Triple-Gelatin Fruit Salad
Submitted by jobadi
A stunning layered gelatin salad with orange segments, cranberry-banana, and a creamy lemon-cream cheese layer with pears, molded in a fluted tube pan. Retro potluck showstopper.
YIELD
1 saladPREP
60 minCOOK
20 minREADY
60 minThis is the gelatin mold your grandmother brought to every holiday table, and honestly, nobody has topped it yet.
Three distinct layers set one on top of the other in a fluted tube pan: a bright orange layer with fresh navel orange segments, a ruby cranberry layer studded with banana chunks, and a creamy lemon layer enriched with cream cheese and folded with tender pear pieces.
Each layer gets chilled in an ice bath until thickened, then set in the freezer before the next layer goes on. The result is a jiggly, jewel-toned showpiece with clean, defined stripes when you unmold it.
It looks like it took forever, but the actual hands-on work is mostly stirring and waiting.
Kitchen Tips
- Rinse the mold with cold water before adding the first layer. This creates a thin film that makes unmolding much easier.
- Chill each layer in the freezer for exactly 10 minutes. Too long and it freezes solid; too short and the layers bleed together.
- Whisk the cream cheese until completely smooth before adding it to the lemon gelatin. Lumps will not dissolve once the gelatin starts setting.
- To unmold, dip the pan in warm (not hot) water for just 10 seconds. Overdoing it melts the outer layer and blurs the colors.
Ingredients
Directions
Rinse a 10 to 12 cup fluted tube pan or ring mold with cold water.
Orange Layer: Place orange gelatin in a medium metal bowl.
Add boiling water and stir until completely dissolved.
Stir in ice water and orange peel.
Half-fill a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water.
Place bowl with gelatin in the ice bath.
Stir gelatin occasionally with a rubber spatula until mixture is thick as unbeaten egg whites.
Remove bowl of gelatin, fold in orange segments and pour into mold, distributing oranges evenly.
Put mold in freezer until gelatin sets, about 10 minutes.
Cranberry Layer: Using cranberry gelatin, proceed as directed above, omitting orange peel and adding bananas in place of orange segments.
Pour evenly over orange layer.
Return to freezer until set, about 10 minutes.
Creamy Lemon Layer: Place lemon gelatin in a medium metal bowl.
Add boiling water and stir until completely dissolved.
In another bowl, whisk cream cheese, sugar and lemon peel until smooth.
Whisk into lemon gelatin until well blended.
Cool mixture as directed above.
When gelatin has thickened, fold in pears.
Pour evenly over cranberry layer and refrigerate at least 4 hours until very firm or up to 2 days.
To unmold: Dip mold up to rim into warm (not hot) water about 10 seconds.
Invert plate over mold.
Invert mold and plate together, shaking both gently from side to side to release gelatin.
Comments
