Bring this colorful dessert to your next party. Guaranteed to be a hit!
Whenever I find jello layers offered at parties, I find that it is one of the most popular dishes. Kids AND adults love it equally and you can never have enough to go around. There’s just something fun about eating this beautiful multi-layered dessert. And c’mon, there’s always room for jello!
Time and Space
Now this seems like a no-brainer of a recipe so why am I sharing this? I’ll tell you why…it’s because I needed it for myself. I thought that this is one thing that should be super easy to make. Turns out, I was wrong. You do need some instruction to get it right. Don’t ask me how I know.
Anyway, after having made it several times, I’ll tell you this is one dessert that you have to make in advance. It might seem like a lot of time but it’s really mostly wait time and if you are doing other things, it’s just making sure you have a timer set so you don’t forget about it.
Jello layers need to be a little firmer than regular jello to be able to hold its shape when you serve it. Therefore, you need to add gelatine to the jello. Also, you should add less water than called for to make the jello layers. Now, when you do this the jello will be much sweeter. To balance the sweetness, your milk layers should not contain any sugar. That will help to create the perfect balance for the jello layers.
The other thing you will need to know is that you will need room in your fridge to fit your jello dish. If your fridge if full, don’t start on this dessert. Make room first.
Alright, now that you have some ideas of what is needed, let’s get to the making of this popular dessert.
Jello Layers recipe
Ingredients:
4 different flavors of Jello (try to choose the ones that are different colored—I like strawberry/raspberry, lime, blueberry, and orange). If you do have two similar colors, just don’t layer them next to each other.
5 Knox gelatine packages
3 cups milk, divided
6 cups water, divided
Method:
1. Open first flavor of Jello. Add 1/2 cup hot water to the jello powder. Stir until the crystals are dissolved. Add half a packet of Knox gelatine. Stir to incorporate gelatine well (until all dissolved). Add 1 more cup of cold water (this helps it set faster). Pour into your jello dish (I use my pyrex rectangle dish) and cool in fridge.
2. While cooling, start milk layer. Start with 1/3 cup cold milk. To that, add 1 packet of Knox gelatine (yes, I know you have a half one open already, don’t worry, you’ll be using that later). Stir until gelatine has dissolved. Add another 2/3 cup milk to the mix. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir to ensure that all the gelatine has dissolved into the milk. Cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the jello dish with the first layer from fridge. Your jello should be just set. If it’s not set, put it back to harden more. If it’s set, gently pour the milk layer on (make sure that your milk layer is not too hot so that it doesn’t melt the first layer). Put back in the fridge to cool.
4. Now repeat steps 1-3 with the next 3 flavors of jello. At the end, you should have 7 layers total. If you are lazy, you can get away with 3 flavors and 2 layers of milk but if you do, use 1 whole package of knox gelatine for the first layer (so you don’t end up with a half package of unused gelatine).
5. Refrigerate the jello layers for at least several hours to really firm it up before serving. I recommend you make this at least one day before you plan to serve it. Once the last layer is on and cooled, just cover the dish and leave in your fridge till you’re ready to serve.
6. When ready to serve, remove from fridge and cut into cubes or diamond-shaped pieces and arrange on a platter.
Enjoy!
Cheers, Annie
Other Jello layers recipes on: Ono Kine Grindz, Do Better, The Food Librarian, Recipe Girl, One Ordinary Day
