I Tried HelloFresh's $35 Rachel's Trifle Recipe From Friends
“Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, good!”
There are plenty of Halloween and Christmas episodes of your fave TV shows, but only one series fully owns Thanksgiving — and that’s Friends. From Monica getting her head stuck in a turkey to the crew playing football before dinner, it’s hard to rank the best Thanksgiving moments from Friends, but Rachel’s disastrous English trifle is one that has stuck with fans for years.
In Season 6, Episode 9, Jennifer Aniston’s character is tasked with making a dessert for the group’s Thanksgiving dinner. Though she used to be a waitress at a coffee shop, cooking was never a part of her skillset and this “treat” proved that. Thanks to two pages of Monica’s cookbook being stuck together, Rachel combined two recipes: one for a traditional English trifle; the other for a shepherd’s pie.
What's not to like? Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, good!
Rachel described it as having “all of these layers.” She said, “First there's a layer of ladyfingers, then a layer of jam, then custard — which I made from scratch — then raspberries, more ladyfingers, then beef sautéed with peas and onions, then a little more custard, then bananas, and I put some whipped cream on top.”
As a fan of the series, I’ve always wondered what Rachel’s English trifle actually tastes like. Sure, mixing dessert with meat doesn’t sound that appetizing and Ross said it “tastes like feet,” but I’m more of a Joey. I love all the ingredients, so, in the words of Joey: “What's not to like? Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, good!”
I’ve tried versions of Rachel’s trifle before, like a dessert-only dish on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Burbank, California. However, seemingly no one has been brave enough to combine the two until now. HelloFresh is set to release a Rachel Green’s Trifle Kit for you to make your own dish at home. Never one to back down from a food challenge, I tried it in advance of the public drop so you can know whether it was worthy of Joey’s seal of approval.
You Can Buy Rachel’s English Trifle Kit For Less Than The Price Of A NY Cheesecake
Starting Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. ET, Friends fans can purchase a Trifle Kit for $35 (wayyy cheaper than Junior’s famous $56 Original NY Plain Cheesecake) on a first-come, first-served basis. There are a limited number of kits that will be sold each day through Nov. 7, and you don’t need a HelloFresh subscription to get one.
Along with everything you need to make both the English trifle and shepherd’s pie, these kits come with a special split serving dish and Friends-themed apron.
An Honest Review Of The Friends Trifle
I loved every minute of making my dish at home. Since all the ingredients were sent to me, it was so easy to put together — even for someone with Rachel’s cooking skills. You just need to follow the directions (and roughly three hours to spare), which were thankfully not stuck together.
The only difficult part was cutting up all the vegetables for the shepherd’s pie, and you do need some additional ingredients not included, like cooking oil and butter. Luckily, these are basic kitchen necessities that most people have already. For example, I don’t cook often — maybe three or four times a month — but I had them ready to go.
As for the assembly, instead of having everything stacked on top of each other, HelloFresh provides a custom dish with one side for the English trifle and the other for the shepherd’s pie. Even though this allows you to enjoy both separately, I tried a scoop of both together to get the full Friends experience and it wasn’t as bad as you might think.
It did take me a few seconds of hyping myself up before digging in, but Joey was right — it’s not terrible. The English trifle was delicious and the shepherd’s pie was full of flavor. Together, they were surprisingly tasty. Sure, the flavors clashed a bit, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t bad. Ross was being a little too harsh.
TL;DR: Could This Be More Fun For Friendsgiving?
I don’t think I’ll be making myself a true Rachel Green trifle in the future and I prefer eating each dish on its own, but this was such a fun experience. I also got to check off a foodie dream by eating something I’ve always wanted to try from TV, like having Luke’s coffee from Gilmore Girls IRL.
If you’re also a Friends fan, I highly recommend getting the Rachel Green’s Trifle Kit from HelloFresh for your Friendsgiving festivities. It was simple, fun, and made a ton of food to share (if you’re not like Joey). I had so many leftovers, with the trifle and pie overflowing in the dish, so you’ll have plenty to share with your besties.
For $35, this is so worth it. Plus, you get to keep the one-of-a-kind split dish and Friends apron for your other Rachel (or Monica) moments in the kitchen.
