Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur (Copycat Baileys)

Baileys has to be one of the most popular drinks in the world, especially at Christmas. This homemade Irish cream liqueur is my version of the great Irish classic and I promise you tastes just as good as the real thing.

Yeeha it’s a double whammy today, two recipes to tempt your taste buds and get you cracking on the last minute Christmas gifts and party preparations.

Here is my homemade Irish Coffee Liqueur recipe plus some rather special Party Spiced Nuts that I’ll be doing on BBC Radio Scotland this morning.

Why make your own Irish cream liqueur?

Homemade Baileys is a LOT cheaper than the real thing. I worked it out that a litre of my homemade Baileys cost me the grand total of £4.00.

It tastes just like the real thing.

It is super quick and easy to make.

Faux Baileys

I don’t honestly know how much of this homemade liqueur I have made over the years. At one time I was making this version of Baileys on stage every day at the Country Living Christmas Fair.

I made four litres of the stuff then and every drop was gone by the end of the show!

Of course, I do make it every year for myself and as gifts for family and friends.

Baileys Irish Cream

The world’s most popular cream liqueur was launched in 1974 and was originally created as a ‘girly drink’ to get more women buying into the drinks market.

It is made by Diagio in Dublin. They reckon that over 1,250,000,000 bottles have been sold since it was first introduced.

Nowadays Baileys comes in a variety of flavours like strawberry and toffee. However, the original Baileys is chocolate, Irish whiskey and cream.

Ingredients for homemade Irish cream liqueur

Whisky (I have used Scotch whisky because I’m in Scotland and it would be rude not to! You should of course be using Irish whiskey (note spelling difference please)

Whipping cream (USA half and half)

Sweetened condensed milk in a can

Chocolate syrup

Instant coffee granules

Vanilla extract

Almond extract

How to make Irish cream liqueur

Making Irish cream liqueur is super quick and superbly easy. Just put all the ingredients into a blender and switch it on.

Voila, you now have homemade Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur!

How long will homemade Irish cream liqueur keep?

This will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months.

How to serve Baileys

Serve it straight in a small glass. I love my homemade Irish cream over ice.

In a cocktail, I love to make my Irish Latte Cocktail using this homemade Baileys and my homemade Kalua coffee liqueur plus fresh cream.

Over really good quality vanilla icecream.

Homemade Irish cream liqueur is the perfect party drink and is a welcome addition to a festive hamper.

Now for those Party Nuts

Ingredients

• 1 bag mixed nuts from supermarket
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ tablespoon curry powder
• Pinch of cinnamon powder
• Pinch of ground cumin
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 egg white

Here’s how to make your spiced party nuts

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas6 fairly hot oven. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Whisk up the egg white till frothy. In a separate bowl mix together all your dry ingredients.

Pour the nuts into the egg white and make sure all coated. Spread them in a single layer on the oven tray and scatter over your spice mix.

Bake for approximately 5 minutes until the nuts are golden and smelling amazing.

Let them cool and store in an airtight container. These spiced nuts will keep up to 3 weeks.

Looking for more fun homemade hooch to make at home? Then check out these recipes before you go;

Homemade Kahlua coffee liqueur

Blackberry and apple gin

Homemade Christmas bitters

Homemade French cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)

Homemade limoncello

Cranberry and orange gin

How to make golden vanilla vodka

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.