Water-based coating for frozen confection

1. A plurality of composite frozen confectioneries packaged in contact with each other, each composite frozen confectionery comprising an ice confection core; and a water-based coating comprising 75% to 95% water, 0.5% to 10% fat, 0.5% to 5% of an emulsifier, 0.5% to 10% gelatinised starch and 1% to 5% denatured protein; wherein all proteins in the coating are selected from the group consisting of egg protein, dairy protein and combinations thereof, and the water-based coating prevents the plurality of composite frozen confectioneries from sticking to each other.

2. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the water-based coating comprises less than 10% sugar or sweetening agent.

3. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the water-based coating comprises from 0.5 to 5% of a component selected from the group consisting of cocoa powder, cocoa liquor and mixtures thereof.

4. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the water-based coating comprises 0.5 to 10% of fibers.

5. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the gelatinised starch is selected from the group consisting of plant starches.

6. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the fat is selected from the group consisting of cocoa butter, cocoa butter equivalent, cocoa butter substitute, cocoa fat improver and cocoa butter replacer.

7. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is selected from the group consisting of sugar esters, an emulsifying wax, polyglycerol fatty acid esters, polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), polysorbates (polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters), monoglycerides, diglycerides and combinations thereof.

8. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein each frozen confectionery has a volume between 2 and 10 ml.

9. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the ice confection core is selected from the group consisting of ice cream, mellorine, frozen yogurt, frozen mousse, frozen fudge, frozen custard, sorbet, fruit sherbet and frozen pet treat.

10. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the ice confection core comprises more than 10% sugar or sweetening agent and has an overrun of between 25 and 200%.

11. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the ice confection core comprises a frozen fudge or a sorbet.

12. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein each frozen confectionery has a calorie content comprised between 90 and 250 per 100g serving.

13. A method for producing composite frozen confectioneries, the method comprising the steps of:

a. preparing a mixture comprising 75 to 95% water, 0.1 to 10% fat, 0.5 to 5% emulsifier, 0.5 to 10% protein, 0.5 to 10% starch and 0 to 10% sugar or sweetening agent, wherein all proteins in the mixture are selected from the group consisting of egg protein, dairy protein, and combinations thereof;

b. heating the mixture at a temperature between 40 and 90° C. for 5 to 10 minutes;

c. homogenizing the mixture;

d. pasteurizing the mixture;

e. enrobing a frozen confection core with the mixture obtained in d. to form a coating on the core; and

f. packaging the frozen confectioneries in contact with each other, and the coating prevents the frozen confectioneries from sticking to each other.

14. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 1 , wherein the gelatinised starch and the denatured protein are formed by heating at a temperature between 40 and 90° C. for 5 to 10 minutes.

15. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the mixture comprises 1% to 5% protein.

16. The composite frozen confectioneries according to claim 6 , wherein the emulsifying wax is selected from the group consisting of beeswax, carnauba wax, candedilla wax, plant wax, fruit wax, animal wax and combinations thereof.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method is performed without any drying step.