What's Baking: Baileys Cream Pie

It's that time again--another What's Baking? post! The challenge this month was to bake something St. Patrick's Day-inspired. After thinking about car bomb cupcakes or some sort of car bomb cheesecake, I realized I was short on time and needed something that would come together a little more quickly. The boyfriend wanted to make butterscotch pie (his specialty), but that's obviously not very Irish! However, it did get me thinking about cream pies. Now, I love cream pies. I've made Spiked Eggnog Cream Pie and Butterscotch Pie in the past, and I've enjoyed eating many other kinds. But how could I make it Irish? Then it hit me--Baileys Cream Pie! I've never had it before, but I love Baileys Irish Cream (who doesn't, really?!), and I love cream pies, so why not combine them?

I've adapted Martha Stewart's Rum-Vanilla Cream Pie recipe for other purposes before, and it has always worked well, so that was my starting point here, as well, but I adapted it very heavily. Interestingly enough, it didn't occur to me to simply Google "Irish cream pie recipe" until after I had finished making the pie. I was curious, so I did, and most of the ones that I saw involved Cool Whip or boxed pudding mix or things like that, so I think this is a fairly unique recipe. I am both happy and sad to report that it was gobbled up so quickly that I did not get a chance to take a picture. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Baileys Cream Pie (a Brownies and Blondies original)

• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. Baileys Irish Cream (or other Irish Cream liqueur)
• 1 3/4 c. milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 4 Tbl. butter, softened
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Pre-baked graham cracker crust (I used regular, but chocolate would be fantastic!)

Combine sugar, salt, Irish Cream, and milk in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture just starts to bubble (unless you want to cook the alcohol off, in which case, boil it for a good two minutes, stirring frequently). Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks and cornstarch in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth and thick.

Once the milk mixture starts to bubble, remove from heat. Temper the egg yolk mixture by slowly drizzling and stirring in about 1 c. of the hot milk mixture. Once tempered, add the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan of milk, and return it to the heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens significantly.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the softened butter, 1 Tbl. at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the custard into the graham cracker crust, and press plastic wrap over the surface of the custard, working out any air bubbles. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Feel free to top it with whipped cream for serving, if you like. Enjoy!