The Perfect Match: Pairing Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream & Churros

Häagen-Dazs has established itself as a household name for serving decadent and creamy ice cream to avid sweet-toothed fans. There are only so many successful flavour combinations that ice cream can pull off, but Häagen-Dazs has outdone itself once again with its latest limited edition floral-inspired duo, with Lychee Raspberry Rose and Apricot Lavender.

In fact, the tubs were exclusively designed by a team of botanical artists from Paris, Jardin de Babylone! When it comes to incorporating flowers into a recipe, striking the right balance of taste and fragrance is key, such that neither overpowers the other.

We had the privilege of sampling these limited edition creations and racked our brains to find a suitable suitor for them. Churros Factory seemed like the perfect fit, because what other indulgent pairing would be worth our time? Read on to find out how well these flower powers partnered up with crispy churros!

Limited Edition n°1 | Lychee Raspberry Rose

This velvety and rich ice cream uses Turkish rose extract, stirred in with real lychees and raspberries. Although the lychee is very subtle, it lends its sweetness to balance out the acidity of the raspberries, creating a smooth concoction that even hard core chocoholics like us were close to becoming a convert!

Limited Edition n°2 | Apricot Lavender

This is indeed very aromatic, made with thick apricot sauce and real apricot pieces, sourced from Morocco. The lavender might prove to be a little too potent for some, given it’s the first thing we took a whiff of when we opened the pint. However, the apricot permeates the palate with its mild citrus notes and finishes off with a profile very similar to a sorbet.

1. Original Churros

With Lychee Raspberry Rose: Extremely floral, which wasn’t too pleasant. Also, this particular churro was a tad chewier than the rest, which is surprising to us. We would’ve liked it crispier.

With Apricot Lavender: This was overwhelmingly saccharine sweet, with the combination of the chocolate and apricot creating a sticky, honey-like consistency that was quite cloying. It proved to be a match that was neither complimentary, nor clashing; just odd.

2. Bananutella Churros

With Lychee Raspberry Rose: First thought we have is ‘floral’, which is quite generic but that’s all we can honestly think of! The aroma instantly latches on to your senses on first bite and sticks around. The raspberry in fact lightens the heavy chocolate sauce, so that it doesn’t sit densely at the back of your mouth.

With Apricot Lavender: An interesting complement; the ice cream actually makes the sweet churro a tad sour. It’s kind of zesty, fruity and coupled with the slices of banana, it makes for a very enjoyable dessert.

3. Sea Salt Caramel Churros

With Lychee Raspberry Rose: Sadly, the lychee and raspberry flavours are totally washed out, with the sea salt being way too powerful in this coupling. The ice cream quickly fades into the background after a few chews, and then you’re hit with a potent mix of syrupy-salty sticky fun.

With Apricot Lavender: One of our favourite pairings so far, with its great combination of tangy, sour and sweet! Each and every flavour profile have their handful of seconds of fame, which is always a good thing because it’s a constant surprise.

4 Ondeh-ondeh Churros

With Lychee Raspberry Rose: Another instant favourite of ours, with the coconut shavings really taking a front seat here. It’s fragrant, as expected and not too sweet. It’s a surprising complement, given this churro is an Asian interpretation of the dessert and the ice cream’s flavour isn’t exactly something you’d pick off the shelf.

With Apricot Lavender: For the final match, the ice cream totally floods our palate and no coconut nor gula Melaka flavour can be detected. We reckon the apricot is too flavourful a fruit to complement the churro and ultimately, this pairing was much too sweet for our liking.