This delicious custard cream pie uses the raw ingredients for Irish Cream (no Baileys, just Whiskey) to make a from scratch pie that satisfies all your Irish Cream cravings. With a crisp graham cracker crust and just a whisper of chocolate and coffee this should remind you both of your favorite cream pie and of your favorite sweet sipper if your favorite sweet sipper is Irish Cream.

I remain ambivalent about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day- what with the green beer and carnival atmosphere. I never hesitate when it comes to celebrating things Irish. From my misspent youth drinking Jamesons on the rocks to the amazing hospitality of so many Irish friends who always have a cup of tea at the ready there are so many great memories and people and pints and potatoes that everyday is a lucky day.
Tips and tricks for making Irish Cream Pie
Here is a detailed tutorial on making a graham cracker crust, it makes more crust than listed above but the pictures are helpful. I like 8 graham crackers because that is how many come in an individual wrapper and since I don’t make sweets terrible often that keeps the rest tightly sealed.
During the holiday season (that would be Thanksgiving to St. Patrick’s Day) I make my own Irish Cream for drinking using the SmittenKitchen recipe.
My graham cracker crusts tend to crumble because I prefer the graham cracker be in bigger pieces than cohesion dictates. Because of this I use the food processor to combine the butter for the crust. If you’ve made the mixture finer you might want to mix in the butter by hand (well, with a fork) so as to not make the mixture too fine. How you do is up to you.
I was making this pie for a work potluck for strictly home use I might up the whiskey by just a smidge. The flavor of the whiskey does mellow a bit during the cooling process.
want more Irish themed foods? I’ve got you covered!
Individual Irish Soda Breads with chive butter

Irish Cream Pie with graham cracker crust

Irish Cream Pie with graham cracker crust
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 8 whole graham crackers about 5 ounces broken into one inch-ish size pieces
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For the Filling:
- 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup heavy or whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules or 1/4 cup whole optional
- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1-2 Tablespoons Irish Whiskey
For the Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1½ cups heavy cream chilled
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust:
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
- In food processor, pulse graham crackers and 2 tablespoons of sugar to crumbs, about 15 1 second pulses; then process until powdery, about 5 seconds. Add butter and pulse to combine.
- Empty crumbs into 9″ glass pie plate; using bottom of ramekin or 1/2 cup dry measuring cup, press crumbs evenly into bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake until fragrant and medium brown, about 15 minutes, rotating pie shell halfway through baking time if neccessary. Set on wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Filling
- In a small bowl, combine unsweetened cocoa powder with a tablespoon or two of the heavy cream and stir until no lumps remain
- Bring condensed milk, heavy cream, cocoa powder slurry, and salt to simmer over medium-high heat. If you are adding coffee or coffee granules do this now. I use whole coffee beans and strain them out before adding the butter and vanilla.
- Whisk yolks and cornstarch in medium bowl until no lumps remain. Temper the yolks with about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture: whisking constantly, gradually add hot milk mixture over egg yolk mixture; whisk well to combine. Then, whisking constantly, gradually add remaining milk mixture to yolk mixture in 3-4 additions; whisk well to combine.
- Return mixture to saucepan and cook until thickened and mixture reaches boil, whisking constantly, about 1 minute; filling must boil in order to fully thicken. (Large bubbles should quickly burst on surface when you stop whisking.).
- Off heat, whisk in butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and Irish Whiskey until butter is fully incorporated.
- Pour hot filling into cooled pie shell and smooth surface with rubber spatula; press plastic wrap directly against surface of filling and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.
Topping
- Just before serving, beat chilled cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla with electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.
- Top pie with whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder or shaved chocolate.
- Cut pie into wedges and serve. Still good the next day but the crust gets softer by the hour.
By condensed milk, does the writer mean sweetened condensed milk or just evaporated milk?
sweetened condensed milk!