RECIPE: Irish Cream Liqueur Cheesecake

March 14, 2014 at 11:54 am · Filed under Cookies-Cake-Pastry, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day

Bit-of-Irish Cheesecake with Irish cream
whiskey. Photo courtesy Kraft.

We love cheesecake, we love cream liqueur. So how could we pass up this “Bit Of Irish” cheesecake, with Irish cream whiskey and a pecan crust to boot!

It serves 16 in “sensible” slices.

RECIPE: Irish Cream Liqueur Cheesecake

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese,
softened

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

4 eggs

Optional St. Patrick’s Day Garnish

Green sanding sugar, scattered or sprinkled over a shamrock-shaped template to create a shamrock design (see the photo above)

Shamrock cookie (made or bought)

Shamrock cut from green-colored marzipan

Preparation

1. HEAT oven to 325°F.

2. MIX nuts, 2 tablespoons of sugar and the butter. Ppress onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes.

3. BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and the flour in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and liqueur; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

4. BAKE 1 hour 5 minutes, or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

5. ADD optional garnish just before serving.

CREAM LIQUEUR VS. CREME LIQUEUR

They’re not the same.

Crème Liqueur

A crème liqueur (pronounced CREHM) is a liqueur with a large amount of added sugar, which gives the liqueur a near-syrup (thicker) consistency—and a much sweeter flavor. Crème liqueurs contain no cream or other dairy; “crème” refers to the consistency.

Examples include crème de cacao (chocolate), crème de cassis (black currant), crème de menthe (mint) and crème de mûre (blackberry), among others.

Cream Liqueur

A cream liqueur is a liqueur that includes dairy cream among its ingredients. The most popular is Baileys Irish Cream, which uses Irish whiskey and chocolate flavors. There are dozens of brands, including Carolan’s, Duggan’s and St. Brendan’s.

Other types of cream liqueurs include:

The original Baileys Cream Liqueur—delicious sipping anytime! Photo courtesy Diageo.

Amarula from South African, based on marula fruits which provide notes of banana, caramel, chocolate cinnamon

Creme de la Creme Maple Cream from Canada, which adds maple syrup

Cruzan Rum Cream from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, with a base of rum

Dooley’s Cream Liqueur from The Netherlands, which uses Belgian toffee and vodka.

Heather Cream from Scotland, with a base of Scotch whisky

Voodoo Classique Cream Liqueur from India (although the marketing harkens to Tuscany, Italy), which includes whiskey and “exotic ingredients”

Voyant Chai Cream from the U.S., which incorporates rum, black tea and spices (here’s our review)

Here are even more cream liqueurs.

DOES THE CREAM SPOIL?

The manufacturer of Baileys Irish Cream says that its product has a shelf life of 30 months. It guarantees the flavor and consistency for two years from the day it was made, whether the bottle is opened or unopened, stored in a refrigerator or not.

The only requirement is that the bottle be stored away from direct sunlight, and between 32°F and 77°F.

The properties of other cream liqueurs may vary.

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