These Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches bring together creamy vanilla, fruity strawberry, and rich coffee ice cream between crisp wafers. A quick dip in chocolate and coconut adds crunch and sweetness. They feel nostalgic in the best way — cold, messy, and impossible to stop at one.
Prep: overnight
Cook: less than 10 mins
Serves: Serves 8–10
Dietary: Vegetarian
By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen Recipes
These Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches are a proper treat dessert with rich cream, condensed milk, chocolate, and wafers. Strawberries add a little freshness, but this is definitely an indulgent frozen dessert best enjoyed occasionally.
Approx per serving: 540 kcal, 34g fat, 48g carbs, 40g sugars, 2g fibre, 7g protein
Ingredients
For the Neapolitan ice cream
- 600ml double cream
- 400ml tin condensed milk
- Pinch salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 800g strawberries
- 2 tbsp coffee essence or espresso mixture
- 16–20 wafers
- 150g desiccated coconut
For the chocolate coating
- 400g dark milk chocolate
- 50ml rapeseed or vegetable oil
Customise
- Swap coffee essence for chocolate spread to create a chocolate Neapolitan layer
- Use raspberries instead of strawberries for a sharper fruit flavour
- Roll the chocolate-dipped ends in chopped nuts instead of coconut
- Try white chocolate for a sweeter finish
Method
- Whip the ice cream base (10 minutes) – Pour the double cream into a large bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Fold through the condensed milk, salt, and vanilla extract gently so the mixture stays light and airy.
- Divide the mixture (5 minutes) – Spoon one-third into a separate container for the vanilla layer. Keep it chilled while you prepare the other flavours.
- Cook the strawberries (8 minutes) – Add strawberries to a saucepan over low heat and cook until soft and juicy. Stir occasionally so they don’t catch.
- Blend the strawberry layer (5 minutes) – Transfer the softened strawberries to the blender and blitz until smooth. Pass through a sieve for a silky texture, then fold into another third of the ice cream mixture.
- Make the coffee layer (2 minutes) – Stir the coffee essence or espresso mixture into the remaining ice cream base until evenly combined.
- Freeze the ice cream (overnight) – Freeze the flavours separately in matching trays or ripple them together if you prefer a swirled Neapolitan ice cream effect. Leave overnight until firm.
- Prepare the chocolate coating (5 minutes) – Melt the chocolate and oil together in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water. Let it cool slightly until smooth and glossy.
- Assemble the ice cream sandwiches (10 minutes) – Cut the frozen ice cream into slabs to fit the wafers. Sandwich between two wafers, pressing gently.
- Dip and decorate (5 minutes) – Quickly dip one end of each Neapolitan ice cream sandwich into melted chocolate, then straight into desiccated coconut before the chocolate sets. Return to the freezer briefly if needed.