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Whether it's plain vanilla or something more exotic, when ice cream is frozen solid it's almost impossible to scoop from the tub.

Now an inventor says he's created a device to solve the problem, and it's all to do with the angle at which you approach the task.

Rather than scooping with your wrist in a sideways motion, Michael Chou suggests pushing the scoop away from you, bringing the power of your arm and chest muscles into play. 

Michael Chou, 35, invented the new scoop design after becoming frustrated at not being able get ice cream out the tub when the dessert was frozen solid

The 'Midnight Scoop' design changes the way people scoop ice cream when it is frozen solid

His Midnight Scoop – said to be the first change in design since the ice cream scoop was invented by Alfred L Cralle in 1897 – has a curved handle which allows you to channel those forces. 

Aerospace engineer Mr Chou, a 35-year-old father of two from Michigan in the US, said: 'Every time I scooped ice cream I couldn't help but feel there was a better way. I like my ice cream frozen and hard – melting it with a hot spoon or letting it sit out for half an hour ruins it.'

It has taken nearly two years for the scoop to come to fruition. Made from a coated and forged aluminium alloy, it will cost £30.

Mr Chou said: 'It's called the Midnight Scoop because I spent so many late nights drafting and designing on the drawing board.

'I designed the scoop to rely on something that never runs out – mechanical force supplied by the arm and chest. My background in aerospace engineering has made me familiar with mechanical forces. But more importantly I am a father, and that has made me familiar with ice cream!'

'I decided I needed to come up with a simple way to scoop hard ice cream without melting it, and without creating some overly-complex product that would break eventually.' 

Made from a coated and forged 6061 aluminum alloy, they will be sold for a little over £30 once the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign ends in October.

Midnight Scoop - A new spoon to held serve hard ice cream

Rather than spooning ice cream with your wrist in a side-on motion, Michael suggests pushing it chest-on so you can use their arm and chest muscles

The scoop has a curved handle which gives extra force and means there is no need to use your wrist

Mr Chou, an aerospace and mechanical engineer from South Lyon, Michigan, said: 'The most common ice cream scoopers today are ones that someone designed decades ago and went 'good enough'.

'Since then, they haven't changed and that's not good enough for me.

'I used some innovation to fundamentally change the way ice cream is scooped.

'The idea went through 38 official redesigns. I just wanted to make sure I had the design right, that it worked the way it was supposed to, and that it would last as long as possible.

'I designed the Midnight Scoop to rely on something that never runs out - mechanical force supplied by the arm and chest.

'The curved handle - as it is symmetrical - also allows for complete ambidextrous use.

'It's actually called the Midnight Scoop because I spent so many late nights drafting and designing on the drawing board - usually after midnight.

Mr Chou said that he needed a fast and efficient way to get ice cream out of the tub for his son and daughter

'All in all, it's been roughly two to three years since the original idea came to me.

'Everyone that has tried it - from family to ice cream parlours - has wanted to keep our scoop.

'My background in aerospace engineering has made me familiar with mechanical forces and the materials the Midnight Scoop is made from.

'But more importantly - I am a father, and that has made me familiar with ice cream.

'That was part of what drove me to create the Midnight Scoop - I needed a fast and efficient way to get ice cream to my son and daughter.

'Also, the scoop allows them to scoop ice cream a lot easier. It's a win win!' 

Thje new design has taken two years and 38 redesigns to come to fruition, 117 years after the first ice cream scoop was first invented by Alfred L. Calle in 1897