to think that putting jelly in trifle is a very common thing to do?

[DameHermione]

Trifle,when made properly does not have jelly.

Cake, some sort of juice, whether sherry or juice or liqure, fruit, custard and cream.

No jelly.

It is such a disappointment to dig in and discover a layer of insipid eobbliness.

AIBU to suggest real trifle has no jelly and to add it smacks of the lower classes?

Ooh and mil's trifle always has crumbled flake on top. None of your fancy grated chocolate!

OOOooo yes crumbled flake! mole

my grandma used to use 'TipTop' instead of cream too

No jelly in trifle. Ever.

I make a mean chocolate trifle, similar to the OPs.

Chocolate marble cake in bottom of glass bowl
Sprinkle with Tia Maria
Layer of milk chocolate custard
Layer of white chocolate custard
Layer of softly whipped cream
Topped with crushed Cadbury's Flake

but no jelly of any kind

Or, my carbtastic-send-you-into-a-diabetic-coma Sticky Toffee Pudding Trifle:

Bottom of bowl lined with sticky toffee pudding
Any appropriate alcohol (I used scotch and some Baileys)
Layer of caramel-flavoured custard
Layer of vanilla custard
Softly whipped cream
Topped with Flake as before.

Then go and have a lie down.

If you're going to get anal about it remember that the Victorians used gelatine on just about anything they could, sweet and savoury. By that token, and assuming trifle is your classic Victorian showpiece pudding, I say Jelly-doodle-dandy!

I like to pour the liquid jelly over the sponge so it soaks in and sets. I do make my own jelly out of fruit juice though.

Definitely no jelly in my trifle. My trifle is sponge (or cut up swiss roll), some jamminess, fruit, homemade custard, whipped cream.

Even better is next day trifle when it's turned into a creamy, custardy, spongy unctiousness. Yum-diddly-umptious.

Having said that if I was partaking of a repast in my serf's house and they offered up some jellified trifle, I'd scoff that too.

Naturally I would then have them publicly flogged.

Having read some of the responses above I need to make an important point.

I love chocolate, I really do. But. . . . . . .

Chocolate has no place in a trifle (apart from maybe some flake sprinkled over the top). Does anyone else think that everything seems to be choclified these days? Chocolate cheesecake, chocolate trifle, chocolate bread and butter pudding etc. etc.

Chocolate's march to overtake all puddings is getting a bit tiresome.

KNOW YOUR PLACE CHOCOLATE.

Trifle is fucking ming.

Trifles containing jelly should also be decorated with little diamonds of angelica.

*I love chocolate, I really do. But. . . . . . .

Chocolate has no place in a trifle (apart from maybe some flake sprinkled over the top). Does anyone else think that everything seems to be choclified these days? Chocolate cheesecake, chocolate trifle, chocolate bread and butter pudding etc. etc.

Chocolate's march to overtake all puddings is getting a bit tiresome.

KNOW YOUR PLACE CHOCOLATE*

HEAR, HEAR!!

I don't like trifle, so could not be arsed if it contains jelly or not.

Oh - I was only thiking about anglica the other day.

I haven't got any, but couldn't think why I would want any.

I agree with you squoosh, but that's because I don't like chocolate.
OP, jelly trifle is fantastic, non jelly trifle is fantastic, trifle for breakfast is best of all.
I've a friend who is a Lady. She has had my trifle with jelly and not gone and drowned herself in her moated house afterwards.
She really does have a moat around her house.

I really, really, really want trifle now but no way of getting it or making it. Grrrrrr!

Now my DH and I have had the jelly/no jelly debate on many occasions (him for me against). But I will concede that his mothers jelly and Swiss roll trifle is yummy, though no way as good as MY mothers, oh no! But then his mother is teetotal and mine puts about a gallon of sherry in hers :)

Trifle is the most revolting pudding with or without jelly

YUCK

BIWI I want your trifle

Trifle with jelly, tinned fruit and packet custard.

Trifle without jelly but with fruit, sherry and home made custard.

Equally delicious but entirely different puddings.

well just to really lower the tone.... I give you jelly made with whipped evaporated milk yummy

I wonder if jelly was added to make the shape of the trifle keep better once served. A spoonful of trifle sans jelly looks like mush really. The firmer layers of the jelly version do look neater.

Perhaps the catering industry decided jelly was a good addition?

Me, I am a no jelly kinda gel [pun intended].

Love jelly in a trifle. If I have a lot of guests I make one jelly trifle and one fancy one made with home-made apricot and cardamom syrup. Plenty of takers for both. First cutlery snobbery on the fish knives thread, and now jelly snobbery. Next you'll be telling me you can't put tinned fruit in a trifle either.

Totally agree about chocolate trying to be part of every pudding nowadays. I'm not very keen on chocolate, that's why I like trifle because it's a fruit pudding.

Chocolate yogurt is very wrong too.

(Minor thread hijack, but I cannot resist seeking the judgement of the Mumsnet Trifle Assizes):

I have enormous amounts of rhubarb at the moment and I'm considering making a rhubarb and orange (and possibly ginger) trifle for my friend's wedding.I'm considering:

Madeira OR ginger cake (not sure about a complementary alcohol- I don't have sherry, but I do have Rachmaninov vodka)
Orange jelly OR marmalade
Rhubarb
Custard (slightly orange flavoured, possibly?)
Cream
Orange slices to decorate?

All comments will be noted.

stubborn yum... just... yum I have actually been forced into my kitchen to make a trifle its cooling in the fridge now,raspberries JELLY and custard no sponge cos I didnt have any, no cream either I will either have to go to the shop or use something else ?

NOT MARMALADE! Revolting stuff!

Stubborn that sounds delicious! Personally I would skip the alcohol and definitely include jelly.

Trifle MUST contain jelly, in two layers of two different flavours. One with the sponge in it, and one with fruit. I am going to HAVE to make trifle tonight now.