Neapolitan Ice Cream
Three layers of no churn vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, frozen in a loaf tin and sliced to show the stripes.
Photograph credit: Neapolitan ice cream UK by No machine-readable author provided. Celestianpower assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Where This Goes Wrong
Freeze each layer before adding the next.
Reduce the strawberry puree so it is not watery.
Slice with a hot knife.
How to Make Neapolitan Ice Cream
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Whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold in the condensed milk. Divide into 3 equal bowls.
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Fold the vanilla into the first bowl. Whisk the cocoa into the warm milk until smooth, cool, and fold into the second bowl.
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Crush the strawberries with the icing sugar until thick and jammy, and fold into the third bowl.
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Line a 900 g loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Spread the vanilla layer and freeze for 1 hour. Add the chocolate layer and freeze for 1 hour. Add the strawberry layer.
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Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours. Lift out and slice with a hot knife.
Why the Method Works
It is named for the city of Naples, where the Neapolitan style of layered ice cream was developed in the nineteenth century by Italian immigrants in America, who used the red, white and green of the Italian flag. In the United States, the trio became vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, and the striped brick has been a freezer staple ever since.
The whole thing is made from a single no churn base: whipped cream folded with sweetened condensed milk. Divide the base into three equal parts and flavour each one differently. The vanilla needs only extract. For the chocolate, whisk in cocoa and a little warm milk to dissolve it. For the strawberry, fold in a puree of fresh berries that has been reduced to a thick jam, so the extra water does not turn it icy.
Freeze each layer before adding the next. Spread the first layer in the lined tin, freeze for 1 hour until firm to the touch, and then add the second. This keeps the colours separate with sharp lines between them. Layers added onto soft ones bleed together into a muddy swirl.
Cover the surface with greaseproof paper and freeze for at least 6 hours after the last layer. To serve, lift out by the paper, peel it away and slice into thick slabs with a hot knife. Each slice shows the three bands.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Keeps in the freezer for 2 weeks.
What to Serve Alongside
- Wafer cones
- Fresh strawberries
- Chocolate sauce
- Cold milk
Common Questions About Neapolitan Ice Cream
How long does Neapolitan Ice Cream take to make?
45 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 8 hours of Freezing, so allow 9 hours from start to finish. The recipe serves 10.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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