Gluten Free Neapolitan Cupcakes

Anyone else remember getting giant tubs of cheap Neapolitan ice cream at the grocery store as a kid? Some were definitely better than others, and half the time I’m pretty sure I just scooped through the chocolate layer, leaving the less exciting vanilla to the right. But it was glorious – simply having the choice of not one, not two, but THREE ice cream flavors in one bucket? Incredible. And a good strawberry ice cream can’t be beat – the ones with threads of real strawberries throughout, heightened by the heaps of pink dye that made this seem like the perfect summer treat. Bowls or cones, whatever you chose, were sure to melt within minutes on a hot July day in Southern Oregon, and then you could slurp through vanilla-chocolate-strawberry ice cream soup like any self-respecting 6 year old should do.

Here’s to that perfect trio that seemed so luxurious in childhood summers – and to the pretty pairing of deep dark chocolate brown, perfect vanilla white, and dreamy strawberry pink. I had been wanting to make classic “summer” flavored cupcakes and Neapolitan had been on my idea list for months, so I finally committed to coming up with a recipe. Now I could have just made a vanilla or chocolate cupcake and topped it with the three-toned buttercream, but I decided that if I was going to make them, they’d better be fully epic, a cupcake that would make six-year-old-Amelia’s eyes wide with glee at the prospect of a 3-layered cupcake AND 3-layers of frosting. So here they are: six-layers of Neapolitan dreams! After carefully mixing three separate bowls of batter, and three separate bowls of frosting, I give you these extra-tall summer cupcakes.

These were definitely some of the most fun cupcakes I’ve made in a while – there’s something about piling more and more frosting on that’s just delightful (especially because I knew I *had* to try them haha. The strawberry layer is glorious with both pureed and powdered, freeze dried berries for color and flavor. And you can’t go wrong with a classic chocolate and vanilla. If you’re looking for other childhood favorites, try our nutter butter cookies, or these peanut butter and jelly bars, or just these summery almond and white chocolate sprinkle cookies. Looking for other summery desserts? Try our new piña colada cupcakes or these guava cheesecake cupcakes!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Neapolitan Cupcakes

A childhood classic, in cupcake form! A strawberry, vanilla, chocolate layered cupcake and buttercream!

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Cooling time20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: chocolate, cupcakes, easy, ice cream, layers, neapolitan, strawberry, vanilla

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Calories: 450kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cupcake pans
• Electric mixer

Ingredients

For the Strawberry Cupcake layer:

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 Cup canola oil
• 1/4 Cup sour cream
• 1/2 Cup strawberry puree
• 2 Tbsp sifted, powdered freeze dried strawberries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 Cup white sugar
• 1/2 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 3/4 tsp of it now)
• 2/3 Cup blanched almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• pink food coloring optional

For the vanilla cupcake layer:

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 Cup canola oil
• 1/3 Cup sour cream
• 1/4 Cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 Cup white sugar
• 1/3 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 3/4 tsp of it now)
• 2/3 Cup blanched almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt

For the chocolate cupcake layer:

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 Cup sour cream
• 1/4 Cup canola oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 3/4 tsp of it now)
• 2/3 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 Cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 Cup hot coffee

For the strawberry buttercream:

• 1 Cup salted butter room temp
• 2-3 Cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp powdered, sifted freeze dried strawberries instructions below
• 1/4 Cup strawberry puree
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the vanilla buttercream:

• 1 Cup salted butter room temp
• 2 Cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate buttercream:

• 1 Cup salted butter room temp
• 1 1/2 Cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 Cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp cream

Instructions

• First, make your cupcakes! Preheat the oven to 350° F and line two 12-cupcake pans with paper cupcake cups. First, make your three cupcake batters in three separate bowls. In the strawberry batter bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, sour cream, sugar, strawberry puree, and vanilla, then add in the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. Blitz up the freeze dried strawberries until they're a fine powder, then sift two tablespoons of the powder into the batter and whisk to combine. Spoon about a tablespoon of the batter into the bottom of each of the cupcake cups.
• Then make the vanilla batter. Whisk the egg, oil, sour cream, sugar, milk, and vanilla until combined. Add in the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until smooth, then spoon this layer by tablespoon on top of the strawberry layer in each cupcake cup.
• Then make the chocolate batter! Whisk together the egg, sour cream, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add in the flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder and whisk until combined. Finally, add in the hot coffee and stir until glossy and smooth. Spoon this final layer on top of the vanilla layer and then bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely until frosting.
• While cupcakes are cooling, make the frostings! First, the chocolate frosting: in a medium bowl, using the electric mixer, beat the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. If the frosting is too stiff, add a teaspoon or two of cream, then beat to combine. Scoop the frosting into a large piping bag with your choice of piping tip, then clean the bowl and beaters.
• Then, make the vanilla frosting: in the same bowl, beat the butter for 4-5 minutes (beating the butter longer makes it whiter – better for vanilla frosting), then add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Scoop this frosting into a second piping bag and then clean the bowl and beaters again for the strawberry frosting.
• Make the final strawberry frosting: beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add in the strawberry puree and the sifted remaining freeze dried strawberry powder and beat until smooth. If you'd like a brighter pink color, add a few drops of pink food coloring and beat until combined. Then scoop this frosting into a third piping bag.
• Once cupcakes are cool, pipe circles of each frosting one on top of the other to create a three-layered buttercream top!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber