Dairy Free Baileys Recipe

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Finally, a Dairy Free Baileys Recipe that tastes like Original Bailey’s Irish Cream!

Since not being able to have dairy (among other things) there have been the inevitable cravings and mourning for foods that felt lost to me forever, one such treat stood out head and shoulders above the rest in the lead up to Christmas that’s right, Baileys!

I missed Baileys so much. How can there be a festive period without the compulsory mulled wine, mince pie and creamy Bailey’s over ice. Not all at once I hasten to add, that would be at bit over the top!

Is there a dairy free Baileys in the shops?

No. I get a little hot under the collar about this subject. There IS a dairy free almond based cream liqueur that is made by Baileys in the supermarkets but it is not Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur.

I remember when Almande first came out in the US, I got super excited. My brother in law bought a bottle home for me. The disappointment was unbearable.

Hold up though! Almande is a delicious light and thin creamy drink but I’d been led to believe it was the dairy free version of Baileys. Not by the manufacturer I hasten to add but by foodie bloggers.

Here’s what Baileys said about their new drink;

Did you see that? ALMOND AND VANILLA flavour – not Bailey’s Original flavour!

It got worse when the drink hit the UK and nearly all the bloggers I know got a bottle to sample (I’m not jealous…well, maybe a little!). What really got me, was that the majority were saying it was just like Baileys. No it’s not!

Oh well, it did me a favour and shoved a rocket up my bottom and got me to perfect the recipe your here for now!

How do you make homemade Baileys?

My mum used to make Baileys years ago when I was just a baby. In fact, this recipe used her handwritten notes as the foundation, but not without a few experiments along the way. For example, I needed to find the best dairy free ingredients to make my own condensed ‘milk’ which is a main ingredient for homemade Baileys.

The original Baileys Recipe was instant coffee, whisky, chocolate sauce, cream and condensed milk – that’s all.

Keep reading and let me take you through the process of making your own homemade dairy free condensed milk. Then, before you know it, you’ll able to whip up a bottle of Baileys yourself in next to no time!

How do you make homemade dairy free Baileys?

Condensed milk alternative: I needed the ingredients to be fatty enough to give that familiar creaminess to the liquor so I settled on using a whole tin of coconut milk. Be warned, not all coconut milks have the same amounts of coconut in them. You need to make sure you use a tin that has over 65% coconut milk to ensure the fat levels are high enough.

Keep reading for my method on how to make Easy Dairy Free Condensed Milk.

Cream alternative: I use a popular plant bakes cream here in the UK called Elmlea Double Plant Cream. This is lovely and creamy, as you’d expect, but I feel I need to ‘water it down’ so this recipe adds plant milk too. I use soya milk.

Is homemade Baileys healthier?

I should have started this post with a ‘look away now’ for anyone who faints at the mere mention of cream, fat or sugar. This is not clean or healthy, it will not detox you or leave you feeling spiritually cleansed….actually scrap that last one.

When I last sat down with a glass on ice, in my dressing gown, kids in bed (sort of!)… I WAS lifted spiritually, because it tasted so bloody good and I deserved it!

The only bit of effort you’ll need to put into this is making the condensed ‘milk’, stick to the times, stir only occasionally and I promise you you’ll have 250ml of beautiful condensed ‘milk’ which now you’ve mastered it you can use in all sorts of recipes…and I plan to!

How to make vegan condensed milk

Making dairy free and vegan condensed milk is very simple so please don’t be wary of making your own condensed milk with this easy two ingredient recipe and method;

You now have a 250ml volume of dairy free condensed milk that you can use with a variety of recipes, these recipe here all use homemade condensed milk.

Shop bought dairy free condensed milk

There are more versions on the market now for vegan or dairy free condensed milk so you can cut out 20-30 minutes by getting readymade dairy free condensed milk. Here are some safe brands on the market but always check the labels.

Do you have to refrigerate homemade Baileys?

The idea container for this recipe is a litre sealed bottle, I used the Kilner 1 Litre Traditional Glass Bottle, if you click the link it will take to Amazon. (p.s. if you buy I’ll get a few pennies for the referral at no cost to you). It’s always a good idea to sterilise your bottle first, you can do this simply by running it in a dishwasher cycle or pouring boiling water into the bottle. Then, after allowing to cool, pour away the water and replace with your Baileys. I personally keep my Baileys in the fridge as it has dairy free cream in it and hasn’t been processed in a factory. That said, I have kept a bottle on the side for two days at room temperature and nobody died as a result!

Is it cheaper to make your own homemade Baileys?

If you’re interested, I worked out that his recipe costs approximately £8.50 to make per litre, this of course depends very much on the cost and quality of whisky used. I worked out this estimate on a £16 bottle of whisky, so there is scope to make it more/less expensive.

What Alcohol is in Baileys?

As I’ve just mentioned above, I use Whisky and the quality of that whisky depends on what’s in the drink cabinet. Traditionally, Irish Cream, this is after all what Baileys is, is made with Irish Whisky.

However, you can find cheap (non-vegan) blends in the supermarkets that have a sweet fortified wine in them, not unlike a sherry. At the end of the day, you’re making this cream liqueur yourself so the rules don’t apply.

If you fancy Rum or Scotch or Brandy in your ‘Baileys’ then go for it, it just won’t be a Traditional Irish Cream Liqueur.

Oh, and for those in doubt about whether whisky or other spirits are safe for Coeliacs, look no further, the answer is here.

Troubleshooting

My Baileys has a fatty froth

This happens to me sometimes too, it’s because we’ve both over liquidised the liquor and inadvertently made a Baileys Milkshake! There are two ways you can remedy this.

1. pass the Baileys through a sieve into your bottle (ideally with a piece of muslin, cloth, or kitchen towel lining the sieve.
2. stand the blender jug in a cool place or fridge for 20mins and scoop the fatty froth off the top. Then you can pour your delicious Baileys into the bottle.

My Baileys is too thick

In the recipe I give you two options to use dairy free milk or a combination of dairy free milk and plant based cream.

The main recipe calls for 50/50 milk and cream.

if your prefer your Baileys to be thinner then only use milk, the condensed milk should still give you perfect amount of creaminess.

If you find you followed my 50/50 recipe and the Bailey’s is too thick then you could fill TWO 1ltr Kilner Bottles and top up with dairy free milk giving you twice the amount of Baileys! (you may wish to top up with a wee bit more whiskey for good measure), I know I would!

REMEMBER: once you add ice to a glass of Baileys the cream liqueur will be thinner anyway so don’t feel you need to make your baileys too thin if you love it over plenty of ice.

If you love this recipe look at these other Dairy Free Baileys recipes

I knew that once I’d mastered the base Original Irish Cream flavour I could adapt it and make all sorts of seasonal flavours, therefore I can now add to this post my Chocolate Orange Bailey’s; homemade and dairy free and this popular Homemade Bailey’s Pumpkin Spice; gluten and dairy free

Here’s another Vegan Cream Liqueur you’ll love

I recently made my own eggless and dairy free Eggnog, or as I like to call in, No Eggnog! The recipe is a hybrid of a classic Eggnog and the Dutch liqueur Advocaat. This means it can be made into a Snowball Cocktail too. No Eggnog – A Festive Drink Made Dairy Free And Vegan

Homemade Dairy Free Baileys Recipe

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