My homemade Baileys Irish Cream led to far more questions and comments from my friends than my cupcakes ever do. "What's in Baileys Irish Cream?" "Where can I get the recipe for Baileys?" "OMG! This Baileys is sooo good! Will you be posting the Baileys recipe?" Sometimes I think that I should forget cupcakes altogether and just post recipes for things that people didn't realize they could make at home. Some of my most popular posts right now are homemade grenadine (my most popular post of all time), how to make clotted cream, and homemade tahini. But, how could I ever give up on my petite frosted friends?
Homemade Baileys Irish Cream Recipe
Here is the homemade Baileys Irish Cream recipe for all of my friends, both on and offline. It's easy enough that you should have time to whip up a batch to take to your New Year's Eve parties! I found the recipe on a discussion forum on Chowhound. The entire discussion is worth a read. It contains lots of information about the drink. I am repriting it below with my notes.
- 1 C light cream (I used heavy whipping cream, which made it even richer)
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 2/3 C Irish whiskey (I used Jameson's)
- 1 t instant coffee
- 2 T Hershey's chocolate syrup (I used Torani)
- 1 t vanilla
- 1 t almond extract (I skipped this entirely)
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and set on high speed for 30 seconds.
- Bottle in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate. Shake before using.
- Will keep for up to 2 months.
115 comments:
Do you know if you can freeze it and keep it longer? We usually keep our Bailey's in the freezer, so I would like to do the same. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
SheWolf - I don't see why that wouldn't work.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... i hope mine comes out as good as the sample we had!!!!! i can't wait to make some!
oh yummy. This would make a good present for my dad. Heck, I could give it to him tomorrow and win me over for his next birthday, father's day and the next Christmas! THanks for sharing this!
we love bailey;s irish cream especially the caramal one..great recipe but we dont get whisky here :(
It's actually something you can mke with Christmas leftovers too - who doesn't have cream in the fridge at the moment?
Forgive me. I'm just trying to make blending your own liquers seem like a good example of seasonal eating! And if you can't do that at this time of year, when can you?
This is going to save me so much money.
I love you. :o)
I've never even considered making my own Baileys - what a great post! My husband just bought a bottle of Baileys for the holidays and now I'd like to make your recipe and do a side by side comparison.
I wish you a fantastic 2010!
Baileys Irish Cream is one of my favorite liqeuers. I never ever dreamed of making it myself. And the ingredients are so basic. Who would've thought?!
I'm moving this bookmark right up next to my Homemade Kahlua bookmark! Awesome!!
I love Baileys! It never occurred to me to make it at home. I can't wait to try it!
Brilliant! I juuuuust ran out of Baileys, and I have a cocktail I want to make, and I was going to buy more. I will definitely try this instead!
Do you know if you can use Jack Daniels? I happen to have JD in the cupboard and this would be amazing to make for my New Year's party, but I don't want to have to go to the liquor store on New Year's Eve! lol
Anon - Sorry I didn't get back to you in time for your party. Did you try it? I think it would work, but it wouldn't taste quite the same.
Has anyone tried this using real coffee instead of instant? How did it turn out?
what a fantastic recipe. I had a party last night and everyone loved my Bailey's Irish Cream. Thank you thank you thank you.
COST - How much do i save by doing it myself? A small bottle of Baileys costs 20 bucks...anybody price out the ingredients and serving size comparison? Thanks.
I believe that 1 2/3 cup of Irish Whiskey is supposed to be 2/3 cup unless you are looking to drastically increase from the 34 proof of Bailey's.
Has anyone else made this recipe. I agree with Patrick, after making it, the amount of whiskey called for here is a big high. I think I may try it again using only 2/3 of a cup instead of an entire 375ml bottle.
Finally I'll be able to drink Bailey's from a shoe. :D
I think that this is a lovely showcase of ingenouty. I will try and make some with a homemade chocolate sauce using dark cocao powder, and real ground coffee grounds as a simple syrup.
There's a space between the 1 and the 2 of "1 2/3 cup of Irish Whiskey" -- it's 1 and 2/3 cups, or 5/3 cup, not 12/3. jeeze.
I like Jason Sandeman's idea for making your own chocolate syrup with coffee; I was thinking, too, that you could use a shot of espresso instead of instant coffee (and maybe cut the cream a smidgeon if that additional liquid made it too watery).
The recipe I use has a little more chocolate than that, and is half whiskey. Also there's an egg involved.
For some reason cheap whiskey tends to taste better in homemade Bailey's than the good stuff. We tried it with fairly nice Irish whiskey one time, and didn't like it nearly as much as the horrible stuff from a plastic bottle. I don't know why.
Amazing. You are my official new hero.
Oh wow I seriously didn't know you can DIY Irish Cream! I can't wait to try this one ;)
What mean T, C ? I'm italian, I can convert Oz to liters but I don't know what C and T mean.
T means Tablespoon
t means teaspoon
C means Cup
...I think...
Confirming:
T=tablespoon
t=teaspoon
C=cup
easy volume conversions can be done with confidence.
Thx to all for the reply.
Just a note about the amount of whiskey required: 1 and 2/3 cups is 13 ounces, in other words a 375 mL bottle.
You could also use whisky, but then it woudn't be "Irish" cream.
this may be a stupid question, but I am unfamiliar with coffee. When you say a teaspoon of instant coffee, you mean a teaspoon of the instant coffee grounds, right? Not a teaspoon of already made instant coffee?
delicious :) Thanks
I can't thank you enough for this. I love baileys and could drink it all the time. But, i've never seen a recipe for making it. I can't wait to try this out.
Blogger alai said...
Finally I'll be able to drink Bailey's from a shoe. :D
January 3, 2010 7:00 AM
Old Gregg, is that you!!?!?
This is great! I made it yesterday afternoon and had a number of people taste it - my son declared that it should only be drunk at home so that you can go to bed straight after! And driving after having drunk some would definitely result in failing the breathalyzer!
My husband loves it! I love it! It's so easy!!
I did it! With the heavy cream--an awesome local Jersey cream. I also dropped the whiskey to 1 1/3 cup and the almond extract to 1/2 tsp and did melted chocolate for the Hershey's syrup--half ounce each of 60% and white chocolate. And the new Starbucks stuff for the instant coffee powder. +milk and ice in blender makes an awesome frappe.
And unless my math is wrong, 1 and 2/3 cup whiskey (~400 ml) actually yields a slightly lower proof than commercial Baileys. It's 4.125 cups liquid (1 2/3 c whisky + 1 c cream+ 1 1/3 c milk + .125 c hersheys) of which 2/3 c is alcohol (since the whisky is 40%). 2/3 / 4.125 = .16. And commercial is 17%.
Yes, I know it's 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, but that is packed by weight and its volume is a cup and a third (I checked).
It's funny though how people perceive the homemade as stronger. Makes you wonder if Baileys does something to mask it!
Great Stuff.
I would not try real coffee; it might not dissolve completely.
Instead of 2 T Hershey's syrup, I used 2 T cocoa dissolved in 2 T hot water.
nikkonikko: I do watercolours.
Tried it with and without vanilla. Gotta say - with vanilla is even MORE DELICIOUS!
I first made this without the almond extract (with espresso and cocoa powder mixed into a syrup), and tasted it next to a bottle of real Baileys. It was still missing a interesting tang, so I figured it was the almond extract. I just put in about half a teaspoon.
Whew, half a teaspoon of almond extract really added a kick. It was definitely not Bailey's anymore. It was still very good, but the taste of almond extract was noticeable to everyone that tasted it. With a whole teaspoon it would have been way too powerful.
I'd recommend reducing the amount of almond extract in the recipe to a quarter teaspoon, or leaving it out entirely.
Anyway, thanks for the recipe. We finished off the whole bottle in a night, almond extract or no!
I didn't even realize this was a possibility! My life forthwith will never be the same!
Wow wow wow, this was amazing! I do agree with a lot of the other commenters that the taste of the alcohol was a little strong, but once it's mixed with coffee or blended with ice it's much more subdued. Out of personal preference, I skipped the almond extract and used about a tablespoon of amaretto syrup instead, and boy was it yummy! My friends can't get enough of it, and neither can I. Thank you for the wonderful recipe! Next to try the homemade Kahlua, and make my own mudslides...
I'm about to make this now! I believe the reason homemade tastes stronger, is because folks are tasting it right away. If you can refrain from drinking for a couple weeks to a month, it allows the flavors to meld and mellow.
Also for those looking for a price comparison.
This makes about 750ml of irish cream, which runs around $20-25 here.
The cream runs around $1-1.50
The condensed milk runs around $1.60-2
The whiskey runs between $6-15 depending on the quality you buy.
You could maybe add another $.50-1 for the other ingredients.
So you could make $20-25 of 'Bailey's' for $9-20 (A lot less if you decide to half the whiskey as recommended by several posters)
This is very similar to the recipe I have always used but mine called for eggs not sure what the eggs did for it but will try yours and see if it taste the same. I also make apple pie liquor and kahlua- the kahlua is awesome too.
Also the recipes I do make more than 1 bottle so it is much cheaper I make baileys for about $4.90 a bottle and kahlua for about $2.52 a bottle.
Just made your Baileys....absolutely awesome ! Added vanilla bean and left out the almond. Its a hit in our house, Thanks muchly xx
Norway calling :-) I L O V E Baileys, and I'm going to try this recipe! But I have one question: have anyone of you tried to put Baileys in your DeLongij coffee machine, with Nespresso coffee, instead of milk? I hope that it's not only us Nowegians that drinks this in our coffee... It's like a café latte but with with Baileys. Does the alcohol "disappear" in the heating process? (you know when you cook the taste stays, but the alcohol disappear...) I'm sorry for all the spelling mistakes!
Norway calling again: I got an answer: alcohol disappear at 78 celsius, and my machine only heats the bailies til 45 celsius :-) if you haven't tried it yet - pease do so! it's NICE! :-)
Eggs may have been added in the copy cat recipe as an emulsifier. Actual Bailey's label states they use lecithin.
made 2 batches of this and it's fantastic.
btw, i used the almond extract and Michael Collins irish whisky
OMG... i died and went to heaven ... thanx is so inadequate a word for sharing this most amazing recipe... Baileys is almost the only thing i can drink w/o feeling uncomfortable since i gave up alcohol when i was preggers....to be able to whip up a batch whenever i'm having a craving or for a party is simply the most fabulous thing to happen to me recently ... god bless ur soul xoxo
This is DELICIOUS! Sweetened Condensed milk looks disgusting (did Irish use this traditionally? I don't think so.. but anyway!)... so I used about half of what the recipe called for, and used heavy cream instead of light and WOW it is still SO thick! I love it!! Thank you SO much for this! ;)
The irish don't drink this. An authentic irish coffee is made with brown sugar and whiskey with heavy cream ~laid~ on top. Bailey's however, especially homemade is an excellent alternative for after dinner coffee :)
I am so happy to have found this recipe! I'm going to vegan-ize it and use it for the Irish Car Bombs I've missed so much!
Thanks!
Real men drink whiskey on its own. Particularly good whiskey like Jamesons.
found your page last night, I have three Ltrs. in my fridge tonight, I know it will not last untill New Years....THANKS.
judy, was their a difference with your egg recipe compared to this recipe?
I have a dairy allergy and usually leave Bailey's alone. But I had to tell you, I made this with french vanilla coconut milk creamer (So Delicious brand)and plain coconut milk (same brand) ...It was amazing! Hooray. Thanks for the recipie.
Question: Is one brand of Irish whiskey better than any other for making Homemade Bailey's? We tried it using Jameson's and it was wonderful, but if we can do for a bit cheaper and not lose the great taste, that would be even better!!
Anon - I haven't tried lots of brands, but I don't think it would matter much. I'd say save the $.
I just made this recipe. Followed the directions to the letter, omitting the almond. It. Is. Amazing! Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and this homemade Bailey's is going into cupcakes, cocktails and the fridge for future consumption. Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
This is a wonderful recipe. Is there a cocktail site I can go to to find more homemade things to make & drink of course!
dont forget you can make your own homemade whiskey too...;)
http://www.ehow.com/how_6575603_homemade-whiskey.html
can u make baileys irish cream without using whisky? is there an alternative to whisky in this recipe. does anyone know?
can we use any other ingredient instead of whisky. what is the alternative to whisky in this recipe?
Love it! Thanks! I'm adding this and your grenadine recipe to my collection of homemade-not-store-bought staples! (It will compliment my kahlua and limoncello nicely!)
Omg, just made my 'Bailey's' and this recipe is beyond amazing!! I followed to the tee but left off the almond. It was super quick and easy and absolutely yummy. I will NEVER buy the real thing again! I cut down the alcohol to 1 1/2 cups and it was still a little strong but so delish. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe.
Has anyone tried making homemade MINT Bailey's Irish Cream? I have tons of FRESH mint and would love to use it to make Mint Bailey's but not sure how...most recipes call for mint extract, but I want to use the stuff I have growing outside! Thanks!
Made this the other night, followed the recipe to the note, minus the almond. Awesome is all I can say!! My wife I like this better than Bailey's! I think 1 2/3 cup whiskey is perfect. Maybe even a touch more!!
Thanks for this!!!
I can't wait to make this. I see a new addiction to coffee in my future.
You are a saint! My husband will never, ever leave me now. LOL.
Kristin :)
Collen, I would try heating the mint leaves in the cream to infuse, but not boil, let us know what happens please
Mine congealed bigtime. had to let it warm up to near room temp before it would pour out of the bottle. I used bourbon whisky instead of Irish also, which was less than stellar I must admit. I'm not an Irish cream connoisseur by any stretch, and was just curious if it would work with what I already had on hand. Jameson's goes for more than $25/750ml over in Laramie, WY. Not a too awful, and the taste may be worth the extra cost. But then, I would think the overall cost of making it would be approaching the cost of real Bailey's anyway.
Comments, input, educational constructive criticism is very welcomed.
Thank you very much OP for posting the recipe, and for everyone's comments thus far. It's a great idea, but my only question is: Can it be left out or does it have to be refridgerated? As I said, mine turned to non-pourable sludge until warmed to near room temp. Still a cool enough to drink, but no straight out of the fridge. Or would the dairy part of the recipe spoil if not kept in the fridge?
Thanks,
Chuck
In the UK, Baileys costs around £16-£18 for a 1L bottle, but there are plenty of lower cost look-alikes, with only a subtle difference in taste. Irish Knights (my favourite for evening coffee - EVERY evening!) costs £4.60 from Asda, Irish Meadow is £3.99 from Tesco, and most other supermarket chains do similar products. Lidl sells one for around £5.00, Carolans costs around £6.50 from lots of supermarkets (I don't buy it because there's so little to choose betwen them all that I go for low cost - especially as I just put it in coffee). Sainsburys does one - in fact, just name your nearest big-name supermarket.
I'm quite interested to try the recipe, but I doubt I can compete on price with many of the supermarket offerings.
What kind of vanilla is that? vanilla essence? like powder?
Or vanilla liquid?
Mmmm. Im not much of a drinker but I do like bailey's Irish cream. I'm going to have to try this. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
We use BRANDY instead (cheap brandy)and chocolate extract. It's delicious!!!
I was so looking forward to making this and finally got all the ingredients together. It was looking and smelling great, then after 15 secs high speed blending it all curdled. I followed the recipe perfectly. Any idea what went wrong??!! Nobody else seems to have had this problem! (Next time I guess I'll just mix by hand and skip the blending...)
This came out really great. I used Scottish Whiskey because that is what I had on hand. Otherwise I followed the recipe to a tee. It came out perfect. It made 750ml. I used real almond extract and real vanilla extract as opposed to imitation so it cost about $5-6 an ounce. It was perfect if not better than Bailey's. Can't wait until it is done chilling.
Me again, @ Takeda-san vanilla essence, you can buy real $6 an ounce or imitation. I recommend real, it should be near the baking stuff in most grocery stores.
PS I used a blender and no, nothing curdled. Maybe your cream was a tad old?
Does anyone use a less expensive chocolate syrup other than Torani? Amy recommendations? Thanks!
Nevermind. I saw on Chow Hound that Hershey's can be used.
To comment 80 on the curdling... if you used a high speed blender it probably heated up the mixture enough to curdle it. This doesn't need high speed blending, just mix it with a spoon. Also, heavy cream resists curdling much better than lower fat milk/half and half type. This recipe needs to be refrigerated.
So, just to be clear before I make some weird kitchen abomination;
The "t" references are for Tablespoon
One and 2/3 cup of Irish whiskey (cheap is ok?)
Thank you!
It is the convention in recipes (at least in the US) that T = Tablespoon, t = teaspoon.
Thank you Thank you Thank you I have set about trying to make homemade Bailey's and boy oh boy did I NOT know what I was doing. Can't wait to make this -Merry Christmas to Hubby and Me. and you all of course:)
This is awesome and so easy I am very, very, sure my family will love his
Hi made a batch this afternoon using Elmlea double cream trying to save a little on the calories for the girls, and used the cheapest whiskey i could find around £9.50 per bot this recipe is amazing. Thank you so much for posting the recipe, i am going to try the mint choc syrup i bought next. They are asking for trouble charging around £16 a litre for Baileys. It took less than ten minutes to make.
Pete.
Love it! Love it! Love it! The only thing I will do differently is maybe buy a cheaper whiskey. Jamison's cost me $24.91 for 750 ML. Well worth the taste though!
can you make the baileys without egg and if so what will be the difference in taste or staorage??
Thank You! Thank You! Every year my aunt makes homemade Baileys. She walks around all Christmas day shaking a big pitcher of it asking, "who wants Baileys?" Unfortunately, she is in poor health this year and will not be able to celebrate at all. I am so happy that I found your recipe so I can continue her tradition.
High speed blending gave you whipped cream. Type and fat content of your local products may affect the end product. I've used a similar recipe with eggs in it and never had any problems. We bring it to Christmas parties and it's always a hit.
I have been making homemade Baileys for 30yrs,never met anyone who hasn`t enjoyed mine. I use 3 eggs, condensed milk, cream, cocoanut essence, coffee and whiskey. This year I used Chivas Regal and its great, best drop ever!
Does anyone know if it would be possible to make this vegan? I've used coconut milk as a successful replacement for condensed milk and I have coconut milk creamer that I'm thinking would be a possible for the cream. I just wouldn't want anything to look separated. Any ideas?
Yum! I just made this using Jameson's, fat free half and half & 1/4 t almond extract. It's delicious right out of the gate, and I'm sure it will also improve with age. Thanks for the recipe!!
Problem with the original recipe! Says it will keep for two months!? The batch I made was gone in two days!! WTH :P
My daughter-in-law just gave me a bottle of Homemade Baily's Irish Cream for Christmas and I just went wild. It tastes soooo goooood. She wont give me the recepie, it's a secret!!! I wont tell her that I found your site. Merci Beaucoup. Denis, Montréal.
I'm lactose intolerant and a few sips of Bailey's doesn't leave me feeling very well. We used this basic recipe, substituting vanilla soy milk for the milk/cream ingredients. It was DELICIOUS, didn't give me a tummy ache, and was great without chocolate syrup (didn't have any on hand). Thank you for the idea!!
Has anyone used the almond extract in theirs? Might make two batches, with and without to see what the difference is. Am going to make the mudslide cupcakes to bring to work on NYE since I'm working the 3-11 pm shift :-)
The Bailey's label says it is 14% alcohol. This recipe is 40 % or three times the Baileys content. I can only taste the whiskey.
Thank you sooooo much for this recipe! Made this and it was a HUGE it... everyone thought I was some sort of culinary genius!! Thanks for making me look good! I'll never buy Bailey's again!!
Has anyone tried equal parts whipping cream and real maple syrup 1/2 part Irish whiskey touch of vanila
It is Important to note the order the ingredients are mixed. Start with the whiskey/scotch, then extracts, Hershey's, coffee, cream and the condensed milk LAST. This is the best way to get consistent creme without straining the creme. Keep the blender on the whole time you are mixing and add the ingredients slowly.
Can't wait to try this out.
Don't know you but I love you for this recipe. This was a total hit. Every1 thought I was secretly going to culunary school. We are totally friends in my head...
This recipe it fab, tastes just like Baileys but only works out at about £10 a litre, so thats much better than price to buy Baileys. So quick and easy to do too! I definetly recommend anyone who loves Baileys to try this at least once.
They put artificial sugars in bailey's which I am allergic to so i can't drink bailey's :( so I am so excited to try this recipe! Thank you!
This turned out great! I used coconut extract instead of almond, its soooo good! Thank you!
I am making this tonite!! Thanks!
Gr8 recipe and if like some say they cannot get whiskey where they live, it can be replaced with Brandy
Made w/out almond..great.
Made w/bourbon and with almond...great
Used Hershey's in both.
Any other ideas? May try mint extract next!
Made with Jack Daniels and it was ok...Definitely will try again with Irish Whiskey later on! Thanks for the recipe!
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