There’s nothing better than homemade ice cream, unless it’s Irish whiskey ice cream ~ this is the ultimate adult frozen treat!
All Saint Patrick’s Day food doesn’t have to be green. In fact, the best of it is decidedly not green, like IRISH STEW, BROWN BREAD, and of course, whiskey. But don’t think this Whiskey Ice Cream is just for St Paddy’s Day, either, it’s going to be killer on your holiday pies, and I bet it would make a pretty great adult milkshake this summer, so keep this little gem of a recipe in your back pocket, it’ll come in handy, I promise.
If you were awake during high school chemistry class you probably know that alcohol freezes at a higher temperature than most other liquids. That means that it’s very tough to make ice cream with a strong alcohol content….the alcohol raises the freezing temperature of the ice cream and it turns out soupy, no matter how long you leave it in the freezer. You can make a soft serve type of thing, but for a true ice cream consistency, it takes some creative thinking.
I added a packet of gelatin to my regular ice cream recipe, and that does the trick. It thickens the ice cream and allows me to spike it with enough Bushmills to be worthy of the name. I can’t pretend that having multiple test batches of Irish whiskey ice cream in the freezer is a bad thing…but I will say that this recipe took some experimentation. I eventually came up with a bang on creamy, scoopable, whiskey ice cream. I hope you’ll try it!
This ice cream is just perfect all by itself, but if you were in the mood for embellishment, there is always BITTERSWEET HOT FUDGE SAUCE, or how about using it as a base for AFFOGATO and pour a shot of espresso over a scoop or two?
Irish Whiskey Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- 1/2 cup cold milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 packet gelatin, 1/4 oz
- 1/3 cup Irish whiskey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix the cream and milk together with the sugar. Stir to completely dissolve the sugar.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup of cold water. Let sit one minute. Then pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over that and stir to completely dissolve the gelatin.
- Pour the gelatin into the cream mixture and stir. Refrigerate the mix until cold, about 2 hours.
- Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and process according to directions.
- When the ice cream is starting to look firm, pour in the whiskey and the vanilla. This will thin out the mixture again. Let the ice cream churn until it is thickened again.
- Spread the soft ice cream in a loaf pan and freeze until firm.
Notes
Nutrition
I’m intrigued by using the gelatin – I’ve seen that for soft serve but not regular ice cream. Curious to try.
I love Haagen Daz Baileys ice cream – it’s so boozy tasting. This sounds like a perfect homemade alternative for pouring hot coffee over…
Well, the thing is, the store bought versions can never contain as much real alcohol as you can get making it yourself, so try this with Bailey’s and compare!
I whipped up a batch with Bailey’s last night. It was a roaring success! Since Haagen Dazs discontinued their Bailey’s…now I have another outlet!
Oh and don’t forget, this version has LOTS more actual booze in it than Haagen Daz did!
Sue ! This is amazing!! and certainly to-die-for ice cream, auhhh!! Your photos are stunning!
Thanks for a great recipe- we love Irish whiskey and Irish Cream and we are in the procees of making a dessert to post soon! But yours is heaven, LOVE IT!
oh my, that sounds wonderful!
I always add a tablespoon or two of liquor to ice cream to help it stay softer. Love the idea of adding gelatin to boozy ice cream to help in the hardening process; the possibilities are endless!
Good idea on the gelatin! I was wondering how you got a really strong whiskey flavor in there. It may be crazy cold here, but I could still use a big bowl of this! (With hot fudge on top to warm me up :P)
The thought of hot fudge on whiskey ice cream is pretty enticing 🙂
Need to get an ice cream maker. Any suggestions/recommendations?
I love my Cuisinart, it’s the base model, I think it sells for around $40-50, and it’s just super simple to use. .Here’s a link: http://amzn.to/133n0Qm
Sue, many thanks. Have to fix this for my husband who loves Irish whiskey. And, every summer I get a ‘hankering’ for peach ice cream – made with reduced peach nectar and peach schnapps. Obviously we like a little booze with our ice cream!
I love true fresh peach ice cream, I think that’s going to have to happen this summer…
You know this calls my name! Yum – I’m such a fan of Irish anything – especially whiskey. Lovely recipe Sue!
Now this is the way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, love the Irish Whiskey!
Thanks Laura — it has quite a kick to it,
I really like the fact that there is no food coloring in this. Great tips! Drat! Still need to buy the ice cream attachment for my kitchenaide mixer.
Well, I did add a smidge of brown gel coloring, just for the photos, but there’s no need to do that, the ice cream will be pale, but the flavor speaks for itself!
Oh my goodness, this has my name written all over it. And I just got a new ice cream maker so definitely going to give this a try!
Congrats on the new ice cream maker — I keep mine out all year round.