla topping should be thick but spreadable. If you need to make it thicker, add more icing sugar. If you need to make it thinner, add more milk.
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