Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream - 2 ways

I'm back after a short trip and jumped straight into work without having any time to brood over the holiday getting over. Deadlines, macaron orders, supper clubs and pop-ups fill my time for the next couple of weeks and then the much awaited trip to India end of December. While I was away Haagen Dazs sent me a gorgeous parcel (the husband kept sending me pictures of the package) and I couldn't wait to get back and check it out. In my gift pack was a Nespresso Inissia, a personalised silver plated spoon, a really nice OXO ice cream scoop, an egg timer and of course vouchers and the new Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream.

We don't do ice creams that often but when we do its always Haagen Dazs. I'm sure its a brand we are all familiar with and we all have that one flavour we are addicted to. Mine was the dulce de leche and it was a struggle getting over it. I had attended the launch of the Haagen Dazs Master Ice Cream Academy a couple of months ago and learnt a thing or two about how sounds and sights affect taste and of course got to taste a fabulous strawberry ice cream. Dan Doherty from Duck & Waffle made us an interesting ice cream float, one that I've been meaning to try at home, but before the blink of an eye summer whisked by without any warning.

That said, there is no rule you can have ice cream only in summer. Which brings me to these 2 desserts i whipped up with the new coffee flavour, so intensely coffee and perfect for an addict like me. I broke my head trying to decide what to make and I wanted to do something different than the usual pairing of the coffee ice cream with a cake or brownie. Cookie dough slices sandwiched with coffee ice cream and an affogato were the two easy to do options i came up with.

Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream Affogato (makes 1)

The Affogato happened quite by fluke and i ended up enjoying that much more than the slices. I could also put the Nespresso machine to good use, making a kick ass espresso for the affpgato and I'm hooked. You can whip it up in no time and tastes absolutely delicious. I added a dash of Amaretto for some good measure. No regrets.

Strong espresso coffee- 1 espresso cup

Amaretto (or any liqueur of choice)- 1 tbsp

Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream- 2 scoops

Praline- 2 tsp (recipe below)

Use your favourite coffee beans to make a strong shot of espresso.

Scoop the ice cream into the serving glasses and pour over the Amaretto.

Top with the steaming hot espresso by pouring it gently over the ice cream.

Sprinkle praline over the ice cream and enjoy.

Praline (recipe adapted from here)

Granulated sugar- 3 tbsp

Plain cashew nuts- 10 whole

Butter- 1/2 tsp

Melt the sugar in a non stick pan on low heat till it starts to caramelise and turns a light golden brown in colour.

Add the cashew nuts and butter and stir till it turns darker, but make sure you don't burn it.

Remove from heat once the cashew nuts look roasted,and pour on to a tray lined with baking paper.

Leave to cool completely and then break into smaller pieces or pulse it in your processor for a couple of seconds to get a coarse mix.

Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream and cookie dough slices (recipe adapted from here)

 

Cookie dough slices were a unique choice, and I could imagine what a strong coffee flavour would do to a vanilla-y cookie dough. I decided to keep the filling and the dough thin so we could just hold it in our hands and eat as opposed to having it as a formal dessert with a plate and such.

Unsalted butter- 1/2 cup

Dark brown sugar- 1/3 cup

Granulated sugar- 1/4 cup

Milk- 2 tbsp

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1.2 tsp

Plain flour- 1 1/4 cup

Chocolate chips- a generous handful

Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream- 1/2 a tub, spreadable consistency

Melt the butter and both sugars in a saucepan, stir till the sugar has completely melted.

Take it off the heat and pour in the milk, vanilla and salt.

Stir in the plain flour till well combined and you get a smooth mix without traces of flour.

Keep aside to cool and then fold in the chocolate chips. Its ok if it starts to melt, but stop before it completely does so.

Have a tray ready with 3 sheets of baking paper.

Place one sheet on the tray and spread out or roll half of the dough on to the sheet, around 1/2 inch thick (or thicker or thinner if you prefer it that way)

Top with another baking paper and roll out the second half of the cookie dough into the same thickness as before.

Press the third sheet on top of the rolled out dough and freeze for about half an hour.

Remove the top cookie dough layer and spread the coffee ice cream as evenly as possible.

Top with the second cookie dough layer, gently press down, cover with baking paper and refreeze till ready to use.

Let it sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes to make slicing easier.

Slice into squares and eat immediately.

This is a sponsored post for Haagen Dazs in association with Great British Chefs. Thanks for the gift pack that was sent to put together the recipes.

Cappuccino at home

From scorching 32C a couple of days back we went to 15 degrees today and heavy rains. Although the heat kinda got to me at one point, I actually haven't had enough of sunshine (literally) in my life. I have also not been cooking too much, simply because I don't feel like it. After researching and writing and editing 2 to 3 articles a day, and an hour gone swimming, then grocery shopping, I am pooped by the end of the day. There is no energy left to whip up something nice, leave alone style it, take pics and blog. If Ro's working from home then its even more tiresome with lunch also thrown in.

But the good thing is, I learned a couple of interesting things with the articles I have been writing. For example, I learned that you don't need a fancy schmancy espresso maker with a foam nozzle to make a cappuccino at home. The bad thing, however, is the craving I get for all the things I write about :O

I used to love a good cuppa cappuccino when we were in India. The Coffee Day ones were so amazing, I could easily have 2 to 3 at one go. But here, its not the same. Its way too milky for my liking. So whenever I head to a Starbucks or Costa, I end up ordering an Americano and then add a wee bit of milk. I prefer super strong, super sweet coffee's and I must add that the coffee maker/ cafetiere ones come no where near our South Indian filter coffee. But we are now so used to having it, or rather we are so used to the convenience of just pouring it out of a pot that we have forgotten how yummy it really is. Ro has made it a point to grind his own coffee and use it, which is fine when you take it black. But with milk, it all just goes for a toss.

Anyways, coming back to the cappuccino. It is so darn easy that I cant even imagine how I never came across this procedure. Don't believe me? Read on.

Instant espresso powder- 2 tsp per cup (1 tsp if you don't want it too strong)

Sugar- 2 tsp (as per taste really)

Boiling water- 1/3rd cup

Milk- 1/2 cup

Tip in the espresso powder and sugar into a coffee cup.

Add the boiling water, stir and keep aside.

Heat the milk in a microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds and pour into a cafetiere/ French press and pump the plunger about 8 to 10 times continuously till you see enough froth.

It should be ideally half milk and half froth, but its OK if its not perfect.

Pour the milk over the strong espresso slowly followed by the froth.

You can top with some coffee powder or chocolate if you please.

Notes: I first tried using an immersion blender to make the froth but in vain. It just took forever, and the froth produced was meagre compared to the cafetiere.

Watch this video for a better idea. I gasped at the end of it cos it was as simple as that.

If you don't have instant espresso powder then make normal coffee and use that instead.

You can add some sugar to the milk to make it extra sweet :)