It will come as no surprise that the pandemic has me feeling nostalgic about the dishes served at large social gatherings – backyard barbecues, church potlucks, family reunion picnics, Thanksgivings and Christmases and Fourths of July. In my youth, every one of these events invariably featured a festive gelatin mold, usually made by a grandma who had been turning out these fancy jigglers since they were fashionable in the ’50s.
Each of my grandmothers bequeathed me various molds — some specifically for gelatin desserts, some probably intended for congealed salads, savory mousses or aspics. Since “congealed salad” sounds positively revolting and I hope I never taste an aspic (a dish made from gelatinized meat stock), I promise I won’t ruin your appetite by reporting on them. I am, however, delighted to share three recipes for summery gelatin molds, with thanks to Grandma and Nanny, who are no doubt unveiling magnificent layered molds at the church potlucks of heaven and telling guests to stand up straight and not to slam the Pearly Gates.
Cherry Vanilla Cream Gelatin Mold
This is much easier than cherry pie, although the drawback is that cherry pie is ready in an hour and this should chill overnight. I must give credit to the Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn — yes, there really is such an illustrious personage! — for inspiring this variation of her recipe. Her website, jellomoldmistress.com, is an easy place to spend a few hours, with its gorgeous photographs of fantastical gelled creations like bourbon banana pudding, peach Bellini and apple pie a la mode.
If the website isn’t enough, you can order her book, “Hello, Jell-O! 50+ Inventive Recipes for Gelatin Treats and Jiggly Sweets.”
But I digress. Mix one 6-ounce package of cherry gelatin with 2 cups boiling water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk. Pour into a small, four-cup gelatin mold and refrigerate overnight. Invert onto a plate, garnish with cherries and whipped cream or whatever seems pretty to you.
There are lots of variations on this recipe. Instead of vanilla, try a teaspoon of almond extract. If you don’t like cherry, any flavor of gelatin will work. Create new flavors by blending two 3-ounce boxes of gelatin, like orange-raspberry, lemon-lime or blackberry-peach. No matter what flavors you use, the resulting dessert is quite sweet because of the condensed milk’s sugar content. Enjoy the hit to your sweet tooth or cut the sweetness by serving with fresh fruit, cottage cheese or a dollop of sour cream.
A note on releasing the mold: Gravity should pull the contents right out. If you have trouble, run a little warm water over the mold and then try again. Some sources recommend taking the precautionary step of coating the inside of the mold with a light layer of cooking spray before adding the liquid gelatin. If you’ve tried all these things and it still doesn’t come out, just tell everyone the mold is a fancy bowl and scoop it out with a spoon. The gelatin will taste just as delicious, and besides, everything is shapeless once it reaches our tummies.
Lemon Lime Marshmallow Chiffon Gelatin Mold
Boil 2 cups of water in a medium-sized pot. Add one 6-ounce package of lemon gelatin and stir until dissolved, about one or two minutes. Add 1 can of condensed limeade and stir until that’s dissolved, too.
Now put the pan in the fridge and chill for about an hour, or until the mixture is syrupy but not set. Whisk in an entire container of thawed but still cold whipped topping or 2 cups of sweetened whipped cream, followed by 1 cup of mini marshmallows. Pour into a lightly greased large gelatin mold or Bundt cake pan and refrigerate overnight. While chilling, the frothy concoction should separate into a sweet marshmallow-chiffon layer and a very tart lemon-lime layer.
Gently unmold onto a plate or cake stand and think about how you haven’t shaved in a couple weeks, maybe a month. Feel relieved that you don’t have to bother keeping up appearances anymore, but also sad at the same time. Have quite a large slice of Lemon Lime Marshmallow Chiffon. Eat your feelings. I won’t judge.
Chocolate Raspberry Gelatin Mold
The internet will deny it, but you can make a gelatin mold by mixing flavored gelatin with instant pudding. Hidden deep in the forgotten corners of cyberspace, I uncovered two recipes for gelatin jigglers made with gelatin and vanilla instant pudding, but my thought on that is: If you can make it with vanilla pudding, you can make it even better with chocolate pudding! So this is my own jiggly twist.
Mix one 6-ounce package of raspberry gelatin with 2 cups boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature, at least 30 minutes.
Mix one 3.4-ounce box of instant chocolate pudding with 1 cup of cold milk. Whisk until it thickens, then add to gelatin mixture and blend thoroughly. Pour into lightly greased mold and refrigerate overnight. Unmold and serve with fresh raspberries and lots of whipped cream.
Orange and strawberry also taste scrumptious with chocolate, or try peach gelatin with vanilla pudding or strawberry gelatin with banana pudding.
