Name: Baileys Ice Cream
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 270 min
Ingredients: 2 cups heavy cream; 2 cups whole milk; 1 cup sugar; 7 egg yolks; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 5 tablespoons Baileys Irish cream

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Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or simply love a boozy dessert, this homemade Baileys ice cream is your perfect treat. With its ultra creamy, velvety texture and loads of sweet Baileys flavor with just the right touch of vanilla, every bite of this luscious homemade ice cream is pure decadence.

Two glass cups of Baileys ice cream with gold spoons on the side.

Does any one phrase make your ears perk up like boozy dessert? Call me a dessert-loving lush, but when I hear those two magical words together, I'm the first to line up for a helping.

Admit it. You're just like me. Why else would you be here? *Wink, wink*

But, seriously, I'm not alone here, so I have no doubt when you bring out this boozy Baileys ice cream to end one delicious meal, everyone at the table will be salivating -- and with good reason. Baileys and vanilla ice cream are tasty on their own, but when you bring them together? Get ready for ice cream bliss.

Ingredients

Let's make sure we're organized. Here's everything we need to make this homemade ice cream.

Baileys Irish Cream
Whole milk
Heavy cream
Sugar
Egg yolks
Vanilla extract

A glass cup with Baileys ice cream and flowers in the background.

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you’re venturing into the homemade ice cream territory for the first time, it may seem intimidating, but I promise it’s super simple. Let's walk through the process, shall we?

We start out by cooking heavy cream, whole milk and sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, and the mixture comes to just a simmer. As soon as it simmers, we turn off the heat. Boiling can cause the milk to separate, so we want to make sure it doesn't get hotter than simmering.

From here, we whisk lots of rich yolks with vanilla extract until the eggs begin to lighten. About three minutes of whisking by hand is my rule of thumb when I make ice cream.

The egg yolks and vanilla after being whisked for about three minutes.

With the yolks ready, we scoop in about half a cup or so of our warm cream mixture and give it a whisk. We repeat this a few more times. This gently cooks the eggs, so we don’t get scrambled egg ice cream.

Tempering a scoop of warm cream mixture into the yolk.

We put everything back on the stove and cook until the mixture thickens enough to cover the back of a spoon. I find this takes anywhere from about six to 10 minutes.

And just like that, our ice cream base is now ready, so we place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface like so to prevent a film from forming on our custard.

Placing plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a film from forming.

We pop the custard into the refrigerator to chill and then churn. Chilling the custard is crucial to ensuring it properly churns, so never skip this step. I recommend chilling overnight.

Now you may be wondering where’s the Baileys. Toward the end of churning — and only then — we add the Baileys. The alcohol can interfere with the churning process if it’s added too soon, so we save this step to the last minute.

Churning the ice cream with the Baileys being added right at the end.

At this point, we’re ready to freeze, and in just a few hours, we get to dig in to the creamiest, dreamiest homemade ice cream.

How to Serve

Of course, this ice cream is plenty delicious on its own in a serving bowl. Scoop it up, add a spoon, and everyone will be perfectly happy.

That said, I plead with you to please, please, please serve this ice cream with my fudgy stout brownies and bourbon caramel sauce if you're looking for the best dessert of your life. Every St. Patrick's Day, that's exactly how I serve this ice cream, and everyone goes nuts. The sweet Baileys, explosion of chocolate and rich caramel sauce were made for each other.

Brownie sundaes are dessert perfection, but a boozy brownie sundae? It's almost too much goodness in one dessert. Almost.

Looking down at two cups of Baileys ice cream with a bottle of Irish cream and flowers in the background.

Perfect Pairing

Big fan of Baileys, eh? You’ll love this ice cream with my Baileys Irish coffee martini. Or if you’d rather skip the double dose of Baileys, give it a try with this simple but delicious Irish whiskey smash. Obviously, Irish whiskey and Baileys go together beautifully in cocktails, and the same concept applies here.

Whether you're gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day or simply love a boozy ice cream, I hope you try this homemade Baileys ice cream. This perfectly creamy ice cream is always a crowd favorite, no matter the occasion. Please let me know how you enjoyed this ice cream recipe in the comment section and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. You can also catch me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Cheers!

Two gold spoons stacked on top of each other next to a glass cup of Baileys ice cream.

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