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Showstopper Jello Desserts

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115 replies to this topic

#91 hummingbirdkiss

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Posted 04 December 2008 - 07:33 PM

OMG I HAD NO CLUE HOW HARD JELLO CAN BE!!!
my rainbow is a big tye dye blob!!!

I think I will chedk the thrift store for martini glasses those are some great ideas ..and mini marshmallows I forgot about those!

we never had jello back home (LOL)

#92 CanadianBakin'

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Posted 04 December 2008 - 08:27 PM

What about the lime one with cottage cheese and pineapple in it? It was at every potluck when I was growing up.
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#93 beacheschef

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Posted 04 December 2008 - 09:47 PM

Does anyone remember the vanilla sheet cake that you poured jello over?

Basically, you bake a vanilla cake in a pan with at least 2-inch sides. Since the theme is white-trash, I suggest a cake mix.

Let the cake cool, then poke the top of the cake with a straw.

Pour warm jello over the top of the cake, so it flows into the holes.

Refrigerate to let the jello firm up.

I think my mom used to put cool-whip on top of this when she served it to the family...
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#94 hummingbirdkiss

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 07:28 AM

What about the lime one with cottage cheese and pineapple in it? It was at every potluck when I was growing up.

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LOL that sounds very attractive!

OMG I have to say

I totally suck at making Jello!!!

I feel like I have permiated my being/my home/my hair with artificial color and flavoring ..everything smells like RED BLUE GREEN PURPLE ORANGE, YELLOW, VIOLET WHATEVER THE HELL COLORS/FLAVORS THESE ARE????!!!!! My counters are stained ..and my brain hurts!

oh and the smell of the "Grape" that is the freaking worst smell I have ever allowed near me!!!

and yet ...nothing really cool has come of it :(

she is so worth this effot ...I swear her face when she sees the parade of jello entering her home will be priceless!!!

Edited by hummingbirdkiss, 05 December 2008 - 07:31 AM.


#95 hummingbirdkiss

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 07:33 AM

Does anyone remember the vanilla sheet cake that you poured jello over?

Basically, you bake a vanilla cake in a pan with at least 2-inch sides. Since the theme is white-trash, I suggest a cake mix.

Let the cake cool, then poke the top of the cake with a straw.

Pour warm jello over the top of the cake, so it flows into the holes.

Refrigerate to let the jello firm up.

I think my mom used to put cool-whip on top of this when she served it to the family...

View Post


I do remember this!!!! thanks awesome idea!!!!

my husband took my camera or I would be documenting this ..I swear nothing I have put together looks ANYTHING like those perfect molds above???? wtf????

Edited by hummingbirdkiss, 05 December 2008 - 07:35 AM.


#96 prasantrin

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 03:30 PM

OMG I HAD NO CLUE HOW HARD JELLO CAN BE!!!
my rainbow is a big tye dye blob!!!

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Did you let each layer set before adding the next one? I'm not sure about the particular recipe you're using, but generally it's best to let them set a little.
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#97 rooftop1000

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 07:36 PM

if your refrigeratore has a wire shelf or you have cooling rack like that you can set glasses on angle....use one color at a time and let set at an angle...then add another color to fill to the top

that one was in the old jello cookbook


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#98 JeanneCake

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 08:03 PM

My mom used to make a jello salad in the summer; all I can remember is it had shredded carrots and chopped walnuts in it but I can't remember what flavor jello it was. Maybe lemon or orange, definitely not lime. I can still see the carrots suspended in the jello and the unexpected crunch of a walnut (it was a different crunch than the carrots.) There wasn't anything else in it (no marshmallows, or cherries or anything else. Just lots of carrots and some nuts. I'll have to ask her about it and see if she remembers.

#99 The Old Foodie

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 08:11 PM

Now THIS is Jell-O !

Taking Jell-O into the Stratosphere
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#100 Katie Meadow

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 09:06 PM

A very creative graphic designer brought a jello mold something like the rainbow thing above to a party many years ago and blew everyone away. It was made in a loaf pan and then sliced one way and then another and served as finger food.

It was done as you would expect, with each new layer needing to be jelled before the next layer (cooled first) was applied. But she did something visually dynamic and very unjello-like: in between each colorful layer was a very thin layer of plain unflavored jello that had been made with the addition of milk, so that the layer was pure white. It was really quite beautiful and had at least 12 layers total, including the white ones.

If the idea of commercial artificial jello turns you off (as it does me) you can easily make your own fruit jellos with gelatin and various kinds of fruit juice. (Not pineapple I think--it has some kind of enzyme in it that messes up the jelling.) Pomegranate and cranberry would be nice.

I've made fresh blood orange jello and that's delish, especially with a little whipped cream. It uses an obscene number of blood oranges.

Old Foodie: that is amazing!

Edited by Katie Meadow, 05 December 2008 - 09:08 PM.


#101 alanamoana

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Posted 05 December 2008 - 09:18 PM

It was done as you would expect, with each new layer needing to be jelled before the next layer (cooled first) was applied. But she did something visually dynamic and very unjello-like: in between each colorful layer was a very thin layer of plain unflavored jello that had been made with the addition of milk, so that the layer was pure white. It was really quite beautiful and had at least 12 layers total, including the white ones.


the original posting i think uses yogurt or sour cream in the clear jello to make the white layers, either way, sounds good. chinese almond jello would be a good white layer as well!

If the idea of commercial artificial jello turns you off (as it does me) you can easily make your own fruit jellos with gelatin and various kinds of fruit juice. (Not pineapple I think--it has some kind of enzyme in it that messes up the jelling.) Pomegranate and cranberry would be nice.


canned pineapple juice works fine because it has been cooked/pasteurized. this kills the enzyme that deactivates gelatin. that's why you can used canned pineapple pieces in jello molds. any of the tropical fruits that have that enzyme can be cooked to deactivate.


edited to fix tags

Edited by alanamoana, 05 December 2008 - 09:24 PM.


#102 helenjp

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Posted 06 December 2008 - 01:51 AM

Something I see more often in Japan than anywhere else is cubes or stamped-out shapes of jelly suspended in jelly of another color. The cut-outs are usually made in a firmer jelly, with the surrounding jelly slightly softer.

For example...cubes of coffee jelly in milk jelly...star-shaped cut-outs of pale-blue mint flavored jelly in a clear soda jelly...cubes of various colors of jelly in a light-colored jelly.

#103 hummingbirdkiss

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Posted 06 December 2008 - 08:31 AM

OMG thanks you guys I am thinking a bloody mary aspic in a GIANT shot glass now ...I suck at Jell-O!!!

those flowers in that mold are out of this world I am so humbled now that I have tried to make the rainbow I can not even imagine anything else

I would have just loved to have seen that up close how beautiful!

I may try this
broken glass for my very last effort and make the white part with coconut milk and knox with white rum... the broken glass in tropical flavors also with white rum

but I am not doing anything with any Jell-O for a few days ..I have to detox now and drink mineral water or something

I feel very overwhelmed when I wake up and think in rainbows :P

Edited by hummingbirdkiss, 06 December 2008 - 08:34 AM.


#104 Chris Hennes

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Posted 06 December 2008 - 08:46 AM

Now THIS is Jell-O !

Taking Jell-O into the Stratosphere

View Post

From the article:

Later, I met the woman behind the art, Chef Honoris Causa Ofelia Audry of Mexico City. Through a translator, she explained that she pulls the colors through the Jell-O with spoon-like tools with different sorts of smooth and scalloped edges. You can see the detail in picture four. The treat , called Tallado de verdura y fruta, is quite common in her city, she said. For example, it might be served with tea or at a luncheon.


So, wait, you mean to tell me that that entire creation is nothing but jello? Not only are the flowers not real flowers, they were actually drawn, IN 3D!!, in the gelatin? Am I misunderstanding this?

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#105 Tri2Cook

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Posted 06 December 2008 - 09:09 AM

Yep, that's how it's done. I've tried it. I failed. I promised to revisit it and give it a more serious try someday. So far, that day hasn't come. It's hard for me to get into beyond the art aspect, I don't love jello.
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#106 cats2

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Posted 06 December 2008 - 09:15 AM

Now THIS is Jell-O !

Taking Jell-O into the Stratosphere

View Post

From the article:

Later, I met the woman behind the art, Chef Honoris Causa Ofelia Audry of Mexico City. Through a translator, she explained that she pulls the colors through the Jell-O with spoon-like tools with different sorts of smooth and scalloped edges. You can see the detail in picture four. The treat , called Tallado de verdura y fruta, is quite common in her city, she said. For example, it might be served with tea or at a luncheon.

So, wait, you mean to tell me that that entire creation is nothing but jello? Not only are the flowers not real flowers, they were actually drawn, IN 3D!!, in the gelatin? Am I misunderstanding this?

View Post

My guess is something like this.

#107 ravenshadow13

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Posted 23 February 2009 - 09:54 PM

I know this thread is a little old, but Rachel, your Jell-O mold recipe was the best that I found online! I made it yesterday. I used about three tbs of coconut milk whisked into the gelatin for the creamy layers, and even my mom (who hates coconut) loved it! I used strawberry for the double, grape, berry blue, lime, lemon, and orange. I started with the purple first, ended with the red. I let the first layer set too much (uh oh!) so it separated from the rest of the mold. I also had some trouble with the gelatin setting while I was waiting to put it in, but it was easily melted when the cup was placed in warm water. At one point the gelatin separated from the side of the pan and the layer that I had just poured seeped down the side. I poured it right back into the cup, and luckily I had some extra of the previous layer left. I added some more of that to help it set more, and then 15 minutes later it was back to normal. At one point, there was also a crack that formed, but after setting the next layer it was barely noticeable. The next time I make it, I think I may try it with Cool Whip instead, and make it in plastic champagne glasses.

My mom loved it, I was totally impressed, because she typically despises Jello!

#108 natasha1270

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Posted 02 June 2011 - 06:17 PM

I think this thread came up recently in another topic and inspired me to make a jello mold in school colors for the spring sports banquet. It was a big hit!

Posted Image

berry blue & strawberry jello with vanilla yogurt for the creamy layers.
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#109 Toliver

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 09:38 AM

I think this thread came up recently in another topic and inspired me to make a jello mold in school colors for the spring sports banquet. It was a big hit!

Posted Image

berry blue & strawberry jello with vanilla yogurt for the creamy layers.

Natasha, that is stunning. The school colors tweak is a brilliant idea. I suppose you could do the same for holidays (red, white & blue for the 4th of July, greens and reds for Christmas, and so on). Congratulations on your successful dessert.

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#110 Beebs

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 10:59 AM

OMG I am inspired to make a layered blue, green & white Vancouver Canucks jello mold for a tomorrow's bbq!!! This is why I love eGullet. :smile:

#111 natasha1270

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 11:31 AM

Here's a tip (not sure if it is mentioned upthread): plan how you are transporting it before you unmold.

I unmolded onto a dinner plate and it was just a bit too small and the bottom edges got a tiny bit mangled. After we oohed and aahhed, I realized I hadn't thought how we were going to get it to the banquet because it is JELLO! I don't have a cake cover set up and saran wrap was out of the question so I upended a lightweight pot over it and had my son hold on for the whole ride as I fretted over every speed bump, stop, start and turn. If I had really thought about it, I might have just brought it in the mold and unmolded it onsite and taken the chance it wouldn't unmold cleanly.
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#112 Jaymes

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 11:46 AM

Now THIS is Jell-O !

Taking Jell-O into the Stratosphere

View Post

From the article:

Later, I met the woman behind the art, Chef Honoris Causa Ofelia Audry of Mexico City. Through a translator, she explained that she pulls the colors through the Jell-O with spoon-like tools with different sorts of smooth and scalloped edges. You can see the detail in picture four. The treat , called Tallado de verdura y fruta, is quite common in her city, she said. For example, it might be served with tea or at a luncheon.

So, wait, you mean to tell me that that entire creation is nothing but jello? Not only are the flowers not real flowers, they were actually drawn, IN 3D!!, in the gelatin? Am I misunderstanding this?

View Post

My guess is something like this.



Pretty stunning. Especially love the Christmas tree.
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#113 Genkinaonna

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 01:04 PM

I have a book for making the "tortas gelatinas" but it's in spanish :hmmm: ...

I need a set of those tools and a translator :laugh:
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#114 andiesenji

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 01:07 PM

You can find some amazing jello items here

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Next page" to keep going.

a search for "Freedom jello" will take you to the page with the red, white and blue construction.


Do look at all the pages, there are some great ideas, lots of fun stuff.
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#115 dcarch

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Posted 23 June 2011 - 08:14 PM

I made jello. :cool:

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#116 toolprincess

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Posted 24 June 2011 - 02:20 PM

DCarch I need details!!!





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