Baileys Buttercream Frosting
This Baileys Buttercream Frosting recipe is creamy, smooth, and my new guilty pleasure! This frosting spreads beautifully over cake and leaves a robust layer of icing that is dense and amazing. Using Baileys Irish Cream instead of whipped cream keeps it smooth but adds a bit of a bite, making this buttercream frosting my new favorite buttercream recipe!
What is Baileys Buttercream Frosting
To put it simply, it’s a cake frosting with a unique flavor. As the name implies, the ingredient that makes it different from your average frosting recipe is Baileys Irish Cream. This liqueur is made from cream, cocoa, and Irish whiskey. What’s not to like about each of those individually…and when they are combined it’s a match made in heaven.
The Irish Cream gives the frosting just a bit of a bite. A little more spice to the cream than a sugary frosting. Not so much that it takes away from what a unique cake frosting should be, but enough to make your party go’ers widen their eyes in their first bite.
Ingredients for this buttercream frosting recipe
The key ingredients here are really simple.
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla
- Baileys Original Irish Cream
That’s it! Super simple.
How to Make Baileys Buttercream Frosting Video:
I recorded myself while I was making the Baileys Buttercream Frosting, for those of us who need more of a visual step by step. I hope this helps!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
It is best to use this buttercream frosting immediately, but it is possible to make it ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge and it will keep for at least 48 hours. You will need to remove it from the fridge and bring it to room temperature before spreading it on your cakes. It’s helpful to also fluff it up with a mixer just before application.
How much Bailey’s Liquor is too much?
You can create consistency issues if you use too much of the Irish Cream. Even though you may be tempted to booze it up a bit more, my recommendation is to keep it to a 1/4 cup or less. That will allow the icing to maintain a thick creamy consistency.
Should I feed Baileys Buttercream Frosting to kids?
The total alcohol in this recipe is fairly small. 1/4 cup of a whiskey mix that is 17% alcohol by volume. However, there is no major chance for evaporation of the alcohol because there is no heating of the frosting. So my recommendation for kids is to use a different buttercream frosting recipe like this rainbow swirl frosting.
Is this frosting pipeable?
Yes! The key is to ensure you have the right consistency. If your mix is too soft you can add a bit more powered sugar. If it’s too thick, you can add a small amount more Baileys to thin things out.
Other buttercream recipes you’ll love:
White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Strawberry White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Peanut Butter Cream Buttercream Frosting
Rainbow Swirl Buttercream Frosting
Baileys Buttercream Frosting
Creamy and delicious Baileys Buttercream Frosting
Servings 24
Calories 142kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup softened butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream dependant on the strength you want
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl use a mixer (or hand mixer) to beat butter and sugar. Start on a slow speed and work your way up. Beat until fluffy – about two minutes.
- Scrape the bowl, add 1/4 cup of Baileys and vanilla.
- Turn the beater to high and let it whip up for 4 minutes. You may need to pause and scrape the bowl a few times.
- Taste the Baileys Buttercream Frosting and test the strength. If you want it a little more boozy add an extra two tablespoons. Whip for another few minutes.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 2mg | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 235IU | Calcium: 2mg
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Soooo very sold lol! baileys is my weakness 🙂
I know right? It’s so good!
OMG!!!! Baileys AND buttercream?? YAAASSSS!!!!! Found you on Whats Cookin’ Wednesdays! Bookmarking your blog to come back later!!!! Way to go!
Hi Stacy! Thanks for swinging by 🙂 Yes..Baileys AND buttercream – heaven!
Wow you had me at baileys 🙂 This looks like heaven on a spoon! And I also wanted to mention that the Wednesday “To Grandma’s House We Go” link party just started over at grandmashousediy.com and I thought you might be interested in joining it, thanks!
Hey!! This looks delicious! I was wanting to use a baileys buttercream as a base to put fondant over- will this buttercream crust, or will it stay really soft? Thanks 🙂
That is a good question, I’m trying to remember now.. hmmm.
I think it should crust, if not maybe toss it in the freezer a bit? I’m not 100% sure though!
If I’m correct, I can pipe this frosting into flowers as well? Looks stiff enough. Dye too?
Hey Sharlene, you bet.
If you need it stiffer, just add more powdered sugar 🙂
Hello,
I’m not much of a baker. Can I use premade buttercream frosting , add baileys to it and whip it up?
Thanks
I’m not sure, but give it a try and let me know how it works.
Can I substitute Baileys coffee creamer to make it non-alcoholic?
I don’t see why not. Give it a try and let me know how it tastes!
Thank so much for the recipe really good (barleys)frosting
I’ve been all over YouTube trying to find the perfect buttercream base! I just made this Bailey’s style and its PURE PERFECTION!! Thanks so much! PS- a huge difference I found after making a bunch batters: the finer your sugar the smoother your buttercream! I had to switch brands.
Yay! I’m so happy you like it Tiffany! Now I’m craving it haha. It’s been a while since I made it!
I made mudslide cupcakes & used this recipe for my buttercream. When making this butter cream I substituted Kahlua for vanilla. I had to keep tasting it until I got it just right. ( I found it to be very enjoyable!) It was Excellent. I bake a lot of cupcakes & mudslide cupcakes are very popular!
Oh my goodness Debbie, those sound divine!
They were and fun to make!
This is delicious! Can I make ahead of time ? I have an event for next Saturday and wanted to possibly make on Wednesday and fridge, is that okay?
Same question? Can you make ahead? How long can you keep frosting? Need answer ASAP..thank you
Seriously disappointed in this recipe. I followed the directions to the letter. There was barely enough to frost the cake and after 5-10 minutes it started to separate. The cake was cooled overnight so it wasn’t warm. I will never use this again.
Hi Mary. I am so sorry things didn’t work out. I’m not sure if it’s a climate issue, or maybe an ingredient issue. I have created this recipe a number of times for various occasions and it stays consistent for me. So sorry it didn’t work out!
I halved this recipe to make to cover brownies with and it was delicious!
I used it between 2 chocolate chip cookies and it was delicious. Next time I’ll use it with my Baileys chocolate chip cookies.
How long will the leftover frosting that’s not used keep in the fridge? I’m using half of the frosting to cover brownies and want to use the other half to make another batch in a couple weeks for a gathering