Neapolitan Ice Cream - The Spruce Eats

• You can easily recreate classic Neapolitan layers with just one simple homemade base.
• Dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder will both work well for the chocolate layer.
• Pressing plastic wrap on the surface prevents ice crystals for fresher homemade ice cream.

There are certain treats from the supermarket freezer section that immediately conjure up childhood nostalgia: Ice cream sandwiches (the ones with the soft chocolate wafers), the firecracker ice pops that stain mouths blue, and the boxes of Neapolitan ice cream that inevitably lead to everyone fighting over their favorite flavor.

What Is Neapolitan Ice Cream?

Neapolitan ice cream is a classic frozen dessert composed of three separate flavors—typically vanilla, chocolate and strawberry—layered in the same container.

The name comes from the dessert's presumed origins in Naples Italy. Immigrants from this region brought their ice cream-making expertise to the United States and spumoni (a trio of pistachio, cherry, chocolate) is thought to have been the first Neapolitan-style ice cream they made in their new home.

Other variations include flavors that represented the green, white, and red colors of Italian flag, but today, it's chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry that's become the standard.

What's the Best Cocoa Powder for Making Ice Cream?

Dutch-processed is excellent in this recipe, but either Dutch-processed or natural will work just fine.

Neapolitan Ice Cream Tips

• When making homemade ice cream, it is always important to work quickly and get the churned product into the freezer as soon as possible. When mixing in the cocoa powder and the strawberry ice cream topping, use metal bowls that have been placed in the freezer for a few minutes to chill. That way, the churned ice cream can stay as cold as possible during this quick mixing process. Then quickly form the layers and cover and place in the freezer immediately to set.
• Be sure to use strawberry topping, not syrup. If you can't find strawberry topping, you can substitute strawberry jam. Your strawberry ice cream will have more texture using jam, but if you coarsely chop it before adding it to the vanilla ice cream, you'll avoid having large pieces of fruit in the ice cream.
• It can take from 20 minutes to 1 hour to churn ice cream, depending on the maker. Check your ice cream maker manual for specific times.

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