Trifle Bowls are clear glass bowls used to make trifles, or Punch Bowl cakes, or Tipsy cakes.  The reason for the clear glass is to show off the layers in the cake.  These cakes are made of lady fingers or sponge cake, sprinkled with sherry or some type of liqueur, and filled with fruit and nuts.  The trifle bowl is always of clear glass, but may be frosted glass, carved in various ways, or made of plastic or crystal instead of glass.

Trifle bowls may be fluted, but they usually have a stand or a footing of some sort.   There are large, full-sized trifle bowls; there are also small, individually sized trifle bowls.  The type of trifle bowl used depends on how many people are being served as all trifle recipes are very flexible and can be made to accommodate either one person or many people.

Trifle bowls are found under dessert bowls in the glassware section of many stores.  Most are priced at under $20 USD, with many trifle bowls being available for less than $10 USD, but they can cost more depending on the type of glass/plastic used and the type of embellishments used.  Carved trifle bowls tend to be less expensive than plain glass trifle bowls because the carving tends to hide any flaws in the glass.

Any clear glass bowl can be used for a trifle, including punch bowls.  In fact, there are some very pretty carved glass punch bowls that are used for trifles.  This is why this dessert is sometimes called a punch bowl cake.  There is little actual baking involved in a trifle, so the bowl does not have to be oven-proof.  It just needs to be a clear bowl, large enough to hold all of the ingredients for the trifle.

Trifles tend to be made with creamy ingredients like whip cream or custards in addition to the liqueurs, so the bowls do need to be able to contain the liquid ingredients.  This is in addition to the requirement that the bowl be at least somewhat transparent.  This means that paper or cardboard bowls are never used to contain a trifle.

A trifle is a very simple dessert to make, and the appearance is so pretty that it deserves to be the highlight of any gathering or dinner, including one for only a single person.  Trifle bowls fulfill this function of highlighting the food they contain admirably.