What to do with a frozen solid custard

Sometimes I tend to forget and sometimes I just get plain lazy.

And one consequence is that the ice cream custard that has been left in the freezer for too long (usually overnight) becomes frozen rock solid. So what now?

For Already Been Churned ice cream custard:
Well, if the frozen ice cream custard has already been hand-churned at least twice, it should be of pretty decent texture. Simply leave the frozen custard in the chiller or fridge section for about 10 to 15 minutes and it will soften enough to scoop and serve.

For Never Been Churned ice cream custard:
Alternatively, let it chill for about 30 minutes or so and when the texture is soft enough, start whisking by hand again. Proceed to hand-churn and freeze normally until firm but soft enough to scoop and serve.

Do note that large ice crystals might have already formed in a frozen custard that has NOT been hand-churned at all. To reduce the ice crystals from big and flaky bits to less perceptible ones, it is advisable to allow the frozen custard to melt considerably, so that any icy bits will be melted down as well, and proceed to churn the custard by hand normally and leave to freeze firm.

Conclusion:
But if you aren't the particularly picky type, I guess a frozen custard texture can still taste pretty good.

I can't transfer my freshly made ice cream when it has frozen solid? So how now?

After you've made your ice cream custard, hand-churned it about 2 or 3 times and left it to set firm, the texture of the eventual ice cream can be frozen pretty rock solid. Which means it can't be transferred immediately. So what can I do about it?

Well, timing is everything considering that ice cream can only be transferred from one holding bowling to another storage container if it is SOFT ENOUGH to be scooped.

With this in mind, here are 2 simple suggestions:

1. Leave it in the chiller or fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes. This should allow the ice cream to become softer when left to warm up under controlled temperature preventing it to not turn too soft too fast.

2. After the second or third churn by hand (so ice cream has already been sitting in the freezer for around 2 hours), if texture of ice cream is already semi-frozen and somewhat firm, leave ice cream in freezer for an additional 20 minutes at most and then transfer into a storage container.

How do I reduce the iciness of hand churned ice cream?

This question was posted to me three times this week. I guess it needs some answering. I encountered the same problem initially when I first started out making ice cream by hand, but it can be easily overcome.

I would assume that your ice cream custard is cooked to perfection: Rich and thickened, an indication that a lot of the moisture has already been removed.

One reason ice crystals form is because the custard freezes up too fast. If that is the case, you can always hand churn the ice cream custard up to 4 or 5 times in total, with a 20-minute interval between each churn.

Doing this will effectively prevent the formation of large ice crystals because the custard is shifted around a bit more and any form of moisture cannot bind together and is constantly broken up. Basically, having a consistent churning process is replicating what ice cream makers do: Mind-numbing freezing while churning.

It might seem a bit more work (and a bit of a drone) but there is an additional point to note: Churning is a pretty brutal task especially when dealing with larger batches of ice cream. So you might want to work it a bit harder and not just appear to be stirring the custard around.

You really want to dig the whisk in deep and give it a good hearty spin around, making sure to scrape the sides and allowing the custard to fold over and into itself. If you do this process right, you will notice that the ice cream will have grains and pockets of spaces inside when you scoop it once it has become firm and set.

Are there any problems with freezing ice cream if my freezer is too cold?

Yes and no.

If you are hand-churning ice cream that is setting in a very cold freezer, you might realise that ice cream that becomes firm very fast tends to form larger ice crystals compared to ice cream that sets firm over a longer period of time where finer ice crystals are formed.

But a cold freezer has its advantages too: Try hand churning the completed ice cream custard every 20 minutes or so (instead of waiting for 30 to 45 minutes) to solve the problem of iciness. This will help to break up the ice crystals. Shorter intervals would also mean that your ice cream can be churned and allowed to set firmly much faster.

If ice cream becomes too hard to scoop, try leaving it in the chiller for 10 to 15 minutes prior to serving. Ice cream should soften and be scoopable.

Is it normal for ice cream custard to get stuck on whisk with hand churn method?

Yes, it is absolutely normal for the ice cream custard that you are churning by hand to get stuck on the whisk. If the ice cream has set and gets stuck firmly, it takes some time for the ice cream to chill down before it becomes unstuck and scoopable again.

Homemade ice cream tends to be denser and harder by nature, so try leaving it in the chiller compartment for about 10 to 15 minutes (but not too long until ice cream turns into a sludge) to become unstuck again.

The trick is to always transfer your ice cream into a serving container when it is still soft and scoopable after several rounds of hand churning. When the texture is just about to harden, it makes matters a lot easier to transfer from container to container.

Alternatively, if you don't mind, you can always eat the ice cream off the whisk. Saves you the trouble of putting ice cream into serving containers and making all neat and pretty.