I Made Rachel's Thanksgiving Trifle From Friends, and I'm With Joey — It's Good

We all know that Rachel's original trifle recipe from Friends isn't exactly the tastiest sounding dessert, what with the accidental layer of beef sautéed with peas and onions (unless you're into that!). So if you still want to pay tribute to the classic Friends dish, we have a sweeter, meatless option.

Swapping beef for crushed chocolate cookies that only look like beef (just roll with it), the peas for green chocolate candy, and the onions for coconut, the rest of the dessert stays the same with layers of creamy custard, whipped cream, raspberries, bananas, jam, and ladyfingers. The result is the perfect trifle to share with friends or family, great (and hilarious) for the holidays, or for a special Friends marathon night. However you choose to make this dish, it'll 100 percent be better than the original (sorry, Rach!) and it's the perfect homage to one of the best shows of all time. See the full recipe below, and be sure to get your stretchy pants out like Joey.

Related:

I Made Ross's Moist Maker Sandwich From Friends, and I, Too, Would Freak Out If Someone Else Ate It

The One With Rachel's Thanksgiving Trifle

Food Network / Heather Baird

Ingredients

1. 4 large egg yolks
   1/2 cup sugar
   3 tablespoons cornstarch
   2 cups whole milk
   1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   2 cups heavy cream
   1 13-ounce package chocolate fudge sandwich cookies
   1/4 cup shaved coconut
   2-3 tablespoons round green candy-coated chocolate pieces
   2 3-ounce packages soft ladyfingers
   3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
   1 1/4 cup whole raspberries
   1 large banana, sliced

Directions

1. For the custard layer: Combine the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
2. Combine the whole milk and vanilla extract in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook until the milk is steaming but not boiling. Add the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens. Remove the custard to a large bowl. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1.5 hours.
3. For the whipped cream layer: Whip the heavy cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. For the "beef" layer: Pulse the cookies in the bowl of a food processor until they form coarse clumps of crumbs. Place the crumbs in a bowl and stir in the shaved coconut and candy pieces.
5. For the assembly: Line the bottom edge of a 4-quart trifle dish with a single upright row of ladyfingers. Line the bottom of the dish with more ladyfingers; lay them down flat so they overlap and cover the bottom completely.
6. Stir the raspberry jam until loosened and pourable. Spoon the jam over the ladyfingers, covering them completely. Pour half of the cooled custard over the jam layer and spread it to the edges of the dish. Add an even layer of fresh raspberries on top of the custard. Arrange a layer of ladyfingers (8 to 10) over the raspberries.
7. Spoon the cookie crumb "beef" layer over the ladyfingers and spread to the edges of the dish. Spoon the remaining custard over the cookie crumbs using an offset spatula. Top the custard with a single layer of bananas. Cover the bananas with the whipped cream and swirl decoratively using an offset spatula. Refrigerate the trifle for 1 1/2 hours. Serve chilled.

Information

Category

Desserts

Yield

12-14 servings