Am halfway through making my 1st ever homemade trifle and have questions

[ChristmasStrumpet]

I am making it for dessert tomorrow as I have family coming for lunch. I started it today as I have lots to do tomorrow and wanted a head start so I can actually spend time with my guests.

So far I have soaked my madeira cake slices in sherry. I then layered with defrosted raspberries and covered with a jelly. Its now in the fridge setting.

My question is when is it Ok to put the custard and cream on the top? Will the whipped cream need to be done tomorrow so its stays fluffy or will it be OK to whip it later today and put on?

and

Once layered with custard do I leave that to set before putting the whipped cream on top?

Thanks in advance

Personally I would say put your custard on today, leave to set - add the whipped cream just before serving

This is from many years of watching DH - who has just done the custard layer for our NYD trifle!

I've only made a trifle twice so am not an expert but I put the custard on & then leave it in the fridge as the custard then sets a bit. I tend to add the cream at the last minute although on one occasion had whipped it in advance.

throw it away, it is ruined as you have jelly in it.

to be a tad more helpful, I'd put the custard on now and whipped cream tomorrow.

if you are worried about custards skin then put a layer of cling film right over the custard.

who in their right mind puts jelly in a trifle??

Jelly has apparently been added to trifle since the 18th century!

You need jelly for a nice stable foundation IMO

Custard today but let it cool a bit before you put it on the jelly

Cream tomorrow

Sorry to hijack OP, but I wanted to catch the trifle experts while they're still around. If you make a trifle, can you use a ready made custard, or will it be to runny? I mean a naice one, like the Taste The Difference vanilla one, not Ambrosia out of a tin. I am pro jelly, btw, DH is not, so I may never make one anyway. (Sulks).

Catsmamma I agree that jelly doesn't belong, and am still using my grandmothers trifle recipe which dates back to the late 1890's .... not a smidge of jelly in sight! However, we are sadly in a minority.

As has been said OP.....custard on this afternoon. If the set is good, then you could do cream tonight to save time tomorrow, but do ensure that the custard is fully set first.
(we are talking homemade, aren't we - not Birds?)

My trifle is in the fridge with custard on now!

And yes, ready made custard is fine!

Lizzie ......you absolutely cannot use a pre-made custard. It will never set more than the pouring consistency it has when coming out of the tin/jar.

I agree about jelly! Trifle when I was young was Swiss Roll covered in custard with dobs of cream. Topped off with some glacé cherries if you were lucky. I was revolted when I learned that jelly was the norm and now only eat trifle if there's nothing else in the fridge and I'm desperate.

Thanks for the replies.

I ummed and ahhhhed about the jelly but my trifle bowl is huge and I was worried the layer of fruit would not be deep enough and the custard would just soak through and there would not be proper layers iykwim.

My Grandma never used jelly but sadly she is no longer here to ask how much fruit etc.

I have a tub of Asda taste the difference custard but I dont think it is big enough for my mahoosive trifle bowl nor very thick. So I am eyeing up the tin of birds custard powder in my cupboard. Do I make this nice and thick?? Or am I supposed to be making my own custard??? Yikes!!

I will do the custard shortly - I assume I leave it to cool off a bit before layering on the controversial jelly????

I will do the whipped cream in the morning.

Jelly.....omg

Thick birds custard, and let it cool just a bit before pouring on. Personally, I always use blancmange rather than custard. I like firm layers, and jelly is necessary for the correct shhhhlllluuuuurrrrrppppp sound to be generated when you spoon it out

Make the custard up very thick, using full fat milk, and leave to cool right down. Then just before you spread it over the fruit and cake, whisk in a few tablespoons of cream. Then put the whipped cream on.

If you pour on hot or even warm custard it will melt the jelly!

I just make a thick, sweet custard, put it on while still hot and then let it set overnight in the fridge and put the cream on before serving.

I quite like jelly in trifle

I made a blackcurrant trifle over Christmas - blackcurrant purée, layered with cassis soaked cake cubes, then Sainsburys TTD custard, which is thinnish but tastes of very good melted vanilla ice cream, and then whipped cream and frosted blackcurrants on top.

It wouldn't have been right with sliceable custard, the thinner custard worked. The cake adds enough texture IMO.

If it's got jelly in it, it's not trifle!

SEE NOW

if you don't use evil devil's work jelly you can put the custard on warm which means the raspberries/sherry/sponge flavours all meld together in the teeny bit of warmth
Home made custard with a vanilla pod is best, and a thickish set, but i certainly have used tub custard before. Tub custard is thinner though and you will have to be careful to only softly whip the cream

My trifle is
sponge, liberally doused in sherry or amaretto
raspberries or jam
crushed amarettis, more liberal dousing with sherry/amaretto
rasps or jam, whichever you did not use first
then the custard (warm)
then the cream before serving

IMHO Birds custard powder will be fine - when I make mine for a trifle I use two tablespoons to a pint of (semi-skimmed) milk and a bit less than the recommended amount of sugar. Leave it to cool a bit then pour it over the set jelly. If you leave it too long before pouring it will be too thick to spread over evenly. Once the custard is cold put the whipped cream on top. I often make mine the night before and leave it in the fridge and I've never had any problem with the cream losing its whip. We are not a jelly in trifle family - the debate with us is how whipped the cream should be. I like it fairly thick with grated chocolate sprinkled over. OH prefers his cream softer and chocolateless but has to go with the majority view unless he makes it.

This is how I make trifle:

Thin layer of tinned raspberries, drained.
Trifle sponges, in chunks- with spoonfuls of raspberry juice drizzled oer unti they are damp
A layer of tinned raspberries
The juice from the raspberries lightly thickened and set with arrowroot, and dobbed amongst the raspberries and sponge
A layer of custard, made thckly and then cooled, and cream whicsked into it so that it is velvety, not stiff but not runny
Whipped cream

No sherry, no jelly.

If I was making a sherry trifle, it would be sherry soaked madeira, proper egg custard, and cream.(no fruit!)

Marco Pierre White uses birds custard powder.

Good enough for him, good enough for me.

But I would do the cream just before serving. Don't overwhip, needs to be soft folds, not grainy stodge.

Thank you for the custard advice, Redacted

Our family have ALWAYS put jelly in trifle [faints dead away at the thought of it jelly-less]. But I'm northern so...

Anyway OP - Devon custard on now, whipping cream whipped before being placed on the yummy confection then add mandarin segments from a can -Yes - a can! - before being served.

I like jelly in trifle, but I'm northern too. My mum makes it with lime jelly, which I'm not keen on. My preference is for orange or raspberry or just possibly blackcurrant. Gosh, haven't had trifle for ages - would really like to try adding amaretti...mmmmm..........