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This Homemade Irish Cream is a rich liqueur made with Irish whiskey and cream. It’s delicious on its own or added into coffee. Serve it with my favorite Chocolate Chip Irish Soda Bread or Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
One of my favorite trips I’ve ever taken has been to Ireland. I stayed in Dublin for a few days, which was absolutely beautiful. Then I drove to the countryside where I visited an official Bailey’s dairy farm. Needless to say, I had my fare share of irish cream that trip and I loved it!
What is Irish Cream?
Irish Cream is a creamy liqueur mixture made up of whiskey, cream, sugar and other flavorings. Serve it on its own or mix into coffee, making a delicious Irish coffee.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Homemade Irish Cream
- Sweetened condensed milk – All of the sweetness comes from a can of sweetened condensed milk. It also adds a delicious creaminess too.
- Chocolate syrup – This makes it ultra delicious.
- Instant espresso or coffee granules – This will accentuate the flavor of the chocolate.
- Heavy cream – This adds nice a nice creaminess to it.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe card below!
Recipe Tip
Avoid curdling – I did some research as to ensure a life free of curdling and it’s all about adding the alcohol slowly and being sure to use heavy cream. Alcohol is an acid so making irish cream with, say, whole milk will definitely break the milk, which could result in some serious coagulation.
How to Make Homemade Irish Cream
- Warm the cream. Heat the cream with chocolate syrup, coffee granules and salt until the granules dissolve.
- Blend the rest. Blend the cream mixture with more cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract.
- Add the booze. With the blender running, slowly incorporate the whiskey.
- Chill the Irish Cream. Refrigerate until ready to use. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
This is good for 4-5 days when stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
Absolutely.
You can add bourbon or rum. The flavors will be slightly different but both would be delicious. I think scotch or any sort of brandy might be too strong of a flavor.
Irish Cream is not a traditional Irish product as it was invented by a creative agency for Dublin, the capital of Ireland. As it was popularized, Irish Cream became a protected geographical indicator product which stated it must be produced in Ireland.
It’s totally up to you. Serve irish cream neat or on the rocks.
More Fun Drinks to Make
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Aperol Spritz Recipe
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Coconut White Russian
Drinks
Cranberry Margarita
Quick and Easy
Chelada
If you tried this Homemade Irish Cream Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Homemade Irish Cream Recipe
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
Irish Cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream , divided
- 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso granules
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 (12-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Irish whiskey
Garnish:
- Whipped cream
- Small piece of chocolate, shaved
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, set over medium low heat, warm 1/4 cup heavy cream with the chocolate syrup, coffee granules and salt. Whisk until the coffee granules and salt have dissolved and the consistency is smooth.
- To a blender, add the coffee and cream mixture, the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream, can of sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract; pulse until very smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. With the blender running, slowly pour in the whiskey (adding slowly will avoid possible curdling). Transfer to a pitcher and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Right before serving, give it a good stir.
- Serve over ice with a scoop of whipped cream and a bit of grated chocolate, if you like!
Notes
- How to Store this Recipe – Keep the Irish Cream in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to one week.
- Avoid curdling – I did some research as to ensure a life free of curdling and it’s all about adding the alcohol slowly and being sure to use heavy cream. Alcohol is an acid so making irish cream with, say, whole milk will definitely break the milk, resulting in some serious coagulation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks so much for this great recipe! We made it and reviewed it in Episode 104 of our baking podcast, Preheated. https://www.preheatedpodcast.com/episode-104-irish-cream-with-a-side-of-drama/
Will this hold up to be dropped in stout and Irish whiskey?
yes it should!
Love the addition of salt and the picture with your dogs nose in it! Here’s the OG version a bartender would’ve used a century ago in case you’re interested:
http://cookplateshoot.com/2014/12/03/irish-cream-posset/