It’s a lame Monday morning with 1 hour less sleep than usual and you’re probably thinking about this weekend.
So let’s talk St. Patrick’s Day. :)
It’s on Saturday. Fun will be had. Drinks will be consumed and parades will be watched. And we’ll probably be missing a lot more than 1 measly hour of sleep. Consider today your sleep deprivation training for the 17th.
Picture with me if you will, a thick and creamy homemade Baileys Irish Cream, free of any glycerol monostearate, dairy cream, refined sugars, maltodextrin, artificial flavours, modified milk ingredients, and colour.
I have no idea what I just typed.
Using just 5 natural ingredients, this homemade Baileys has a light hint of coconut and espresso. It’s vegan, but you’d never know it.
I also never would’ve guessed that Jameson Irish Whiskey would be vegan either. Who needs Guinness when you have this bad boy?
Last year, when I was putting together one of my vegan recipe round-ups, I came across Janessa’s submission for her vegan Baileys Irish cream. I suddenly realized that a homemade version didn’t look so difficult after all. I filed the idea away for later and finally got around to trying out my own version last week.
Coconut milk provided the ultra creamy texture. I “cooked down” the coconut milk with some Sucanat (or use brown sugar), until it thickened, for about 10 minutes.
During my first trial, I cooked it down too long and discovered how to make vegan condensed milk!!
Check out how thick and creamy this is after about 20 minutes, cooking down 2 cans of full fat coconut milk and 1/2 cup of Sucanat. I’ll have to use this in a baking recipe…it’s crazy delicious.
I decided that I didn’t want it that concentrated for the Baileys, so I bottled up the first attempt and went back to the drawing board. This time, I only boiled it for about 9-10 minutes, instead of 20. It was perfect..slightly thick, but not overly so. I removed it from the heat and stirred in the rest of the ingredients.
Like this homemade espresso. ZING!!! Can you tell I drank espresso all weekend long? You can use coffee too, but I wanted it bold.
Let’s just say that I didn’t feel the effects of the time change at all…..wheeeeeee.
However, my hands may be a bit jittery.
With a pinch of salt and a hefty dose of Jameson, it was complete..and incredibly easy to make! My batch made about 3.5-4 cups, as shown below. The actual yield is unknown because there was a lot of sampling going on!
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Homemade Baileys Irish Cream, made vegan.
Yield
3.5 to 4 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ultra creamy and delicious, this vegan Baileys will knock your socks off. And not just because it’s strong!
Inspired by Janessa.
Ingredients
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar should work)
- 3/4 cup strong espresso or coffee, or to taste
- 3/4-1 cup Jameson Irish Whiskey, or to taste
- pinch of salt
Directions
- In a medium or large pot, add the cans of coconut milk and whisk. Now whisk in the sugar. Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes, while stirring frequently, until it cooks down and thickens slightly.
- Remove from heat and stir in the espresso or coffee. Don’t have a coffee maker? Just buy a cup from the coffee shop and use that. Add in espresso/coffee to taste.
- Add a pinch of salt and finally the Jameson, to taste. I added about 3/4 + 2 tbsp of whiskey and it was strong, but so is the original! Make it as strong or weak as you prefer.
- Store in sealed jars and serve over ice, with coffee or tea, or in baked goods. The whiskey and espresso settles to the bottom of the jar slightly, so give it a good stir before using. I’m not positive how long this keeps in the fridge, but it’s been good in our fridge for a couple days now and I expect it to last 4-5 days. Well, not technically…!
Tip:
I’m thrilled with how this turned out. It’s very strong, but then again, the original Baileys is as well and I wanted it to be as close to the original as possible.
You can serve it over ice…
Add a shot to coffee or tea…
or even bake with it…yessss.
Now I just have to find a way to sneak my Baileys into the pub…
I always really liked you. But now I love you. Looks amazing. I’m super pregnant but will try this soon post-pregnancy.
What size cans of coconut milk did you use? I buy the bigger cans usually from the Asian Market (better than the stuff at the grocery store, and a lot cheaper). I even have part of a can open in the fridge that I need to use up… must go pick up some Jamesons tonight ;)
they are 398 ml :)
Yum! I love baileys irish cream-especially in coffee! I have never thought to make my own! I may have to give this a try!
I love baileys and I do believe that I have the whiskey on hand. It looks like I will be experimenting soon.
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This looks so good! I always love a little baileys in some coffee around the holidays! But I think this version would probably be even better….I am sure the coconut tastes great with all the other flavors!
This is so cool!! I want one now! It’s 5:00 somewhere right?
Ohhhhh man! I’m drooling :)
Wowza, that looks gooooooooooooooooodddddddd…. Cheers to St. Paddy’s Day!!
Mmmm Bailey’s is so delicious my cat is actually named after it, haha…it definitely deserves to be featured in donut recipes…and just about everything else in life! I’m overjoyed you veganized it!
For sneaking it into a pub…flask…stuck onto your thigh ;)
No bouncer’s going to mess with a pretty girl like you!!
haha
Do you think I could sub in coconut sugar for the sucanat?
Thanks for the great recip!
bahaha why didn’t I think of that.
Does coconut sugar melt like normal sugar? If so then I’d say it’s a go. I need to try some coconut sugar soon!
This is the second reference to coconut sugar I’ve seen today! Earlier I read an article about it on a local blog, Summer Tomato: http://summertomato.com/is-coconut-palm-sugar-a-healthy-sugar-substitute/ Sounds like it’s a worthwhile substitute for sugar, although its health benefits are still unclear. I’ll have to test it out — and may do so making your fantastic Baileys recipe! I love Baileys so, but have avoided it in the past few years because of all of its processed ingredients. Here’s my chance to get back on the wagon! (Though, is it technically “off the wagon?” ;))
It was on Dr Oz last week too!
Yum! Well I am not vegan but as soon as I saw the vegan condensed milk, I thought vegan banoffee pie ! Which I am now going to crave until I make it, obviously. Angela, you’re the voice of temptation.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that pie! What is it?
I think it’s British, the crust is made with crushed biscuits (don’t really know what kind, I never made one myself), then you have a layer of caramel, a layer of sliced bananas and a big layer of whipped cream on top.
I forgot to add that my idea was to make vegan “dulce de leche” with the vegan condensed milk because I know some people replace the caramel with it.
ah yes I have seen that…sounds incredible!
What a great recipe. Although, I really excited about the condensed milk! That will come in handy. Thanks for all the great tips.
Homemade Baileys?? Vegan??? Yes! Now I can make vegan mudslides – the true way we make them back home (I’m from the Caribbean) – with ice cream. I’ll use So Delicious coconut milk ice cream, your vegan Baileys and some Kahlua (is that vegan? Darn I have to go look now haha) and I’m set! Soooo good!
Looks amazing and love that you can pronounce all the ingredients. How long do you think the finished product will keep in the fridge?
I would guess 4-5 days minimum.
MY BODY IS READY! /drools
I actually tried the vegan Bailey’s from your recipe roundup. It was tasty, of course, but I hated using the creamer since that’s still full of some odd stuff. Coconut milk + sucanat sounds dreamy!
Thank you for this recipe! I love Baileys but cant handle all the sugar/artificial flavors. I never thought of using coconut milk with its natural sweetness and thickness and a little brown sugar. I cant wait to try!!
Hmmm…
I have been reading your blog for over a year and even though I rarely make the recipes, I still love reading it. I think this post just made me love you a bit more – next question – do you think that the vegan condensed milk can be made into dulce de leche like condensed milk?
hah thanks Anne. As for the condensed milk, I can’t see why not! I think the longer you cook it, the thicker it gets. You can also control how sweet you want it. It was my first experience with it, but I will certainly be playing around with it more.
Vegan condensed milk? Bailey’s?
This recipe is like a 2 for 1!
Ooohh I WILL be making this! I drink Kahlua when I’m craving a chocolate liquer, but it’ll be fun to make my own Bailey’s! And I do hope you plan to share the recipe for those donuts :D