Making A Bird's Trifle Kit For The First Time: A Retro Dessert Experiment
Date of experience : 30 December 2025 - New Experience Number 48.
I’ve tried making a trifle before, but I’d never tried making a Bird’s Trifle Kit.
Feeling as though I’d stepped back into the 70s I decided to give it a go as one of my 52 new things for the year.
What Is A Trifle?
A trifle is a layered dessert that originated from England and has been consumed by sweet-toothed pudding lovers since the sixteenth century.
It has changed over the years, but usually consists of a bottom layer of ladyfingers (a sort of sponge biscuit) that have been soaked in sherry. This is then topped with a layer of jelly, or in some cases fruit, or sometimes fruit and jelly combined. Next is a layer of custard, and to top it all off is a layer of whipped cream.
This decadent dessert is often given some finishing touches with a sprinkle of chopped nuts, chocolate sprinkles, hundreds and thousands, glacé cherries, or other fancy flourishes.
So What Is Bird’s Trifle?
Bird’s is a company probably best known for its custard powder.
Back in 1837, Alfred Bird’s wife had an egg allergy, so putting his chemistry skills to the test, he set about creating an egg-less custard so that “she had something lovely to pour over her desserts”. Isn’t that sweet?!
By 1844, Alfred was marketing his custard powder across the UK and it became hugely popular.
Mr Bird continued experimenting, creating blancmange powder, jelly powder, Dream Topping, and trifle mixes. So even though it’s been around for a long time, I’d never actually tried a Bird’s Trifle, or had a go at making the kit.
Rolling up my sleeves and popping on the radio one dreary winter afternoon, I channelled Alfred Bird and tried my own experiment.
The Ingredients For Making A Bird's Trifle
The kit I had bought was to make a raspberry flavour trifle.
It was all dried powders and crystals, and reminded me of the sorts of space food you hear about astronauts eating. I half expected the instructions to include “just add zero gravity”.
The brightly coloured retro-looking box contained packets of;
- Sponge fingers
- Jelly crystals
- Custard powder
- Topping mix
- Sprinkles
The additional ingredients needed were;
- Water
- Milk
- Sugar
I’ve got to say, one of my favourite parts of a trifle is the warming undertone of sherry, so I was a little disappointed that wasn’t listed on the ingredients.
I briefly considered whether Alfred Bird would object to a cheeky splash being added anyway. Still, with everything to hand, I began.
The Make
There were just five simple steps to make the trifle, and a little bit of patience.
1. Firstly, I made the jelly, which simply involved dissolving the jelly crystals in boiling water and then leaving it to cool for ten minutes.
2. The next step was making the custard, which involved mixing the custard powder with sugar then adding some of the milk bit by bit whilst continuously stirring. Once it reached a smooth consistency, I heated it to a gentle boiling point, and then added the rest of the milk and left it to cool. Fortunately, it remained lump-free, which is always a small victory when making custard.
3. Cutting each sponge finger into four pieces, I placed them into a large glass bowl and poured over the cooled jelly, and then popped this in the fridge for 40 minutes. I was a little sad that the sponge fingers didn’t endure any sherry soaking at this point.
4. After the jelly had set, I poured over the custard and left it all to cool.
5. Making the Dream Topping simply meant whisking the powder in the packet with milk until it started to form soft peaks, and then spooning this over the top of the custard layer.
And to finish it all off, I sprinkled over the chocolate flakes. Simple!
The Look
I put my layers of hopefully delicious dessert back in the fridge until after dinner.
It layered well, and it mostly looked as I think it was supposed to. Although I think a smaller bowl would have helped to make the creamy topping look a little less sparse.
I’m not sure what contributed to it looking so nostalgic. It looked like a retro pudding that wouldn’t have been out of place at a 1970s dinner party, somewhere between the cheese-and-pineapple hedgehog and a prawn cocktail starter.
How It Tasted - Making A Bird's Trifle
Taking a tentative spoonful, my overwhelming first impression was how sweet it was. I suspect my dentist would have been less enthusiastic than I was. Fortunately, I wasn’t planning on eating the whole bowl in one sitting.
The Dream Topping was nice, but a different texture to the cream I’m used to on a trifle. It seemed much lighter, and almost foamy in consistency – which might not be how it’s meant to turn out.
The colourful jelly was cool and silky, and the custard was deliciously sweet and creamy.
If I’m honest, I’m not sure I liked the sponge fingers in the jelly. Personally I prefer them as a separate layer, and I’m not sure the chocolate sprinkles added much to the taste but they did give the trifle a nice finishing look.
Will I Be Making A Bird’s Trifle Again?
Probably not. Whilst the kit makes trifle incredibly easy to prepare, I still prefer making one from scratch because it gives me more scope to experiment with the ingredients and method.
Having said that, there are certainly plenty of ways you can adapt the Bird’s Trifle Kit.
You could soak the sponge fingers in a little bit of a tipple of your choice. You could add fruit to the jelly, or add a layer of fruit between the custard and topping.
With everything you need in one small packet, (aside from a few ingredients which are likely to be in the kitchen anyway), it could be handy to keep one in, just in case there are any last minute entertaining emergencies.
If you’re ever planning a retro-themed dinner party, I’d highly recommend whipping this up for the table too. It’s sure to be a conversation starter.
Trying New Things
I discovered the instructions were straightforward, the method was easy, and the end result was much sweeter than I’d expected.
It might not replace my homemade trifle recipe, but it was fun doing something different, and a reminder that trying something new doesn’t always have to be adventurous or dramatic. Sometimes it can be as simple as picking up a nostalgic dessert kit and seeing what happens.
What blast from the past could you try?
Want To Try It Yourself?
- It’s really easy to give this a go, all you need is a Bird’s trifle kit and a few regular ingredients.
- You can find out more about Bird’s, their history and their products from the Bird’s website.
Cost Of Experience
- You can pick up a Bird’s Trifle Kit for around £2.50, depending on where you shop.
- The additional ingredients of milk and sugar will be roughly around £2.50.
- The kit makes 6-8 portions, depending on how large your portion sizes are!
Recommendations
- Be Patient. Whilst making a Bird’s trifle is really easy, there are a few steps where you need to wait for things to cool or to set.
- Get Creative. There is ample opportunity to add some of your own creative touches to the Bird’s Trifle Kit, so why not zhush it up a bit with some of your own embelishments.
- Host a themed dinner party. This is ideal if you’re going down the nostalgic route for a theme for a party.
- Take a picture. don’t forget to snap a picture of your finished creation, and let me know how you get on!