There are times when things don’t go as planned. While home ice cream churns are fantastic and fun appliances to have, there are times when the ice cream or frozen yogurt just won’t freeze. We have a few reasons why this may happen to you plus what you can do to fix them. As a bonus, we share a family-favorite ice cream recipe for you at the end.
Ice Cream Won’t Thicken In Ice Cream Maker
1. Not Enough Solids
When you make ice cream in an ice cream maker, and it comes out thin and watery, there are chances that there aren’t enough solids in the ice cream recipe. This could cause the ice cream to remain watery.
You can try adding a little skimmed milk powder. Some people also like to add stabilizers. If you do add any of these, be sure to add a pinch of salt as well because it brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
2. Ice Cream Base
The ice cream base, usually custard or something similar, is the most crucial part of the ice cream-making process. If your ice cream is not thick enough, there are chances that you haven’t chilled the ice cream base enough.
On average, it is suggested that you chill the ice cream base in the freezer for around two hours before you add it to the ice cream maker. In addition to the ice cream base, you must freeze the bowl as well. The best practice is to chill the ice cream base or custard overnight. All your other ingredients must also be cold.
3. Chilling Temperature
The bowl for the churner needs to be made as cold as possible. Most household fridge-top deep freezes do not get cold enough. We recommend chilling the churner bowl in a chest freezer. This should be done for at least 24-48 hours before making your ice cream.
The best practice is simply to store the bowl in a deep freeze between ice cream-making sessions. If your deep freeze has a temperature-setting dial, turn the temperature down to the coldest it will go while chilling the bowl.
4. Using Dairy With Low-Fat Content
Sure, you want to be healthy but we have to tell you that dairy products with low-fat content are not suitable for making ice cream. This is because the fat content is actually used as a solid part (it must be higher for making thick ice cream).
So, if you have been making your base or custard with low-fat milk or cream, in the future swap them out for full-fat ingredients. Also, the full-fat content will deliver a creamy and smooth texture while at the same time giving a rich flavor.
5. Overfilling the Churner Bowl
We understand that you want to make a big batch of ice cream at one time but the reality is that home ice cream churns are best for small batches only. They simply don’t get cold enough to freeze big quantities of ice cream. Their motors are also not powerful enough to churn large quantities.
Do not fill the appliance bowl more than three-quarters full. This will ensure sufficient cold for churning without putting strain on the motor, hence the development of suitable texture and thickness levels!
Please try our ice cream recipe below. It’s super-simple and requires no pre-making of a custard base. It contains no eggs and the ingredients are few and easy to obtain. The flavor is outstanding and the quantity is right for a home churner.
Please remember to chill your churner bowl for at least 48 hours before attempting to make this. We hope you enjoy it!
Condensed Milk Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 500 ml fresh whipping cream, chilled
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
- 250 ml full-fat milk, chilled
Instructions:
- In a bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form.
- Ford in the other ingredients.
- Scrape the mixture into your ice cream churner and churn for about 40 minutes until it thickens and becomes like soft-serve ice cream.
- Using a spatula, scrape the ice cream into a freezer-safe container and put it into the freezer to chill properly for a couple of hours.
Best served within 3 days. Makes about 1 liter. If you want coffee-flavored ice cream, simply dissolve 2 tablespoons of good quality instant coffee powder in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water and add this (after cooling it down) to the mixture.