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Hooray! Christmas is almost here! I hope you are taking some time to relax and make new Christmas memories with those you love. If you wanted something easy, fun and perdy to make for Christmas – try this Birds Milk Jello recipe.
It’s Vera’s famous ptichiye moloko recipe (bird’s milk); a layer of creamy mouse topped with raspberry jello (don’t worry, I’m wrapping up my bird’s milk spree). I hope you enjoy this super easy and fancy dessert. You can easily double it for a potluck. I’ll have some exciting new Russian recipes for New Year’s so stay tuned!
What you will need to make Birds Milk Jello:
8×8-inch glass pyrex dish
Cooking spray
Ingredients for Birds Milk Jello Layer:
(note: this is 1/2 of the original ptichye moloko recipe)
1 packet unflavored gelatin (1/4 oz (roughly 7 grams or 1 1/2 tsp) per packet
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz tub sour cream
8 oz tub cool whip, refrigerated (should be fully thawed, not frozen)
6 oz raspberry jello
2 cups boiling water
Red Gel Food coloring (I use this one by Betty Crocker)
How to Make Birds Milk Jello (Mousse) Layer:
1. Spray a 8×8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. This keeps the jello from sticking to the pan when serving.
2. In a small pan, whisk together 1 packet unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup milk over medium heat. Continue whisking until it just begins to steam, remove from heat (DO NOT BOIL). Set aside to cool.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer over medium speed, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 8 oz tub of sour cream and a 8 oz tub of cool whip until well blended. Make sure your cool whip is fully thawed and soft or you will have clumps in your jello.
4. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add the warm milk mixture until incorporated.
5. Immediately pour half of the cream into the prepared baking dish. Smooth the top.
6. Mix red food coloring (a few drops at a time until desired color is reached) into the second half of the cream until well-blended. Quickly spread pink jello over your white cream. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
7. Dissolve jello with 2 cups boiling hot water and set aside to cool to room temperature.
8. Once jello is cool or just luke-warm, pour the raspberry jello over the bird’s milk. You can also add fruit over the top after you pour your jello. Try raspberries or sliced strawberries for an extra tang. Refrigerate jello 2-4 hours, or until jello is set. Have fun with it. Make it unique by adding any kind of jello or food coloring.
Birds Milk Jello Recipe
Ingredients
(note: this is 1/2 of the original ptichye moloko recipe)
- 1 packet unflavored gelatin, 1/4 oz (roughly 7 grams or 1 1/2 tsp per packet
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 oz tub sour cream
- 8 oz tub cool whip, refrigerated (should be fully thawed, not frozen)
- 6 oz raspberry jello
- 2 cups boiling water
- Red gel food coloring
Instructions
- Spray a 8x8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. This keeps the jello from sticking to the pan when serving.
- In a small pan, whisk together 1 packet unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup milk over medium heat. Continue whisking until it just begins to steam, remove from heat (DO NOT BOIL). Set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer over medium speed, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 8 oz tub of sour cream and a 8 oz tub of cool whip until well blended. Make sure your cool whip is fully thawed and soft or you will have clumps in your jello.
- With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add the warm milk mixture.
- Immediately pour half of the cream into the prepared baking dish. Smooth the top.
- Mix red food coloring (a few drops at a time until desired color is reached) into the second half of the cream until well-blended. Quickly spread pink jello over your white cream. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Dissolve jello with 2 cups boiling hot water and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Once jello is cool or just luke-warm, pour the raspberry jello over the bird's milk. You can also add fruit over the top after you pour your jello. Try raspberries or sliced strawberries for an extra tang. Refrigerate jello 2-4 hours, or until jello is set. Have fun with it. Make it unique by adding any kind of jello or food coloring.
Love this one. Made 3 times so far.
Awesome!! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it thrice 🙂
Hey Natasha!
I really want to make this recipe but we don’t have any cool whip where I live, how can I replace it?
Plus- what is the size of the gelatin packet you are referring to? I need to check that ours are the same.
Many thanks!
There are 32 envelopes in an 8 oz box. It’s about 1/4 oz (roughly 7 grams or 1 1/2 tsp) per packet Each packet of gelatin is 7 grams. I haven’t tried it with anything else, but my guess would be to whip some heavy whipping cream with powder sugar until little peaks will form.
Hi Natasha,
I’ve tried this recipe for some reason it doesn’t have the nice height like yours does. mine is somewhat flat. When I mixed the warm milk mix into the sour cream mixture, It was kind of runny, not enough to “spread” out, do you know what might have happened?
Thanks
Did you let the milk mixture cool down? It should be just warm and not hot when you add it. How did it set in the end? Did it firm up?
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for having this blog and for sharing your recipes! I love ptichiye moloko and would really like to try making this dessert. I’ve moved to Australia, and unfortunately we don’t have some basic items that are found in US, and one of them is cool whip. I’ve heard that you can beat heavy cream to get that fluffy consistency…is that true?
Would be much obliged if you help me out 🙂
Thanks!
Julie, try following these instructions using heavy cream, sugar and vanilla, hope this helps :).
Thank you so much!! I’ll definitely try that!
Appreciate your fast response! 🙂
Blessings!
Thank You Natasha. It turned out delicious!
Yes!!! And, you’re so very welcome 🙂
Natasha. You think I can add jello into the second layer of ptichee moloko instead of food coloring, and after it cooled to add jello on top?
Yes, just let the layers fully cool in the fridge before adding new layers so it doesn’t melt into itself.
LOVE IT!! we used to make this all the time in clear glass cups! I love the pink layer!! just made mine right now and added a slice of lemon underneath the jello layer!!:) so excited to try it!
I like that idea for individual servings. I should try that!
Hi Natasha! I want to try this recepie, but im not sure about gelatin, how many oz or grams is in the pocket? I have one with 2 oz. Is this too much or just fine?
Click here to see the box that the gelatin packets came from. There are 32 envelopes in an 8 oz box. It’s about 1/4 oz (roughly 7 grams or 1 1/2 tsp) per packet Each packet of gelatin is 7 grams
ok, got it))) Thank you!!!! will try to make it!!!
This recipe is such a keeper! My mom in law is in love with it! Thank you 🙂
That’s wonderful; thank you Oksana!
In the picture, it looks like you have two packets together, so I was wondering if you counted the two packets that come together in the box!?
That picture was when I was making a double portion; sorry I do need to re-photograph this recipe. It really is just one packet.
Natasha, thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes! There are days when I have no idea what to cook, but looking at your website helps so much. After sitting and looking through some of your things, I actually have a desire to cook and bake. Thank you for making cooking easier. May God bless you! 🙂
You are welcome Tanya, blessings to you as well :).
Hey Natasha! this is a great recipe, though my grandma and mom always made the bottom white and the top part was dark chocolate jello!!! (they used lots of cacao) and then they cut it into squares! it was delish! We are from the western UA, everyone did it that way there.
I will try making it this way :). Thanks for sharing Olya.
I absolutely adore your blog! The recipes are delicious, and very attainable. I made the birds milk jello for New Years, and it was a huge hit! I was going to a dinner party, and decided to make the recipe to take along with me. I made 2 batches, as this was the first time I was making the recipe, and wanted to make sure it turned out good. I was so ecstatic that I made the extra batch, as it was SOOO delicious, and I couldn’t wait to come home from the party and eat more of it! Thanks for providing me with a recipe that I will so be turning to again!:)
Awesome!!! You are brave to make 2 batches of something new! 🙂 I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi, what if i cut the jello into squares ahead of the party-do you think that will be fine, i hope the white part doesn’t start to melt or loose shape. Thanks
It should be fine as long as you keep them refrigerated.
Hi, just to be clear for a 9×13 I would double the recipe, meaning instead of 8 oz tub sour cream I would use 16 oz?
That’s correct Lina :).
Hey I was wondering that instead of food coloring could I mix a little bit of jello powder with water until it dissolves and mix that for the pink layer?
Yes, you can Anita 🙂
Okay!
Thanks. And can i use any kind of whipped topping or cool whip only?
I haven’t tried anything else so I can’t recommend it. If you do any experiments, please let me know how it went.
I have never used food coloring before. The only thing that i found at walmart is called gel food colors. It says you can add it to dough, icing, or white cake batter. Can i use this kind?
You can. I’ve also heard that some people use a flavored jello instead of the flavorless jello, but I haven’t tested it so I couldn’t tell you how to do it exactly. But, I should try it. Sounds tasty 🙂
This reminds me of when I was little, we used to make it all the time 🙂 it tastes just the same 🙂 One thing we do is instead of adding food coloring for the pink we use Hershey strawberry syrup and also more gelatin cause the syrup makes it less thick.
I should try your version next time Alla. Thanks for the tip.