Häagen-Dazs

NOTHING IS BETTER THAN REAL

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Häagen-Dazs Peach Melba Float and Baked Alaska recipes by Dan Doherty

Our expert ambassador, Dan Doherty, Executive Chef at Duck & Waffle, has created two delicious recipes you can try at home.

Häagen-Dazs Peach Melba Float

Ingredients (for 1 person)

1  ripe peach 

2 strawberries

Handful toasted almonds

2 scoops of Häagen-Dazs Strawberries & Cream Ice Cream 

1 glass Rose Champagne

Method

Slice the peach, put 2 slices in a glass

Slice the strawberries, put half in a glass

Add a scoop of ice cream

Add remaining peach and strawberry slices

Top with another scoop of ice cream

Sprinkle with toasted almonds

Top up with Champagne 

Häagen-Dazs Pralines & Cream Baked Alaska

Ingredients (for 6 persons)

For the dulce de leche sponge

75g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing

30g golden syrup

1 (397ml) tin of dulce de leche (milk caramel)

2 eggs

100g self-raising flour 

For the Italian meringue

225g caster sugar

150ml water

90g egg whites 

For the ice cream centre

6 scoops of Häagen-Dazs Pralines & Cream

Method

To make the sponge

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 30cm lipped baking tray and cover with baking paper.

Put the softened butter, golden syrup and dulce de leche (milk caramel) into a mixing bowl and, using an electric mixer, or a wooden spoon if doing by hand, cream together until lighter in colour – this should take about 5 minutes. 

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk together.

Still creaming the butter mix, add the eggs, then mix together for another 2 minutes, or until completely smooth. 

Sift in the flour and mix for 1 more minute. 

Spoon your sponge mix on to the prepared baking tray and spread out until it is 1cm thick. 

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack. 

Once the sponge is cool, place a 20cm round cake tin on top of it & cut around, this will form the base of the Baked Alaska.

To make the Italian meringue

Put the sugar into a small saucepan over a low heat and gently pour over the water. Make sure no sugar has come up the sides of the pan, as this will make the syrup crystallize. 

Put the egg whites into a mixing bowl and, using an electric hand mixer, whisk on slow speed. 

Once the sugar has reached 116°C, increase the speed of whisking to create soft peaks. 

When the sugar has reached 121°C, pour it slowly on to the egg whites while still whisking on a high speed. 

Once the sugar syrup has been added, continue to whisk until the meringue has cooled to room temperature, then put in a piping bag with a plain 10mm nozzle.

To finish, put the large sponge disk on some baking paper on a baking sheet and place six balls of ice cream evenly on the top of the sponge, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. 

Pipe the meringue all the way around, to completely cover. At this stage place in the freezer until you are ready to cook and serve.

When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf for 3 minutes, or until the meringue is nice and browned. Slice carefully & serve.

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The Häagen-Dazs Masters of Real

 Introducing the Häagen-Dazs Masters of Real

Häagen-Dazs is celebrating premium ice cream with the launch of The Master Ice Cream Academy. The academy will bring to life the qualities of premium ice cream,  encouraging consumers to explore their senses: aroma, sound, colour, and texture to discover how much they influence their indulgent moments.

To host the academy, Haagen-Dazs have brought together a panel of expert ambassadors including:

Dan Doherty 

Dan Doherty is the Executive Chef of Duck & Waffle at London’s Heron Tower, one of the UK’s first high-end, 24-hour restaurants. 

In 2013, he received the title of ‘Rising Star Chef’ at the 2013 Tatler Restaurant Awards and has since carved a role for himself as one of the most prominent chefs on London’s restaurant scene. He firmly believes that good food should showcase carefully selected ingredients in their truest form.

Rose Thomas 

Rose Thomas is the writer behind the popular blog The Londoner, where she is an authority on everything from food and travel to fashion. 

With her unbeatable London-foodie knowledge and thousands of followers, she has grown into something of an internet sensation in a matter of years. Believing that food should be perfectly indulgent, she knows that quality, carefully selected ingredients are all it takes to create wonderful taste experiences.

Professor Barry Smith 

Professor Barry Smith is the founder of the Centre for the Study of the Senses, which pioneers research between philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists. 

He works mainly on the multisensory perception of flavour and contributes to scientific literature on the subject. He is a frequent broadcaster and a consultant to the food and drinks industry. Passionate about exploring how different flavours and ingredients affect our taste experience, he is a strong believer that carefully selected ingredients make all the difference to our enjoyment of food.

Alison Gray 

Häagen-Dazs Taste Tester, Alison Gray, tastes new products and ingredients every single day, whether it is to create a new product or refine a product currently on the market. Alison is based at the Häagen-Dazs plant in Arras in France. 

Her days are busy, not only does it take 12 – 18 months to develop a new flavour, but she regularly conducts training to identify particular notes in various ingredients, for example there are at least 20 different flavour profiles that can be found in fresh vanilla and Alison has had to learn to identify the smells i.e. Woody, Creamy, Peppery etc.

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Enjoy a picnic this season with our Summer Berries & Cream ice cream – outdoors when it’s sunny, indoors when it’s not.

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Giggling with friends whilst enjoying the sunshine is our idea of a REAL bank holiday. What’s yours?

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We've taken two of your favourite flavours to make our latest ice cream flavour. Can it get any better?

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In our Limited Edition Yuzu Citrus & Cream new flavour the Japanese yuzu fruit plays a key role. In this video you'll see how you can create yuzu origami in a few steps. Why don't you give it a try and share your yuzu origami.

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Our Limited Edition Yuzu Citrus & Cream new flavour is here. We've mixed the juices from the zesty yuzu fruit with the sweet orange to give you the most refreshing flavour we could imagine.

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Could A Digital Detox Help Your Relationship?

The Huffington Post UK |  By Jennifer Barton

Most of us enjoy doing things with our partners: going out to our favourite restaurants, binging on box sets on the sofa, embarking on exotic getaways together.

But how often do we allow ourselves to just be with our partners - without distractions, noise, or tech gadgets to play around with to avoid any kind of lull or silence?

"Naturally, in a world where our phones, tablets and laptops are an extension of ourselves it can be hard to put them away and not have the instantaneousness that technology affords; however, for the sake of relationship health it is vital that we do," explains Joanna Coker, psychosexual therapist and professional standards manager atCOSRT (the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists).

She describes a dinner scene she witnessed with her husband while out at a Michelin-starred restaurant the other week surrounded by couples on either side (who presumably had made the time to focus on their partners since they were out at dinner but spent the evening completely distracted by technology): one couple barely spoke to one another and texted on their phones through the meal, while the other couple ignored each another as soon as a new text or email loudly "pinged" on their phones.

"My husband and I too disengaged as we watched in horror and fascination, it seemed that everyone was more important to these couples than their partners!" says Coker.

We're so used to our lives of busyness, constant distractions and over-stimulation that the thought of turning off technology and eliminating noises can feel overwhelming.

However, focusing on your partner and enjoying your time together is essential for helping you connect with one another, and ensures that you communicate well and learn to really listen to and hear your partner, according to Coker.

"We also need to be consciously in the same space as our partners and you cannot do that with one eye on the phone! In today's world, one of the problems is that you are always available to your contact list, including work.

"Many people find it hard not to answer instantly when they see a flashing light or hear a ping, even if it is not necessary or breaking the work-life boundary. In some ways we are becoming conditioned to respond," she explains.

According to behavioural psychologist and relationship coach Jo Hemmings, couples should also aim to spend some time together in silence - scary as that may seem - since constant distractions (phone, book/Kindle, newspaper, laptop) can cause us to forget or even lose the ability to fully unwind.

"And yet complete silence, especially with your partner, can be a strong connective process. The tranquility of simply being with someone you love, in silence, is both peaceful and bonding, even though some couples may find it a little odd at first," Hemmings says.

Hemmings emphasises that holding back on conversation - from everyday banter to more significant topics - is also essential but can feel peculiar if you're not used to it. She recommends enhancing the quiet with something visual or sensory to help you feel more comfortable.

"Getting the lighting right or using scented tea candles is the perfect way to ease yourself into this tranquility," she explains.

Spending quiet time with your partner can help you enjoy the calm and the quiet - to "be" rather than to "do" - and can make you more aware of your partner and yourself. It can bring you back to the enjoyment of what brought you together in the first place: the pleasure of each other's company, and provides some respite from the daily stresses and niggles that can overwhelm a relationship.

Allowing yourself to enjoy the silence gives your relationship room to breathe and also room to notice your partner: how the shade of blue they're wearing that day brings out their eyes, how they smell like they did on your first date, all those years ago, how staring at them can make you smile like nothing else. Moments of tranquility may even lead to thoughts of intimacy and other exciting things...

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Can You Cut The Chatter And Just Be With Your Partner?

The Huffington Post UK |  By Jennifer Barton

When we're with our partners, all too often, we're not as present as we should be (even when we're sitting right next to each other).

It's easy to get bogged down in negative thoughts, whether they're about big issues like the future of the relationship (When are we moving in together? Are kids on the agenda?) or smaller conflicts (Why am I always doing the washing up?).

With minds constantly whirring and expectations and worries about the future, it's easy to stop being in the present and to forget the simple idea that what is happening between you as a couple, right in this moment, is all that you know (and all that matters).

When relationships become mired in conflict and argument, the simple pleasures disappear, especially the giddiness of that initial attraction you felt before things became more serious (and complicated).

"Sometimes couples are in a hurry to see where their relationship is 'going' and during this hasty journey, it's often easy to forget the simpler pleasures and excitement of when you first met," says behavioural psychologist and relationship expert Jo Hemmings. "Also, once we become an established couple, routines, habits and patterns develop - or simply having children - which detract from the carefree joy of the early days."

According to Hemmings, "the essence of what attracted us to someone in the first instance is often more enduring than we give it credit for." It's important to be reminded about what the simplicity of being together is really like, especially when small things start plaguing us and mole hills become mountains.

"Chemistry and compatibility are strong drivers in a relationship, but without the other two C's, consideration and compromise, they sometimes take a back seat. Doubts that creep into a relationship, concerns that we aren't with the right person, or issues that feel insurmountable are best dealt with by making sure you keep the fifth C alive - communication.

"Once that starts to ebb away in a relationship, resentment, anxiety and fear tend to take over. You're unlikely to ever agree about everything - and shouldn't expect to as two individuals - but dealing with concerns as and when they arise goes a long way to preventing bigger problems in the future," says Hemmings.

Hemmings says that getting back to basics in the relationship - triggering those initial memories and feelings of carefree excitement and pleasure - will take some effort. She suggests organising regular date nights as couple, going back through old photos and memorabilia together or initiating spontaneous sex as some techniques to find that happy, simple place.

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Pay Attention. Is This The Simplest Relationship Key?

The Huffington Post UK |  By Sarah O'Meara

We all know how wonderful it feels to have someone else’s undivided attention. But for some reason it becomes very easy to the pay least attention to the one person in your life who loves you more than anything else.

Of course, there are many reasons why we stop paying attention to our partners. But failing to pay adequate attention to their needs is a top cause of relationship breakdown, say the experts.

Happily - it’s one dodgy habit that’s easy to fix.

According to relationship coach Katherine Jane, it’s easy to assume that once we’re settled into a relationship that our partners will always remain the same. And that we no longer need to listen to their world to know what they’re thinking and feeling.

This is a mistake that couples in long-term relationships regularly make, she explains.

"They won't stay the same, just as we won't.” she says. “Paying attention to each other allows the relationship to grow, improves intimacy and keeps the 'distance' which often develops in long-term relationships at bay."

Experts also point out that paying attention to your partner is not something that always comes naturally. Once the honeymoon period is over (and you no longer find everything they say absolutely fascinating!), it’s easy to substitute genuine interest for routine chit-chat.

"Paying attention to your partner requires more than saying yes at the end of every question and nodding in their general direction while watching your favourite show on TV,” says celebrity relationship expert Sloan Sheridan-Williams.

“Whether you're in a new relationship or have been together for years, it is vital to the success and happiness of your relationship that your partner feels valued by you and the best way to demonstrate this is by paying them attention.

“The best relationships continue to thrive because each person makes their partner's needs just as important as their own.” Wise words, but focusing 100% on your partner can be a serious, and potentially, risky relationship investment psychotherapist Hilda Burke explains.

“If you really listen to someone and discover what they’re about, you might learn that you’re incompatible,” she observes. "Authenticity always encompasses risk."

"But I would argue that finding this out early can save us a lot of heartbreak in the long run…”

Happily, connecting with your partner will almost always bring you closer together, rather than driving you apart, she adds.

There is another simple reason why our interactions with our partner can become a little weak. These days, technology provides a huge opportunity to communicate with the rest of the world. But it can happen at the expense of engaging with your real-life love.

In order to break the habit of being distracted, it can be worth relearning how to offer your undivided attention to another person.

“When people complain that they don’t know what to do to make their partner happy, I say to them: 'Just listen!' says Hilda Burke.

"And not just listen until they find an opening to say what they want to say. No, to simply listen with an open heart, to listen for the purpose of learning more about our partner.

“This is difficult for many of who are programmed to half listen in conversations and then upon hearing certain buzz words that resonate with us, using them as a cue to utter our own opinions or thoughts on said subject.”

Sound familiar?!

As comedian and writer Andy Gibney, author of How To Seduce Your Wife (Or Anyone Else’s), points out, men in particularly can find it counter-intuitive to listen without offering ‘help’.

“Men think they have to fix everything when often a woman just wants you to listen. So don’t offer solutions unless you’re asked. When I wrote the book it was one of the biggest criticisms women had

“When you listen to your partner you show you care. And remember that if you don’t listen someone else might be...”

If you want your relationship to flourish, it could also be worth noticing how the idea of listening makes you feel, adds writer and holistic therapist Eve Menezes Cunningham.

“Do you feel any resentment at the idea? Perhaps thoughts like... 'Why should I pay attention when she/he never seems to pay ME any attention?' cross your mind.

"The process itself might reveal something you feel is missing in the relationship.​”

In order to improve your ability to listen, Nick Seneca Jankel (the founder of wisdom and wellbeing company www.ripeandready.com), advises making a conscious effort to make an emotional connection.

He suggests that a short meditation can help you reach your ‘still point’ as a couple, and encourage frustrations and resentments to fade.

“Invite your partner to a 10 minute meditation. Sit next to each other or face to face. You can even touch hands in front of your eyes. Close your eyes and breathe deeply together, settling into the moment - and each other. Chill that way for 10 minutes and then share something important with each other.

"Notice the vibrant quality of attention your partner gives you and the beautiful, heartfelt connection you have to each other. Our reconnected hearts are the lifeblood of authentic romance and nourishing intimacy."

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Why Authenticity Is Essential In Your Relationship

The Huffington Post UK |  ByJennifer Barton

When embarking on any relationship, sometimes it's tempting to put on a facade to protect yourself from feeling vulnerable - it can feel easier than revealing the real you.

If you do wear a mask, it can be tougher and tougher to expose your vulnerabilities and any difficult or confusing emotions as your relationship continues, but being authentic in a relationship is essential not only for you but also for your partner - it allows them the freedom to be who they need to be and can give you both the confidence to grow as individuals and as a couple.

Being authentic can also spell the difference between a happy, stable relationship and one plagued with self-doubt.

"Authenticity means not being afraid to show your partner who you really are, warts and all. It is true that early on in a relationship, when everything is new and exciting, we are often on our best behaviour, hoping not only to attract our new or potential partner, but also to keep them from being scared off by the reality of our 'less than perfect' selves," explains psychosexual therapist and relationship counsellor Krystal Woodbridge, the director of Woodbridge Therapy Ltd and a member of the COSRTTrustee Board.

After the honeymoon period in a relationship, we start to wonder whether out partner can live up to the high standards that we've come to expect from them (and whether we can live up to standards we've set for ourselves?) "If we try to maintain a facade, it is inevitable that at some point we will begin to crack under the pressure of expectation that we place on ourselves, or the pressure that we perceive our partners place on us. In fact, the word perception is key to understanding what stops us from being truly authentic in our relationships," says Woodbridge.

Failing to be authentic can lead to insecurities and unnecessary conflicts when we start to worry that our partner expects an idealised version of ourselves, according to Woodbridge.

These assumptions can be dangerous since they imply that your partner sees the world exactly the same way you do - which isn't the case since each individual brings their own experiences and values to a relationship, and we can't know how anyone else feels or what they think.

"Once we truly realise this, we can accept that our assumptions of how our partner will receive our deepest needs, desires, imperfections and foibles are more a reflection of our own view of ourselves," says Woodbridge.

"This highlights the importance of developing a healthy relationship with ourselves well as with our partner. It means that just because we might view the fact that we have issues with trust, or a need for reassurance as 'needy', it doesn't mean that our partner will view it as a negative thing. It also means that as we cannot assume that our partner knows how we feel or what we want, we have to tell them!"

Once you are honest with yourself about your emotions and desires, your relationship - with yourself and your partner - can move forward. Plucking up the courage to show who you really are is more fulfilling and will help bring you to a deeper level of understanding in your relationship. And there's no time like the present to whip off that mask. "People are afraid to be authentic because they don't want to make waves or be disapproved of," explains Beverley Stone, a chartered business psychologist and Harley Street relationship therapist. "Most people are just trying to muddle along and an 'anything for peace' approach is fairly effective in the short term.

"It's only in the long term that your eyes flash open and you're grinding your teeth at 3AM because you can't stand your relationship and that is because you're not being open and honest about it."

According to Stone, even if it feels that authenticity comes with risks (fear of failure, uncertainty, ambiguity), not having the courage to be open and honest about what you want in life carries risks as well (worrying you're living a life of regret, while also feeling stressed and anxious).

"You have got to face your partner and agree that this relationship has to work for both of us or we have to agree it's not working and we have to leave. You only have two choices – the stress and anxiety of standing still and keeping your head down or the stress and anxiety of taking the risk, trying something new and living with the uncertainty of not knowing if it will be better or worse and fulfill your life’s potential," says Stone.

One of the issues with authenticity in relationships that Stone often comes across in her work is that people are going through the motions of life and are not existentially aware. Every choice a person makes - from what they're wearing to how they get to work on any given day - is a choice, but someone who is authentic is aware of those choices and the act of choosing.

Sometimes, you can be unconsciously inauthentic - feeling like you're being true to yourself but simultaneously feeling trapped by your life and your choices.

"It's a predicament they find themselves in because they can choose to be otherwise and have made choices to end up in their situations. You can only be authentic once you become aware you’re not living life true to yourself."

Another tip she gives couples is to consider how they handle conflict - is one person becoming angry while the other one runs away from the issue?

She recommends getting out of a 'fight or flight' dynamic - which never solves the issue - and encourages couples to ask open questions, to be collaborative and to change their tone of voice with one another. The conflict resolution agreement they decide on also gets stuck on the fridge as a reminder in case they return to habitual forms of behaviour.

"There are two ways of viewing life: you can either change the situation so you stay and make it better or leave and find someone more suitable," says Stone. "Or, you can change the way you view the situation so you no longer get worked up about it and decide that you're going to put up with it.

"You can’t stay and hate it – it’s a ridiculous waste of life and makes you ill psychologically and otherwise."

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They say that opposites attract. We've proved it again in our third new flavour, combining two of your favourite ice creams. Can you guess what it is? 

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Summer has come early with our second new flavour this Spring. Guess which fruits it contains?

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Could Being More Spontaneous Change Your Relationship?

The Huffington Post UK |  By Sarah O'Meara

The funny thing about falling love is that the act is probably one of the most spontaneous things you’ll ever do in your life.

You’ll spontaneously surrender your privacy, offer to share your home and promise another person ceaseless emotional support - all in the name of love.

Yet, as relationships progress we often find ourselves losing that spontaneous spark.

Our mutual love of snuggling on the sofa eating Thai takeaways and watching the latest boxset, becomes a dull habit rather than a delightful shared interest. West-London based integrative psychotherapist and life coach Hilda Burke points out that if we thought about it logically, would many of us even be in our relationship?

“The odds are often stacked against many of our relationships – polar interests, differing political opinions, intolerance of each other’s friends and family, not to mention wildly different ideals on where to holiday and yet we persist!”

With such a long list of reasons that relationships can falter, it's important to hold on to the initial enthusiasm we have for our partner.

Spontaneity, she says, helps remind us of the feelings we had when we initially fell for our partner.

“Spontaneity takes us back into the ‘unknown territory’ arena. To the excitement and inevitable nervousness that’s the hallmark of the early days of a relationship."

But why do we need to go back in time, and return to those feelings?

Well, it turns out that investing months or years developing happy routines together can cause us lose sight of a vital part of what makes us interested in one another: the differences between us.

“Lack of curiosity in relationships is often a problem,” explains Dr Tom Stevens, consultant psychiatrist at London Bridge Hospital.

“When one partner feels they know everything about the other partner, it can cause them to become disinterested."

“This is where spontaneity can be very helpful. Curiosity can be provoked by unpredictable circumstances, which are more likely to emerge with risk-taking."

But breaking out of our comfort zones to become more spontaneous can be harder than we expect. The problem is we’re hard-wired to seek out routines that provide us with a sense of stability and security.

Nick Seneca Jankel, founder of wisdom and wellbeing companywww.ripeandready.com says our minds are actually wired to favour predictability, which often equates to safety over spontaneity.

“So we may have to begin to retrain ourselves to allow some novelty into our days," he says.

"Luckily, spontaneity doesn’t have to mean dropping everything one friday night and flying to Paris (though who wouldn’t be delighted their partner had organised that?). It can mean something way more everyday, but possibly way more powerful for a great relationship.'

For example: The next time you are on the verge of an argument with your partner, stop and consider whether you could respond differently, he suggests.

Perhaps try humour to diffuse the tension and surprise your partner?

“Responding to your partner’s bad mood or worries with a spontaneously creative, optimistic attitude can be all it takes to improve your relationship,” says Jankel, author of Switch On: Unleash Your Creativity & Thrive with the New Science & Spirit of Breakthrough.

Adding more spontaneous moments to your relationship will also increase the chance of a couple developing new interests together, which will give the relationship staying power.

"Monogamy is often associated with monotony and people in long-term relationships often find themselves stuck in a rut," says Katherine Jane, relationship coach and founder of Never Too Late.

"Adding a healthy dose of spontaneity keeps the monotony at bay and can strengthen a relationship through good and bad times," she explains.

“Couples and people are constantly changing, so keeping spontaneity alive in a relationship helps both people grow with each other through new-found interests and reduces the risk of growing apart."

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Three NEW flavours are launching this March. This one is refreshing and deliciously crisp, a taste of the East. Can you guess which Japanese fruit we've used in our new flavour? #realflavour

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