I'm gradually dipping my toes into the world of Häagen-Dazs. So far the salted caramel tubs have been the clear winner, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to try the new white chocolate sticks whilst they were on offer (currently £1.74 per pack in Tesco). I've often bemoaned the lack of almond-chocolate combinations on the market, and although Magnim have started selling a white chocolate version of their classic milk chocolate almond ice cream sticks, I was interested to see how Häagen-Dazs fared.
"Our vanilla ice cream with crunchy caramelised almonds enrobed in a coating of real white Belgian Chocolate, a soothing white chocolate treat."
Ok so there's already a clear difference between Magnum and Häagen-Dazs: Häagen-Dazs' ice cream incorporates caramelised almonds and is covered in a smooth white chocolate coating, whereas Magnum is a plain ice cream surrounded by a nutty chocolate.
Once again I found myself disappointed with the quality of the white chocolate. It did seem a little thicker than the coating user on their salted caramel sticks, but was noticeably inferior to Magnum's chocolate. I can't imagine Häagen-Dazs releasing a bar of pure chocolate as Magnum have, put it that way.
Fortunately the ice cream was the saving grace, although there weren't as many of the caramelised almonds as I'd have liked (they only constitute 7% of the bars). The nuts I did find were delicious though, like little crunchy pockets of flavour amongst the otherwise smooth and creamy luxury ice cream.
I really wish we could amalgamate the Magnum and HD ice cream sticks.
Magnum are the chocolate champions but Häagen-Dazs' ice cream and caramelised almonds are superior to Magnum. Therefore if you're buying the sticks for the chocolate then stick to Magnum, for the ice cream opt for Häagen-Dazs. If like me, however, you're governed by budget then choose whichever is on offer!
8/10
