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Baileys Cheesecake has a delicious chocolate cookie crust topped with Irish cream-spiked cheesecake filling and ganache layers.
Back in my college days, I managed a small Mediterranean restaurant near campus. It was both a place for the local neighborhood to grab a quick bite to eat and for college kids to hang out and pretend to study while sipping cappuccinos.
And since I worked a lot, and free food was a perk of the job, I pretty much lived on hummus and pita bread for over 4 years.
There was a super friendly older couple that were weekly regulars. Every week, they’d split a tawook dinner with extra steamed veggies. The husband would finish his meal with a piece of cheesecake, and the wife would order Baileys and coffee with just a smidgen of whipped cream and chocolate sauce (similar to an Irish coffee cocktail).
It’s funny the things I remember from more than 15 years ago. The names of any of my undergrad professors? Not a chance. But a meal a couple ordered every week? Yep, right down to the extra veggies.
Now, I’ve never been much of a drinker, but I developed quite an affinity for Baileys and coffee with just a smidgen of whipped cream and chocolate sauce. It’s just one of those drinks that reminds me of being in my 20s, and makes me all warm and fuzzy for so many reasons.
A few weeks ago, I picked up a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream to make Simple Homemade Truffles…and perhaps whip up a Baileys and coffee or two. And then on a whim one night, I decided to try making a Baileys Cheesecake.
WHAT IS BAILEYS CHEESECAKE?
Baileys Cheesecake really isn’t that different from my vanilla cheesecake recipe.
But instead of a graham cracker crust, I use an Oreo cookie crust for a nice chocolatey base. I also swapped out the cream in the filling for Baileys Irish Cream and topped the whole thing with a Baileys-spiked chocolate ganache.
The result is a creamy cheesecake with just the right amount of chocolate and Baileys flavor.
I’d like to think this would have been the perfect cheesecake to finally tempt the wife of that sweet couple into joining her husband in a slice of cheesecake. But then, I happen to think life is not worth living without cheesecake. Are you with me?
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS IRISH CREAM CHEESECAKE
There are three main parts to this Baileys Irish cream cheesecake:
- Oreo cookie crust
- Baileys-infused cheesecake filling
- Baileys-spiked chocolate ganache topping
I have made many, many cheesecake recipes through the years, so I have a few tips I’ve learned along the way that can help you as you make this recipe:
- Use room-temperature cream cheese and eggs. If you forget to set these ingredients out ahead of time, you’re in luck. I have tutorials for how to soften cream cheese and how to bring butter and eggs to room temperature.
- Bake the cheesecake in a water bath. Don’t be intimidated by this step – it’s easier than you think and will help make sure your cheesecake is absolutely perfect. Check out my post on how to bake cheesecake in a water bath.
- Give yourself plenty of time. Even though getting the cheesecake in the oven doesn’t take a ton of time, it needs about an hour to bake, a couple of hours to cool, and 8 hours to chill in the refrigerator. Don’t be tempted to take shortcuts here.
Could you use a store-bought crust instead of making your own? Yes.
Could you skip the chocolate ganache on top? Sure.
Would the final cheesecake be as good? Well, I know what my opinion is, but I’ll let you decide that on your own.
CAN BAILEYS CHEESECAKE BE FROZEN?
This Baileys Cheesecake is the perfect candidate for freezing! Since cheesecake is a bit time intensive to make, it is sometimes nice to make it ahead of time and freeze it.
I recommend freezing this cheesecake without the ganache on top and adding the ganache before serving.
Once the cheesecake has chilled thoroughly in the refrigerator, place it on a cardboard round and wrap it in plastic wrap, then in foil. If you have a large zip-top freezer bag, you could even store it inside that for an extra layer of protection.
The idea is to have at least 2 layers of protection around the cheesecake to keep it from getting freezer burn.
Let the Baileys Cheesecake thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for a couple of hours before topping with the ganache and serving.
Let’s all make this Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake and toast sweet couples who are married for decades, with the sweetest of weekly traditions. What a way to live, right?
Baileys Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 24 whole Oreo cookies crushed into crumbs
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For the Cheesecake:
- 32 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup Baileys Irish Cream
For the Ganache:
- 6 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Tightly wrap a 9-inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step prevents leaks when using a water bath. I also take the extra step by placing the foil wrapped spring form pan inside an oven bag while baking, but this is optional.
- Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of your pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Begin to boil a pot or kettle of water for the water bath.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add Baileys Irish Cream and mix until smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
- Bake 55-60 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have some jiggle to it. At this point, turn off the oven, but leave the door cracked and allow the cheesecake to rest in the cooling oven for one hour.
- After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
- Before serving, prepare the ganache.
For the Ganache
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the heavy cream until very hot, but not boiling.
- Place chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.
- Whisk the cream and chocolate until smooth and thoroughly combined.
- Stir in Baileys Irish Cream until incorporated allow the ganache to sit for an additional 5 minutes.
- Pour ganache over chilled cheesecake and spread into an even layer before cutting, or or spoon over each individual slice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
can I use chocolate gram crackers instead of Oreo cookies in you bailey’s cheesecake
Hi there – Yes, that should be fine. I would just follow the recipe for my graham cracker crust and use the chocolate grahams instead: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/graham-cracker-crust/
Happy baking!
Jamie
I’m a true believer in the water bath. Used to wrap in foil but found a silicone wrap made for water bath. Just set the springform pan in the wrap, set that in the pan and add water around. No cracks. No leaks. Everyone loves this cheesecake. The wraps even come in different sizes.
So glad you love this cheesecake! Thanks for the wrap tip! Happy baking–
Jamie
Delishious. I’ve made twice. Once with the waterbath and once without using the directions in another comment. Both were wonderful. I love cheesecake and this one is now tied for top honor with white chocolate raspberry. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
So glad you enjoyed, Connie! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
This cheesecake was the bomb! It was soooooooo good! Used mint Oreos for the crust. My son suggested a hint of mint flavor in the ganache next time, so may do that. The combination of mint and Bailey’s is absolutely delicious. I made this for Easter dessert and all I got were compliments. Definitely going to make this again. Used a 9×13 pan with water underneath the cake in a cooking bag on the next shelf up. Then put a cut out of wax paper on the top before popping it in the fridge. Just a couple of tiny cracks that were filled with ganache. Not my usual Grand Canyon cracks. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad to hear it, Renee! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
Getting ready to bake this tomorrow. I noted the freezing reccomebdation to place it on a cake round. I struggle to remove cheesecake from the bottom of springform. I often use a parchment round but then can’t get that off without damaging cake and if I leave it, sometimes it gets messy when serving. Would love any tried and true suggestion for getting cake safely from springform to cardboard round.
Thanks!
Hi Cheryl – If you won’t need your springform pan for a bit, you could leave it on the bottom of the springform and freeze it on that instead! The only reason I usually recommend trying to transfer it is in case folks need their springform pan for something else in the meantime. My other suggestion is to put a piece of parchment that’s larger than the bottom of the springform pan at the bottom and secure the springform ring over it (wrap the edges of the parchment around the bottom of the pan + then attach the ring). Then when you take off the ring, you can use the edges of the parchment to scoot the chilled cheesecake onto the cardboard. Hope this helps!
Jamie
If I were to halve this recipe and use a 6” springform pan, what would you estimate the bake time to be?
Hi there – I haven’t made this change on this recipe, so I can’t speak to the necessary baking time. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Happy baking!
Jamie
I don’t know if this has already been asked or not, but if I’m making the crust from scratch, so I crush up the Oreos with the icing? Or do I scrape the filling out and just use the cookie part?
Hi Katie – You use the whole Oreos, with the filling inside. Happy baking!
Jamie
@Steve,
I followed your recs and it came out perfect, at least I think it did. I made it for a dessert auction and with a small bottle of Baileys on the side, it was one of the most popular items. Went for $70
Hello,
If I were to make this in cupcake shape so smaller cheesecakes, how would the recipe change?
Would love to know!
Thank you in advance
Hi there! I have not tried making this particular recipe into mini cheesecakes, but you can check out this recipe and use a similar method: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/mini-cherry-almond-cheesecakes/. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how they turned out. Happy baking!
-Jamie
@Jamie, I don’t know if Maureen tried the mini almond cherry cheesecakes but I did and they are FABULOUS!!
Glad to hear it, Linda! Thanks so much for sharing! Happy baking –
Jamie
It seems to me that the cooking bag is the way to go! Why even use the foil???
Hi Lisa – The foil is just an extra layer of protection, just in case the roasting bag gets a hole in it or something like that. I like to be extra careful! Hope this helps. Happy baking!
-Jamie