I think the ice cream freezes as hard as a rock because of the sweetener you are using. I stopped using Splenda and now use crystalline fructose, which is a low-glycemic product. It does not give me sugar cravings and the ice cream stays soft. I also ordered a product from Whey-Low, which is made specifically for making ice cream. I have not received it yet. It can be bought at www.wheylow.com. The fructose is pretty inexpensive at the HFS.