Whether you're making this Baileys Ice Cream for St. Patrick's Day or as an anytime delicious dessert, it's sure to make everyone happy... Especially if you serve it topped with Baileys Hot Fudge Sauce! Both the ice cream and the fudge sauce are easy to make and packed with Baileys Irish Cream.
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There are certain foods and drinks that just scream St. Patrick's Day. They include items like Lucky Charms, corned beef, Guinness, and Baileys.
The thing is, all of the above are actually delicious and totally acceptable to eat at any time of year. We just see way more of them during the month of March.
And yes, I'm sharing this Baileys ice cream with you in March... But I want to urge you to make it any time of year. If you love Baileys Irish Cream then you know it's always delicious in coffee or other desserts.
It's also delicious in cocktails, like in this espresso martini recipe.
It's ridiculously delicious in this ice cream and also in the accompanying Baileys hot fudge sauce.
Ice cream is incredibly easy to make if you have an ice cream maker and, in my opinion, it's always so much more delicious than anything that can be bought in the store.
🍨 Can you make ice cream with alcohol?
You might be wondering if it's possible to make ice cream with alcohol. After all, alcohol doesn't freeze.
But it can still be done and, in fact, it can actually make ice cream better. Since alcohol doesn't freeze, it can help prevent ice crystals from forming and often results in a creamier, smoother dessert.
The key is not to use too much as you still want your ice cream to freeze into a scoopable consistency. And to pay attention to the percentage of alcohol that's in your liquor of choice.
Luckily, Baileys has a fairly low alcohol content (17%). It's also super flavorful, so you don't necessarily need to add a lot to this ice cream to get the full flavor.
I experimented a bit and ended up adding ⅓ cup... Which I thought was flirting on the edge of too much. But it ended up giving me the most perfectly creamy ice cream absolutely packed with creamy Irish whiskey flavor.
I also make a delicious chocolate stout ice cream if you're looking for another boozy dessert.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you're a fan of Baileys, you're going to absolutely love this ice cream because it's packed with so much of the iconic flavor!
It's easy to make and has so many options for toppings. I'm partial to the Baileys hot fudge sauce recipe I provide.
You can make it for a St. Patrick's Day celebration or enjoy it any time of year.
🗒 Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this Baileys ice cream since you want the true Baileys flavor to shine!
Here's everything required (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Whole milk
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Egg yolks
- Heavy cream
- Baileys Irish Cream
And if you want to make the Baileys hot fudge sauce, here's what you need:
- Heavy cream
- Light corn syrup
- Cocoa powder
- Salt
- Semisweet, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate bar (or chocolate chips)
- Baileys Original Irish Cream
- Unsalted butter
🥣 Equipment
You do need some special equipment to make ice cream... unless, of course, you're making no-churn ice cream. No-churn ice cream is definitely a bit tougher to make with alcohol and I do recommend only making this recipe in an ice cream machine (if you're interested in a no-churn Baileys ice cream, let me know and I'll do some testing- it generally works best with condensed milk!).
There are lots of options available for ice cream makers in various price ranges. I use the KitchenAid attachment ice cream maker and I highly recommend it if you own a KitchenAid mixer.
I find it incredibly easy to use and it's never let me down! Except when I forget to pop it in my freezer the day before I want to make ice cream. I also know many people who own and love the Cuisinart ice cream maker.
You don't need any other special equipment for this Baileys ice cream, but I always find it handy to have ice cream containers on hand. I love the Tovolo brand containers and pretty much always have them in rotation in my freezer!
🍦 How to make Baileys ice cream
Now you're probably ready to jump in and start making the Baileys ice cream! It's incredibly easy to make and really, the only tough thing about it is all the time spent waiting for it to chill.
Note that you definitely want to start making this the day before you want to enjoy it as it needs to freeze for a total of about 8 hours. For best results, I recommend making the ice cream in one day and then scooping it into containers and letting it freeze overnight.
This is a custard-based ice cream that involves heating milk and sugar, tempering egg yolks, and then heating everything before mixing with heavy cream and Baileys Irish Cream.
To start, heat milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until the mixture just reaches the point of simmer. Don't let it boil.
In a separate medium mixing bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Pour about half of the warm milk into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking while you do so. This is to temper the eggs, which means warming them before you add them to the rest of the milk as you don't want to shock them and have them scramble.
Now, pour the egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk.
Cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and/or reaches 160 degrees.
Pour the heavy cream into a separate large bowl and strain the egg/milk mixture into the heavy cream. Stir to combine.
Stir in the Baileys. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
This is the first round of waiting! But the rest of the Baileys ice cream recipe is easy peasy.
Once ice cream mixture has been sufficiently chilled, process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
All ice cream machines will vary, but it took mine about 20 minutes to really thicken up. You can see how creamy it is!
Scoop ice cream into airtight containers and place in the freezer for another 4+ hours, but ideally overnight.
This is the ice cream immediately after I scooped it out of the ice cream machine and into my containers. You can totally eat it like this, but it will be incredibly soft.
Giving it more time to chill in the freezer will harden it more. But don't worry, this is still a very creamy, scoopable ice cream!
This is how it looked after I froze it overnight.
In my opinion, this Baileys ice cream made for one of the creamiest, most perfect consistency ice creams I've ever made.
It's easy to scoop and holds its shape well in the bowl. But it's also melt-in-your mouth, packed full of Baileys flavor delicious.
As you can see, creamy Baileys is good for WAY more than an alcoholic drink.
There's really not much that could make this rich ice cream better. But I DO have one idea... Baileys hot fudge sauce!
🍫 How to make Baileys hot fudge sauce
This hot fudge sauce is also easy to make and is the kind of thing you'll want to keep in a jar in your fridge at all times so you always have it on hand.
While I generally make hot fudge sauce with a dark or bittersweet chocolate, I wanted the Baileys flavor to shine here, so I used a high-quality milk chocolate instead.
Simply add cream, corn syrup, cocoa powder, salt, and half of the chopped chocolate to a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.
Lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the remaining chopped chocolate, Baileys, and butter, until smooth.
Pour fudge sauce into a jar or bowl and let it cool for about 20 minutes, so it can thicken more.
If making ahead of time, store it in the fridge until ready to use. If it's too thick to pour when you're ready to use it, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.
And then drizzle as much as you want over the Baileys ice cream.
Omg this is the absolute perfect combination, especially for Baileys lovers. I really didn't think this ice cream could get any better, but this will do it!
The hot fudge sauce has the perfect amount of Baileys flavor while still being pretty rich and chocolate-y. It complements the creamy ice cream so well.
⏲️ How to store
When stored properly in an airtight container, your Baileys ice cream should stay fresh in your freezer for about a month.
Just be sure the container top is on tightly so your ice cream doesn't get freezer burn.
🎉 Topping and addition options
While I love the simplicity of this Baileys ice cream and think the fudge sauce is the perfect touch, there are certainly a few things you could do to it to jazz it up even more.
Here are a few ideas:
- Add chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
- Stir in a homemade marshmallow fluff (recipe here)
- Pour on caramel sauce
- Top with chopped peanut butter cups, M&Ms, or chocolate shavings
- Whipped cream is always a delicious topping
- Add in espresso powder or a little coffee
- Turn it into an affogato using either coffee, Guinness, or more Baileys
- Top with Lucky Charms for a full-on St. Patrick's Day treat
- Serve in delicious homemade waffle cones
Basically, you can use this ice cream as a blank slate for all of your boozy and non-boozy desires as it's the perfect base.
🍀 What to serve with Baileys ice cream
Of course, ice cream doesn't necessarily need any accompaniments. But we all know that it often makes the perfect side to other desserts. If you're making this Baileys ice cream to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, here are a few other desserts you can serve along with it:
- Guinness Cupcakes
- Chocolate Stout Brownies
- Mint Macarons
- Guinness Doughnuts
- Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
- Lucky Charms Hot Chocolate
- Baileys Cheesecake Swirl Brownies (from Everyday Gourmet with Blakely)
- Irish Mint Brownies (from Sweet & Savory Meals)
And, once again, I want to stress again that both ice cream and Baileys Irish Cream truly know no season and this Irish cream ice cream is the kind of dessert you should be making for any special occasion year-round!
So whether it's March of September, start your day with a bowl of Lucky Charms, make a corned beef sandwich for dinner, and finish things off with a sweet treat with a bowl of homemade Baileys ice cream!
How do you like enjoying Baileys Irish Cream?
📖 Recipe
Baileys Ice Cream {with Baileys Hot Fudge Sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ⅓ cup Baileys Irish Cream
Baileys Hot Fudge Sauce
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz. semisweet or milk chocolate bar, roughly chopped (or chocolate chips), divided
- 2 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- Heat milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until the mixture just reaches the point of simmer. Do not let boil.
- In a separate medium bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Pour about half of the warm milk into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking while you do so. Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk.
- Cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and/or reaches 160 degrees.
- Pour the heavy cream into a separate large bowl. Strain the egg/milk mixture into the heavy cream and stir to combine. Stir in Baileys Irish Cream. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- Once mixture has been sufficiently chilled, process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Scoop ice cream in airtight containers and place in the freezer for another 4+ hours, but ideally overnight.
Baileys Hot Fudge Sauce
- Add cream, corn syrup, cocoa powder, salt, and half of the chopped chocolate to a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the remaining chopped chocolate, Baileys, and butter, until smooth. Transfer fudge sauce to jar or heat-proof bowl and let cool for about 20 minutes, so it can thicken more.
- If making ahead of time, store fudge sauce in the fridge until ready to use. If it is too thick to pour, you can heat briefly in microwave.
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