Homemade strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice creams layered between chocolate cake are the perfect way to celebrate National Ice Cream Month.
By Kelsey Hilts
We like to celebrate ice cream all year long but being that July is National Ice Cream Month, I wanted to share with you something extra special: Homemade Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches. 
The term Neapolitan ice cream was coined in the late 19th century when Italian immigrants (from Naples) brought their expertise in ice cream and other frozen treats to the United States. Initially, Neapolitan ice cream referred to any three-layered ice cream but eventually it became synonymous with strawberry, vanilla and chocolate, most likely because these were the three most popular ice cream flavors in the U.S. at that time.
Fast forward to now and with all of the fancy gourmet flavors it seems like Neapolitan ice cream often gets overlooked. But I assure you that, at least when it is homemade, it is far from boring. Sometimes going back to the basics makes a winning combo and this is one such instance. Sweet, juicy U-Pick strawberries straight from the berry patch, an old-fashioned creamy vanilla custard and a perfectly mellow chocolate come together to make a beautifully balanced ice cream that is sweet, rich, refreshing and nostalgic. Eat it as is or sandwich it between chocolate cake or cookies.
I skipped the step of forming the strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice creams into one layered block of Neapolitan ice cream and went straight to the ice cream sandwiches. I created the Neapolitan layers between chocolate cake for each sandwich. If you make a “loaf” of Neapolitan ice cream first you could then cut off chocolate-vanilla-strawberry layered slices from the block and sandwich the slices between cookies or cake. If you want these ice cream sandwiches without any fuss, simply buy a block of Neapolitan ice cream, slice pieces off of the block and sandwich the layered ice cream between your favorite chocolate cookies or cake.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker or you want to make the three ice cream flavors all at once, you can follow David Lebovitz’s simple directions: How to Make Ice Cream Without a Machine.
PrintNeapolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 8+ 1x
Description
Homemade strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice creams layered between our favorite chocolate cake are the perfect way to celebrate National Ice Cream Month!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 squares unsweetened chocolate
- 1/2 cup (118mL) boiling water
- 1/2 cup (110g) shortening
- 2 cups (383g) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups (198g) flour
- 1 tsp (4g) baking soda
- 1 cup (236mL) buttermilk
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla
French Vanilla Ice Cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups (473mL) milk
- 1 cup (191g) sugar
- 2 cups (473mL)heavy cream
- 2 tsp (10g) vanilla extract
Strawberry Ice Cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups (473mL) milk
- 1 cup (191g) sugar
- 2 cups (473mL) heavy cream
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (473mL) blended strawberries
Chocolate Ice Cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups (473mL) milk
- 1 cup (191g) sugar
- 2 cups (473mL) heavy cream
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (28g) cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (45g) chocolate chips
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts.
- Cream the shortening and the sugar.
- Stir in the eggs and then add the melted chocolate/water mixture.
- Add the flour and baking soda alternately with the buttermilk and vanilla, mixing the ingredients together until a smooth batter forms.
- Pour the cake batter into two greased and floured pans, one 9 x 13 and one 8×8.
- Bake the cake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean.
French Vanilla Ice Cream
- In a large saucepan, beat the eggs, milk and sugar until well blended.
- Cook the egg mixture over low heat for roughly 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. It should smoothly coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Let the mixture cool.
- Add the heavy cream and the vanilla.
- Stir until blended and refrigerate the mixture until it is completely chilled, for several hours or up to overnight.
- Following the instructions of your ice cream maker, pour the chilled mixture into your machine and stir it until the ice cream forms. It will typically be more like soft-serve when you first make it. If you want firmer ice cream, transfer it to a sealed container once it reaches the soft-serve consistency and let it freeze for several hours until it hardens.
- Recipe makes 1 quart of ice cream.
Strawberry Ice Cream
- In a large saucepan, beat the eggs, milk and sugar until well blended.
- Cook the egg mixture over low heat for roughly 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. It should smoothly coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Let the mixture cool.
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla and blended strawberries.
- Stir until blended and refrigerate the mixture until it is completely chilled, for several hours or up to overnight.
- Following the instructions of your ice cream maker, pour the chilled mixture into your machine and stir it until the ice cream forms. It will typically be more like soft-serve when you first make it. If you want firmer ice cream, transfer it to a sealed container once it reaches the soft-serve consistency and let it freeze for several hours until it hardens.
- Recipe makes 1 quart of ice cream.
Chocolate Ice Cream
- In a large saucepan, beat the eggs, milk and sugar until well blended.
- Cook the egg mixture over low heat for roughly 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. It should smoothly coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add cocoa powder and the chocolate chips, stirring the mixture until the chocolate has melted.
- Let the mixture cool.
- Add the heavy cream and the vanilla.
- Stir until blended and refrigerate the mixture until it is completely chilled, for several hours or up to overnight.
- Following the instructions of your ice cream maker, pour the chilled mixture into your machine and stir it until the ice cream forms. It will typically be more like soft-serve when you first make it. If you want firmer ice cream, transfer it to a sealed container once it reaches the soft-serve consistency and let it freeze for several hours until it hardens.
- Recipe makes 1 quart of ice cream.
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
