Friday, July 4, 2014

Jello Cake


Usually I try to stick with recipes that use real ingredients. I am not opposed to using butter and sugar and cream, but I try to avoid processed, convenience food.

Except for sometimes. Like when it's really hot in the summer and all I can think of is taking a bite of cool, refreshing jello cake. Jello cake is not real. Cake mix. Jello packets. And cool-whip. Fake, fake, fake. But yummy, and surely okay two or three times a summer.

I particularly like to make it for Independence Day. July 4th, typically a hot day, is a perfect day to make this refrigerated dessert. It's easy, tasty, and you can even decorate the top with a "flag" made from strawberries and blueberries.

Happy Independence Day! 


My friend Steph's flag version

Jello Cake
Makes a 9 x 13 pan

1 box of white cake mix
2  3 oz. boxes of raspberry jello (you can use any flavor, but raspberry is my favorite)
2 cups of boiling water
1  9 oz. package of cool-whip


Prepare cake in a 9 x 13 pan according to package directions.


While still warm, poke holes in the cake with a fork. 
Be generous with the holes because that's what allows the jello to sink into the cake.
 Be sure to let the fork sink in all the way to the bottom of the cake.

If you refrigerate the cake before poking the holes, it will be disastrous. 
The cake will "grab" the fork, making a royal mess. 
I may have made this mistake before...


In a small bowl (or a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup would work better, because then you can pour from it), mix together the packets of jello mix and the boiling water. Whisk until the jello has dissolved.


Then pour the hot jello liquid over your cake. 
Pour slowly so that the liquid has time to soak down into the holes and doesn't just run to the edges. 


The cake looks slightly unappealing at this point, but some good old cool-whip will help that later.

Cover the cake with cling-wrap and refrigerate until cool, about 3 hours. 


Once cake is cooled, spread the entire tub of cool-whip onto the cake. Keep refrigerated.  


Recipe is from my mom (and probably half of the mothers of America!)

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