I saw an over-the-top Island Jello cake on my Instagram feed and instantly fell in love with it! Not only for its beauty but also because I saw so many different things that I could do with this cake decorating technique! So I figured I would give it a try and see how mine would come out…
To my surprise, I was able to put together this wonderful cake masterpiece! It is beyond my artistic talents, but low and behold it was actually not as hard as it looks! I’ve shared a video of this cake on my YouTube channel that you can watch here
If you’re here for the step by step tutorial, read on:
This cake will actually take a day or two to complete. I’ve broken it down into 5 steps but first…
Prep Work-
Before getting started you will want to gather your supplies;
- spatula
- knife for carving the cake
- springform pan
- gel colors: white, black, blue & green
- small paintbrush
- tape
- plastic wrap
- acetate sheet (can find at a craft store)
Make sure you have all of your ingredients too;
- cake layers (I would suggest using the same size as your springform pan)
- chocolate ganache- here’s a great recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction
- melted white chocolate
- vanilla cookie crumbs
- unflavored gelatin powder (120g)
- granulated sugar
Now onto making this amazing island jello cake…
Step One:
-Stack and fill your cake layers with chocolate ganache
- Use bottom of springform pan
-Carve out the shape you want for your mountain(s)
- Keep in mind where you want the jello to rise up to
- Use a mixture of cake scraps and ganache to form the tops of your mountains
-Ice the entire cake with the chocolate ganache, then chill
Step Two:
-Using a spatula, add melted white chocolate here and there on the bottom portion of the cake
- This will be under the jello
-Use white gel color and paint short brush strokes all over the mountains
- This will be above the jello
-Chill the cake while you do step three (to keep chocolate cold and firm)
Step Three: How to bloom gelatin
- Add 1 1/2 cups cool water in a wide bowl
- Sprinkle 120 grams of unflavored gelatin over the top of the water. Let sit for three minutes
- Bring to a boil: 2 1/2 cups water with 150 grams of granulated sugar
- Add to gelatin and mix to combine
- Using gel colors, dye the jello any shade of blue/green you desire
- COOL BEFORE USING! (or you will melt the chocolate ganache)
Step Four:
-Prepare cake pan
- Place ring on your springform pan
- Seal the bottom and the hinge with packaging tape, then plastic wrap the bottom and sides of the pan. Secure with tape
- Spray your acetate sheet with cooking spray and wipe with a towel
- Wrap the acetate sheet on the inside of the pan and secure it with tape
-Pour cooled off jello just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, then chill until firm
- this will help stop any gelatin from leaking out
-Finish filling your cake pan with jello until you reached your desire height
-Chill your cake overnight (or at least 8 hours)
Step Five: finishing details
-Cut off all of the tape and plastic wrap from your cake, then remove the ring
-Now it’s time!!!!! Cut off the tape securing the acetate sheet and carefully peel the sheet off the cake!
-Using black gel color, paint the mountains almost to their peaks
-Cover the top of the cake (the jello) with plastic wrap
-Use the cookie crumbs to decorate the mountains and sandy beaches
-Lastly: Paint the shore lines and waves using white gel color
- This was my most challenging part. If you paint the waves and don’t like the way they look you can try to wipe it off and start over, or use a paper towel and blend them in
- Tip- If I were to do this cake again I would use a smaller paint brush for the wave lines
Thank you guys so much for following along with my Island Jello Cake! This cake came out so good, I cannot wait to use this gelatin technique for another cake!
Let me know if you tried making this cake! Follow me on Instagram and tag me or leave a photo in the comments!
If you are looking for a beginner cake to try check out my last featured cake here—-> http://www.thepleasantbaker.com/melted-ice-cream-drip-cake/
