Strawberry Floating Gelatin Dessert

I grew up on flavored gelatin- my school cafeteria used to present us schoolchildren with infinite varieties of canned fruit encased in flavored ‘jello.’ I used to love it- anything sweet and slippery was fine by me!

Thanks to cookbook authors like Fanny Farmer, recipes made with gelatin or ‘aspic’ became a nation-wide craze. Thumbing through my 1941 copy of Fanny Farmer’s The Boston Cooking School Cook Book, I see recipes such as Cucumber Jelly Salad, Ginger Ale Fruit Salad, and for the more advanced cook, Whole Cooked Chicken in Aspic (yikes)! Fanny was responsible for awakening housewives from their doldrums and getting their ‘gelatinous juices’ going.

However, gelatin (aka ‘Jello’) and I eventually parted ways. I got tired of going to buffet dinners and seeing the salad section filled with pears ensconced in green gelatin, nestled on a bed of iceberg lettuce. Or in the dessert section, eyeing cherries in gelatin, topped with little marshmallows. Sound familiar?

But that all changed when I saw a recipe by Kiwilimón for a floating gelatin dessert.  This dessert is shaped in a lovely fluted bundt cake mold and consists of a delicious vanilla layer that ‘floats’ inside a mass of strawberry gelatin. Fresh blueberries, strawberries and mint leaves are placed in the center as a final garnish. Loving the contrast of the creamy vanilla layer with the sweet strawberry gelatin, I can say once again that I am a fan of ‘Jello’! In fact, I’ll be taking this dessert to our family Christmas dinner next week!

To make this dessert, sour cream, condensed milk, regular milk and gelatin powder are combined in a blender and then poured into a Bundt Cake mold (or other decorative mold). After the mixture  firms in the fridge for several hours, gently separate the mixture away from the sides of the mold using your fingers:

Now dissolve the strawberry gelatin in 2 cups hot water, add 2 cups of cool water, then pour the mixture over the vanilla layer. The vanilla layer now ‘floats’ in the strawberry mixture.

Let the mixture set in the fridge for several hours. To unmold, place a large plate on top of the mold and then invert it; gently lift the mold off.

Add fresh strawberries, blueberries and mint leaves into the center of the dessert and serve. Happy holidays to everyone!

Please watch my video below for step-by-step instructions- there’s music too!