Home-made ice lollies: how to avoid a brick of ice

An ice lolly is the simplest frozen dessert there is: pour the mix into a mould, push in a stick and wait. That is exactly why the home-made version so often turns out as a brick of ice. The freezer is not to blame — a lolly freezes at rest, which is a different piece of physics from freezing in a machine.

Why a lolly is not just ice cream in another shape

An ice cream maker does two things at once: it chills and it keeps stirring. Stirring scrapes the frozen layer off the wall and breaks it up, so many tiny ice nuclei form at once and none grows. Inside a mould, nothing stirs: heat leaves only by conduction through the walls, the mix freezes slowly from the edge inwards and the crystals grow large — up to the millimetre range.

The industry calls this category quiescently frozen. The Guelph ice cream technology text describes commercial production much as you do it at home, only faster: the mould is filled, immersed in cold brine, the stick goes in once the mix has partly set, and the lolly is pulled out by it.

If you own an ice cream maker, there is a third route: churn the mix only to soft-serve consistency and pipe that into the moulds. It gives the smoothest lolly you can make at home, and every recipe here offers it.

Sugar: how much and which kind

Sugar in a lolly is not there to sweeten — it lowers the freezing point, so part of the water stays unfrozen at −18 °C and the lolly can be bitten. The industrial water-ice formula is surprisingly restrained: 85–95 parts water to 20–23 parts cane sugar, 5–7 parts glucose syrup, stabiliser and citric acid — about 22–24 °Bx.

That is less than an ordinary sorbet, for a practical reason: the lolly has to stay on the stick. An over-sweet mix is soft at freezer temperature and slides off. Our fruit lollies therefore aim at the lower half of the range for their type.

Glucose syrup works the other way round: it brings solids and longer chains that thicken the solution while barely moving the freezing point — the ideal partner here.

Fat, solids and stabiliser

The second lever is total solids: the less free water is left in the mix, the less there is to turn into ice.

A stabiliser is no luxury here: it stops water migrating and freezing onto larger crystals. More in Stabilisers at home.

Layers

A layered lolly is not difficult — it only needs patience. Every layer has to set on the surface (about 30–40 minutes in the freezer), otherwise the mixtures bleed together and the stripes become a dull pink. Add each layer by the spoonful or down the side of the mould; pouring from a height punches through it.

For a marbled look, simply alternate the mixtures and draw a skewer once from top to bottom — as in the layered yogurt and berry lolly.

A shell that cracks

A chocolate shell stays on for one reason: the lolly is colder than the setting point of cocoa butter, so the chocolate hardens faster than it can pass its heat inwards.

• The lolly must be frozen through — at least 4–6 hours at −18 °C. A lukewarm one washes the shell off.
• The chocolate must be lukewarm (about 32–35 °C), not hot, and in a tall narrow glass so the whole lolly can be dipped.
• A spoonful of coconut fat or flavourless oil thins the shell: it comes out finer and is easier to bite.
• Dip one at a time, keep the rest in the freezer, and set the finished ones on a chilled lined tray.

The full method is in the chocolate-coated lolly.

Moulds, and getting the lolly out

Silicone moulds unmould most easily; rigid plastic gives a sharper shape and lasts longer. With no moulds at all, small cups or yogurt pots work — cover the top with foil and push the stick through.

• Fill them about four fifths full — the mix expands slightly as it freezes.
• Insert the stick after 60–90 minutes, when the mix is firm at the sides and slushy in the middle. A lid with stick holders does this for you.
• Freeze for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, and keep the mould level — not in the door, where the temperature swings.
• Unmoulding: dip the mould up to its rim in lukewarm water for 5–10 seconds and pull the lolly out slowly and straight. Hot water melts the surface; pulling sideways tears the stick out.

Common mistakes