Homemade Bailey's Irish Cream
Yield: 30 ounces (~3½ cups)
Homemade Irish cream makes a lovely gift for a fraction of the cost of the name brand. (Tastes fresher, too!) Enjoy on the rocks or stir into coffee, cocoa, baked goods & more.


Ingredients

  • 1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream*
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
  • ¾ cup (6 ounces) Irish whiskey (like Jameson)**
  • 1½ teaspoons espresso powder***
  •  3 tablespoons chocolate syrup**** (caramel sauce works well, too)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch (1/16 teaspoon) kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed for about a minute.
  2. Serve Irish cream on ice or bottle in a sealed container and then refrigerate where it will keep for up to 2 months.

Notes

*Kim’s original recipe mentions that you could substitute half and half for the heavy cream for a lighter version. To more closely replicate the original, I have always used heavy cream.
**
Kim has also used rum instead of whiskey. I have not tried that variation, and though it would change the flavor profile, those who enjoy rum may like to try.
***Kim sometimes uses 1 tablespoon of instant coffee instead of the espresso powder. Just make sure it’s the kind that dissolves in water, not coffee grounds. I keep a small jar of King Arthur Flour’s espresso powder on hand, but other options can generally be found in the coffee/tea aisle of the grocery store. To avoid buying a whole jar if you don’t think you’ll use it for anything else, you could purchase one of those little packets of Starbucks Via instant coffee.
***Caramel sauce may be used in place of the chocolate sauce. I prefer chocolate sauce by a small margin, and like to use my homemade salted hot fudge sauce. When using salted chocolate sauce, I omit the pinch of salt.


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