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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.
is this ok to make in the small single serving cups?
Hi Dina, You would have to work quickly before the white portion sets, but we did something similar in our mousse cups recipe.
We loved this. I like to get Bird’s Milk Cake at our local European bakery and this is an easy way to satisfy that craving at home. Light and refreshing as well as beautiful. It turned out perfectly. Thank you.
Hi Michelle, I’m glad you loved this recipe. Thank you for your awesome feedback!
I was wondering if anyone has made this with regular heavy whip, if it would be strong enough to hold up to the hot milk?
My mom gets sick when she eats cool whip, hoping I can figure out a delicious alternative!
Hi Victoria. I haven’t tried that yet to advise but maybe someone else can share it here?
I have a question if i make jello today, would be ok to eat on Christmas eve ?
Hi Valentina, that should work! I haven’t tried it too far in advance so I don’t know what the absolute farthest in advance you could make it, but I think 2-3 days should be safe 🙂 Just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn’t take on any food smells in the refrigerator.
How early can I make this jello and it still taste really good
I have breakfast brunch party this Saturday in morning
I’m debating making it tonight vs tomorrow morning
Hi Liliya, I haven’t tried it too far in advance so I don’t know what the absolute farthest in advance you could make it, but I think 2-3 days should be safe. Just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn’t take on any food smells in the refrigerator.
My husband and I loved this so much especially with the adjustments I made to it. I haven’t done the red layer but instead I added fresh strawberries in the jelly layer and it just complemented so well the whole thing. So good! This is a keeper Natasha!
Wow so wonderful to hear that, Corinne. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Your photos looked so good I had to try this recipe. I made it and it was delicious. My kids loved it too. I found it quite difficult to keep it perfect when serving (your photos of it are so perfect) so I’ll have to try and do better next time. Yes, I’ll be making it again soon. We all loved it.
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
I have made this recipe several times. Last time I made it, I used canned cherry pie filling instead of jello at the top. It was so good! In fact better than Jello, as per my family and myself:)
That’s awesome, Katelyn! Thank you for sharing that amazing feedback with us!
I was so excited to try this recipe. I felt that I had done everything right, however, when I poured the jello, over the pink and red, cream layers, that I had in the fridge, for 30 minutes, the jello, began to seep under the cream layers, and is now sitting, at the bottom…
I am sure that it is still edible, it just doesn’t look, as pretty, as the picture.
Any ideas as to what I did wrong?
Hi Lisa, this can happen if the cream layer isn’t spread all the way to the edges of the dish. Make sure there aren’t any gaps. Also, if the jello is added while it is too warm, it can melt through the cream down to the bottom. Lastly, a slow steady stream of jello is best . You can break it’s fall (so to speak), by pouring it on the back of a spoon as it goes into the dish.
Thank you for your tips!
I made a second batch, already, and after following your advice, it turned out perfectly!
That’s so awesome Lisa!
Hi Natasha,
I really want to try this receipe like now. Is cool whip same as if I whipped a whip cream. I happen to have that on stock :)…Thanks so much!
Hi Zuzu! I hope you get to make that soon! That could be a good substitute, but I haven’t tested it personally in this recipe so I can’t really recommend it without testing it first.
This seems very delicious.
Where do you buy the products most of the time?
Hi Gabriela, Thank you for that great review! We shop at our local grocery stores, Fred Meyer, Winco, Costco etc. 🙂
Hi, could I use a 9×13 pan or do I need different amounts to make it happen?
Hi Nell, it would be too skinny in a 9×13. Using the 8×8 dish makes this recipe nice and tall. You can easily double it if you are making this for a potluck.
I forgot to buy red food coloring , so I had to improvise and instead of food coloring I added like 2 tbsp of nutella and it turned out really good, not the pink color but very tasty 😊
What a great idea, Mima! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Oh my goodness! This is my new best-ever jello recipe! Thank you so much for sharing this!
You’re welcome Sherrie! I’m glad you’ve found a new fav. Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Hi, when it says 6 oz raspberry jello that means 2 boxes of 3 oz powder jello mix? I have only 1 3 oz box which makes 2 cups total of liquid that becomes jello. Your recipe says add 2 cups of boiling water total. Will it still work with one 3 oz pack? It will just be the consistency of normal jello right?
Hi Irina, I do 6 oz of jello and do not follow the instructions on the box so the jello ends up thicker and easier to slice. I think you could make it work with one 3 oz pack but yes it will be the consistency of normal jello – will take longer to set and a little more difficult to cut.
One more thing can I substitute agar for gelatin?
Hi Karolina, I haven’t tried that substitution in this recipe but I’m not sure if it would work without other modifications. Maybe someone else has tried? If so, let us know! 🙂
I tried to do it, but I guess I didn’t follow the instructions on package of the agar, didn’t really jellied up. It was more of Sandy texture cream. So I would say use a little more and COOK THE AGAR longer. It needs to melt completely. It comes in powder and it seems like it’s done but on the package it says boil 2 min constantly stirring. Will try again. But I did this recipe before with gelatin and it was sooo tasty. Thank you !
Hi Karolina, I haven’t tested this with agar agar but the cooking process does need to be modified when subbing gelatin for agar agar. I haven’t had that same experience with gelatin so I’m pretty certain it was due to the substitution.
Natasha, I’m planning to do this in cups for bday party, do you think it will be fine being out on the table for a few hours without refrigeration?
Hi Karolina, yes it can keep at room temperature for a few hours once it is fully chilled in the refrigerator
Could I make it in separate individual cups? Like clear plastic cups for a bday party.
Hi Nikki, yes that would work great! Just work quickly to divide the mousse between the cups and it will be easier to fill the cups if you divide it up right away. You can use a large pastry bag or a large ziploc bag to make pouring easier.
I love this recipe, it is so easy to make! For something extra I add strawberry flavoring (drops) to the birds milk, and red food coloring. Top it of with fresh strawberries before you pour in the jello. And for the bottom just add a layer of white plane cake! It taste’s so good!!
Yum! That sounds great Milana! Thanks for sharing 🙂
hello natascha i would love to if you do an video on this recipe Im so bad with Gelatine 🙂 Please Please !!! Love all you recipes would like to try this one 🙂
Nicole, thank you for the suggestion, I will add it to my list 😀.