4

I recently wanted to make a 100% Baileys panna cotta. The idea was that because Baileys has a significant amount of cream, I could just add gelatine.

I should note that my typical panna cotta has just thick cream, gelatine, vanilla and icing sugar.

I ended up having to use about 60% cream vs 40% irish cream, but it did set and was quite good, if strong.

Of course, I had to sieve the mixture to get the coagulated cream (I assume) caused by the alcohol out before setting it.

How could I get the mix to about 50/50 cream/baileys without the cream splitting?

Improve this question
4
  • Did you heat up the mixture or any component of your dish?
    – Stephie ♦
    Jul 6, 2018 at 16:49
  • Yes, to blend in the gelatine into a small amount of cream. Then a low heat to mix in the alcohol. It didn’t separate horribly but there were small lumps to be removed.
    – Matt W
    Jul 6, 2018 at 17:16
  • 1
    Alcohol on it's own isn't acidic so it shouldn't curdle milk (otherwise white russians would be vile). Were you using fresh cream? If not it might have started to sour, which could cause the baileys to curdle.
    – King_llama
    Jul 6, 2018 at 21:26
  • 1
    Below answer not exactly 50/50 mix of Baileys but a method to expand on your first experiment.
    – Fabby
    Jul 7, 2018 at 6:48

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

There are a few tricks to get an alcohol-cream mix right:

  • Pour the alcohol into the cream and not the cream into the alcohol
  • Stir gently while pouring
  • Don't overdo it: don't pour more than 15% alcohol into the cream
    (yes, Baileys is 17% but they're professionals and you're not ;-) )
  • Don't forget that you're diluting your cream so if you normally use 33% fat cream, buy the 40% if you plan on adding 7 Volume% alcohol and 50% if planning on more.

Using the above, you don't have to stick with Baileys but you can use your own favourite brand of whiskey or raspberry liqueur or ...
(If you want authentic Baileys taste, use Jameson's Irish whiskey instead.)

Warning:

Keep these kinds of desserts away from kids and warn guests before serving them something like this.

Improve this answer
3
  • 1. Yes, did that. 2. And that. 3. Dang. Was hoping that 100% Baileys would be like eating solid baileys. But. I was using Tesco Irish Cream. Similar but a little stronger. 17% sounds right. 4. Not sure where to get anything above 30% cream. I’m using Tesco double extra thick cream. I’d always warn people, no worries. They know what to expect ;)
    – Matt W
    Jul 7, 2018 at 6:55
  • FYI it turned out ok, though I should have used an extra sheet of gelatine. I think baileys would have a better taste as tesco's irish cream tastes strongly of spirit which was not the flavour I was going for. You get what you pay for..
    – Matt W
    Jul 9, 2018 at 10:56
  • Good to know! :) Thanks for the feed-back. Time to delete all the comments now to keep things tidy!
    – Fabby
    Jul 9, 2018 at 16:19

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.