Irish Cream Liqueur is the perfect base for this amazing homemade Baileys ice cream recipe! It’s wonderful served plain or with a bit of chocolate sauce drizzled on top. This boozy ice cream recipe is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, or pretty much any other time of year. You don’t want to miss this one.
I think we just had a blizzard last week. It’s difficult to remember right now because it’s 65 degrees outside and rain has washed away most of the snow.
With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner and a sudden option to retire my jacket, it seemed like a great time to share my first ice cream recipe of the year.
Baileys ice cream is rich, sweet and boozy. I love adding alcohol to ice cream because the freeze point lowers and it’s very creamy and easy to scoop regardless of how long the ice cream sits in the freezer.
The only negative, if you can call it that, is that it melts a bit faster. So you just have to eat it quickly. This is not a problem for me. Luckily, Baileys Irish Cream has a slightly lower alcohol content that some of the other options I’ve previously used in ice cream.
I make the ice cream with half & half (if you’re not in the USA that means 50% heavy cream and 50% whole milk). If you want to get really decadent, you can use all heavy cream instead.
If you want to get really creative, you can also try using my homemade Irish Cream liqueur!
What Is Half-And-Half?
This recipe calls for half-and-half. What is half-and-half, and how do you make it if you already have cream and milk in the fridge? Read my tutorial on how to make half-and-half so you can save time and money!
Looking For More Ice Cream Recipes?
You’ll definitely want to check out my Roasted Strawberries and Clotted Cream Ice Cream as well as my Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream (no ice cream machine required for this one!)
Baileys Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half (or 50% heavy cream + 50% whole milk)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream
- 8 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the half-and-half, vanilla extract and Baileys to a simmer over medium heat.
- While the liquid is heating up, place the yolks and sugar in a bowl. Vigorously whisk together.
- When the cream begins to simmer, turn the heat down to low and ladle about half of the liquid into the yolks while whisking (this is known as tempering and will prevent the eggs from scrambling). Pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan, using a spatula to scrape the bowl.
- With the heat on low, stir the mixture in a figure 8 motion for several minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into a container and cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing the plastic directly against the ice cream base to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until very cold (I prefer to let it chill overnight for best results).
- Prepare in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Video
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
I know it might affect something or sound gross to say the least, but I was wondering if one could simply sub the Bailey’s with its coffee creamer alternative.
Sure! I’m not sure how it will taste compared with the version that uses Bailey’s, but you’ll still get ice cream :)
Is it possible to make this without an ice cream machine?
Hi Aisling! I think you can. Here’s a link to my no-churn vanilla ice cream. If you follow those steps of freezing and stirring, you should get the same results. It takes a lot longer, but it’s a great activity if you’re, you know, stuck at home :)
Thanks so much for replying! I’ll have a look at that recipe and give it a go while I’m house bound!
I made this for Christmas and everyone loved it! The custard went a lot thicker a lot quicker than I was used to, so I was worried I had done something wrong. I think it was just the amount of egg yolks that made it thicken a bit faster; I’d never used quite that many before. But it made for incredibly rich ice cream. Once it was churned, it was super creamy and delicious. I’m definitely going to use this recipe again and maybe give it a try with other types of alcohol as well!