Irish Cream

I made Irish cream for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. So it only seemed right to make it for Christmas. This is truly delicious stuff. Very rich and sweet. Perfect for an after dinner dessert-drink or an addition to morning coffee on Christmas. I found the original recipe on Design Sponge. I did change it and halve it, so I am including my take here!

The first time around I used the exact recipe, just cut in half. This time I switched the heavy cream out for half and half. I am a cheerleader for heavy cream most of the time, but it made the finished product so thick! It was almost hard to pour. I also reduced the amount of almond extract. It’s a very strong extract and can take over the whole thing. The other thing I changed is not using Irish whiskey. I know, a crime, but I have enough whiskey that I like already. I didn’t feel like making a special trip to buy Jameson. Feel free to use whatever whiskey you like in this, after all it’s you drinking it!

IRISH CREAM

4oz Strong coffee

3/4 cup Half and half

1/2 tbsp Dark cocoa powder

1/2 tbsp Sugar

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

1/8 tsp (or less) Almond extract

7 oz by weight Sweetened condensed milk

3/4-1 cup Whiskey of choice

1. Combine ¼ cup ground espresso with 4-5oz water. Store in the fridge overnight. Strain and add to a medium size pot, heat on medium.

2. While the coffee is heating, combine half and half, cocoa, sugar, honey and extracts, and whisk thoroughly.

3. Once coffee is simmering, whisk in half and half mixture. Simmer on med low heat for about 20 minutes. Whisk periodically, until the mixture starts to reduce and thicken.

4. Off heat, whisk in the sweetened condensed milk and whiskey.

5. Strain the cream through a fine mesh strainer and bottle!

When making such a small amount of coffee, I like to cold brew it. It’s easier but it does need to sit overnight. This is one of the only ground espressos I could find.

I use 1/4 cup coffee grounds and pour in ~5oz water. Just in case you lose some in the straining process. 

It won’t want to combine. You can cover and shake it or just keep stirring.

I don’t actually like coffee that much, so I don’t want any of my jar lids to smell like coffee. I avoid this by covering the jar with plastic wrap before putting the lid on.

Next day, strain your coffee! If you are a little short, just top it off with water.

Now it’s time for everything else.

When you are halving something, always check if the amount you want to halve is in fluid ounces or weight ounces. I made this mistake once with sweetened condensed milk. Using a scale, pour off 7oz. 

You can save the rest for another batch! It keeps for quite a while.

Put the coffee on med. low and bring to a simmer.

While your coffee is coming to a simmer, mix everything but the sweetened condensed milk and the whiskey. I use this tiny spoon (1 Pinch) to measure the almond extract.

Like the coffee it will be hard to combine, but keep at it.

Once the coffee is at a simmer, add the milk mixture to the pot and drop the heat to med low. Continue whisking the mixture periodically. It will reduce and thicken.

Off heat, whisk in the condensed milk. 

I ended up using rye whiskey. I was out of bourbon. But, lo and behold, it tastes great and not much different than when I used bourbon. 

 I used 1 cup of whiskey the first time I made this and it completely overpowered everything else. This time I dropped it down to 3/4 cups. 

 Mix it all in! The irish cream shouldn’t be boiling hot when you remove it from heat. If yours seems really hot and steamy, wait till it cools to add the whiskey.

I like to strain the finished cream. There always seems to be some chunks of cocoa powder that didn’t get dispersed or coffee grounds that slipped through the straining process. 

Serve chilled over ice or in a cozy cup of coffee or cocoa.