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Showstopper Jello Desserts

TrishCT

By TrishCT
in Pastry & Baking

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SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted
rainbow jello is definitely an asian/islander thing!  i grew up in hawaii where it was a staple (as bite sized cubes) at any picnic or potluck event.

It still is... and a lot of take-out places such as Chinese restaurants and the Ba-Le Vietnamese sandwich chain sell rainbow gelatin (usally red, green, orange, and white) layered in clear plastic drink cups.

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

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miladyinsanity

miladyinsanity

Posted
Posted (edited)
Yes agar agar is more common but kuih lapis isn't firm (Tepee ,if you read this, what do they use for kuih lapis?).

We also use coconut milk instead of milk

It's not agar-agar.

It's the texture you get from steaming the rice flour batter.

ETA: What I'm trying to say is that there is no agar-agar involved.

Edited by miladyinsanity (log)

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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whisks

whisks

Posted
Posted

all well and good that one of the last few posters has said that the layered jelly thing is an old malaysian favourite, but as far as i'm concerned, the two things are quite different, in both taste and texture. the malaysian dessert is much firmer, being made with agar agar, and also has a much blander flavour. i actually hadn't thought too much about it, but you are right in saying that there is some familiarity with the malaysian dessert. the funny thing is, the first 2 times i made it, i served it to malaysians, and not one said that it reminded them of kueh lapis. hopefully, i will see them this weekend and make it again and see what they have to say about it this time. i will definitely mention what you said to them.

btw, i always thought the steamed kueh lapis (as opposed to the baked one) was made with mung bean flour (hoon kueh). i love both versions of kueh lapis, but agar agar is definitely not a favourite; rainbow jelly is miles ahead! you should try it, if your haven't already, and use coconut milk for the opaque layers instead of yogurt - it is delicious and much tangier than both kueh lapis and the agar agar.

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yunnermeier

yunnermeier

Posted
Posted

oh i don't mean it's like kuih lapis (though the design was probably derived from there,who knows) but when I was about 11 or so, it was really hot in Malaysia for kids to have birthday cakes exactly like those from this page (usually in colourful layers like this but say.. the top part is of tweety bird or something).

My eG Foodblogs : Hungry in Holland, Oberhausen and Budapest

Malaysia Truly Asia

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whisks

whisks

Posted
Posted

now that you mention it, you are right about it being too hot in malaysia for jelly made from gelatine. i remember when i went to malaysia as a child and the adults trying to tempt me with with agar agar without success because i was familiar with the artificially coloured and flavoured jelly. the jelly i was familiar with was quite alien and could only be purchased from places like cold starage in singapore (if my memory serves me....this was some 30 years ago...last century, in fact :sad: ).... must try and schedule a trip out that way soon.....cheers

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  • 1 month later...
Pat W

Pat W

Posted
Posted

I just had to add my thanks to Rachel & Trish for their wonderfully clear instructions & helpful photos. I made this for the first time Monday night to take to a family gathering.

It was fun to make, everything went the way you said it would & it was a stupendous success. Even the stuffy relatives went nuts over it. I must admit that I felt twinges of guilt getting so much credit for Rachel's creation ...and the praise was way out of proportion to the work involved.

It was mentioned elsewhere in this threat, but I was still surprised at how good it tasted. Until now I've never been much of a Jello fan but those days are behind me now.

Sorry about no photo. I was at least going to take a picture of the ravaged plate with one thin sliver left, but regrettably I wasn't fast enough.

:wub:

pat w.

I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance

Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance.

-- Ogden Nash

http://bluestembooks.com/

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  • 2 months later...
CaliPoutine

CaliPoutine

Posted
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I made mine on Saturday for a party on Sunday. I kinda screwed it up so I covered the middle with coolwhip. Obviously, I didnt let the first layer chill enough and the opaque purple leaked thru. You can see one dot of it on the front. I also didnt use the right colors. I used a peach jello that was too light as well as a strawberry that was way too light. It looked pink.

Nevertheless, the kids went nuts for it( some adults did too).

gallery_25969_665_445382.jpg

Randi

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The Senior Dining Thread

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  • 9 months later...
aemonfried

aemonfried

Posted
Posted

Thanks for all the great info in this thread and in the recipe. Here's my take on Rachel Perlow's rainbow gelatin mold. I failed in my search for grape and so the top layer is cherry + blue food coloring. A little murky (not quite as murky as it looks in the photo) but not too bad.

gallery_16549_4856_17454.jpg

gallery_16549_4856_398936.jpg

Love the cross section!

AEM

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  • 1 year later...
hummingbirdkiss

hummingbirdkiss

Posted
Posted (edited)

bumping because I have this friend who when I asked her if she had a Jello mold she said "I dont know what that is" in her "oh yeah I am a bitch today voice"

so I said .. (she is from the Islands) "dont they make Jello in the islands?" and she says "no one in the islands makes that kind of ghetto dessert"

so she is having a gathering on the 13th and all of us are taking her various Jello molds

oh yes we are and we want at least 20 of them to fill her house with ghetto food

help? :smile:

I am doing the rainbow one with white rum and coconut milk

but please??? more is more with this ..she is such a smart ass!!! and one of my dearest friends...and i have a creative block..give me ideas!!

(it is fun being excited about something this stupid you know!)

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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alanamoana

alanamoana

Posted
Posted

different kinds of jello salads (with mini-marshmallows and canned mandarin orange wedges)

jello set in martini or other fancy glasses (so it looks fancy but is still ghetto)

jello shots (made with alcohol)

jello jigglers (firmer set with less liquid and cut into fun shapes)

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hummingbirdkiss

hummingbirdkiss

Posted
Posted

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)

why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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beacheschef

beacheschef

Posted
Posted

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...

Beaches Pastry

May your celebrations be sweet!

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hummingbirdkiss

hummingbirdkiss

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

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 (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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hummingbirdkiss

hummingbirdkiss

Posted
Posted (edited)
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...

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 (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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rooftop1000

rooftop1000

Posted
Posted

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

tracey

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

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JeanneCake

JeanneCake

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Posted

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.

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The Old Foodie

The Old Foodie

Posted
Posted

Now THIS is Jell-O !

Taking Jell-O into the Stratosphere

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted (edited)

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 (log)
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