The indulgence that only comes around once a year — here’s how we like to celebrate Ice Cream for Breakfast Day (in a healthy way!)

Ice cream for breakfast sounds almost too good to be true. Where’s the cereal, the buttered toast, the granola? Is it really okay to have dessert in the mornings? Once a year, on Ice Cream for Breakfast Day (hereafter shortened to ICFBD) you have the perfect excuse to start your day with a sweet treat.

You might be worried that it’s unhealthy to have ice cream for breakfast. But as with all sweet things (including chocolate), moderation is key. If you’re not having ice cream for breakfast every day of the year, then there’s no harm at all in indulging for one day only. Additionally, there are a few simple tricks you can do to make your ice cream a little lower on the sugar and additives.

When is Ice Cream for Breakfast Day?

ICFBD is celebrated in the cold of winter on the first Saturday of February (which we personally think is the ideal time to be treating yourself!) That means that if you’re celebrating in 2022, ICFBD will fall on the 5th. If you’re planning ahead 2023, it’ll be the 4th, or the 3rd if you’re thinking as far ahead as 2024. Mark that down in your calendar!

Ice Cream for Breakfast day started life in the 1960s in the USA, when Florence Rappaport gave her two youngest children ice cream for breakfast to lighten up the cold, miserable day. Since then, the holiday has spread all over the world to countries like China and New Zealand — and of course, the UK.

How to make your own ice cream

If you want to really mark the occasion, why not try making your own ice cream? To make ice cream at home, you’ll need double cream, full fat milk, sugar, a vanilla pod, and egg yolks. Sounds unhealthy? Most ice cream is, but the best part about making ice cream at home is that you know exactly what’s going into it, which makes it easy to make some healthy ingredient swaps.

Prefer your ice cream to be a little less sweet? You could reduce the amount of sugar slightly. For chocolate ice cream, you can use dark chocolate to cut out added sugar and to give the ice cream a richer flavour. At Hotel Chocolat, our mantra is More Cocoa, Less Sugar, which means you’ll get the taste of purer chocolate with even less added sugar.

Healthy chocolate ‘nice cream’

If you fancy making your Ice Cream for Breakfast Day dairy-free, then you’re in luck. ‘Nice cream’ is an alternative to ice cream that’s made of nothing but bananas and your choice of flavouring. Its sweetness comes from the natural sugars of the banana, which makes it a great alternative to dairy ice cream that’s as good for your body as it is for your tastebuds.

You can mix in a whole rainbow of different fruits, from raspberry to mango depending on your taste, or even add some chocolate to your nice cream. Check out our recipe here to get started!

Once you’ve made your (n)ice cream, you can load it up with toppings to make the perfect ice cream sundae. This opportunity comes around once a year, after all — now’s the time to go all out.

Ice cream breakfast ideas

Now you have your ice cream, how will you choose to eat it? Here are just a few of our suggestions…

Affogato

Some people can’t imagine their mornings without a strong coffee to get them going, but why not get your pick-me-up a bit differently this Ice Cream for Breakfast Day? Affogato (Italian for “drowned” is an espresso drink consisting of a scoop of ice cream or gelato submerged in a shot of espresso. Bitter coffee and sweet ice cream melt together to create a perfectly balanced taste. Our punchy Rocket and vibrant Oh, Hello coffee blends offer robust flavours that work beautifully with vanilla ice cream.

Is it a dessert or a drink? No one seems to be able to come to a consensus, but what we do know is that it makes an energising start to your morning.

Ice cream sandwich

Who says sandwiches are for lunch only? Ice cream sandwiches are a popular way of eating ice cream due to their convenience — no washing up needed! Just pop your favourite flavour of ice cream between two wafers to enjoy the mouthwatering contrast of wafer crunch and soft, fluffy ice cream.

Ice cream topped waffles

A classic American breakfast food for an American holiday, this time with more ice cream! The weather outside may be cold, but waffles are a great option for a cosy breakfast.

The toppings are all down to you — you can enjoy the simplicity of syrup or pile it up with a veritable mountain of your favourite toppings. Of course, we could never say no to chocolate. Chunks of rich chocolate brownie drizzled in delectable melted chocolate… we couldn’t think of a more delicious breakfast.

But if you’re looking for healthier options, you could load it up with all your favourite fruits. Strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and other fruits are all bursting with flavour and nutrients.

Ice cream float milkshake

You might not think that early February is the regular time to be drinking chilly milkshakes, but we’re already having ice cream, so why not double down? Ice cream floats in fizzy drinks are a fun and easy to make dessert, but you can switch out the fizz for milkshake if you want an extra chocolate fix.

For best results, you can mix different flavours of milkshake and ice cream so you get a

If you’re worried about dairy overload, why not go dairy-free? You can use vegan ice cream to make the shake, or even frozen bananas (like with nice cream) to get the same refreshing taste in a healthier drink.

Will you be participating in this year’s Ice Cream for Breakfast Day? Let us know about your scrumptious concoctions at @HotelChocolat on Twitter!