Friday 14 February 2014

Reader Recipe: Rainbow Squares




Is there anything more stressful than a work potluck? There you are, looking at a table of food made by people you don't really know. How clean is the accounting guy's kitchen? Does the receptionist let her cat walk on the counter? What if the IT guy licked the spoon or, even worse, made the food naked?

Caker Cooking reader Adam recently had a “Diversity Day” work potluck. Since he’s gay and a caker (otherwise known as a “gayker"), he brought Rainbow Squares. Can you imagine the gasps when he served this mutli-layered work of art? Paging the HR department! Someone deserves a raise.

Adam’s recipe calls for an envelope of gelatin added to each JELL-O package. That means there are EIGHT envelopes of gelatin in this dish. (Or approximately 84 hooves.) Folks, this JELL-O was so stiff, I could've fired a bullet into it and it wouldn’t have come out the other side.

Before anyone calls me out, yes, I screwed up the rainbow order. Red should be on top. I’m a bad gayker.

Thanks, Adam! You make us proud!

6 boxes JELL-O (rainbow order from the top: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
8 envelopes unflavoured gelatin
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix purple JELL-O with one envelope gelatin. Add 1 cup boiling water and stir until dissolved. Pour into 9x13” glass pan sprayed with PAM. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Dissolve 2 envelopes gelatin in ¼ cup cold water. Add ¾ boiling water and stir until dissolved. In another bowl mix condensed milk and 1 cup boiling water. Combine milk and gelatin mixture. Pour ½ cup milk mixture over the bottom layer of JELL-O. Pour slowly over a spoon to stop the mixture from making dents in JELL-O. Repeat using one layer JELL-O, waiting 30 minutes, then one layer milk mixture, waiting 20 minutes, ending with Jell-O (red). If the milk mixture starts to set, put in the microwave for 60 seconds.


Source: Gayker Adam

P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day!

18 comments:

  1. Wow. Kudos to you for going to that much trouble. I'm more of a Lazy Asscaker.

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    Replies
    1. It wasn't that much trouble. Although it did take the better part of a Saturday with all that chilling between layers. I put on my Golden Girls VHS box set and that kept me entertained.

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  2. That's the enduring appeal of Jell-O, it is so damn pretty. I mean, look at it. Really, that's art.

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    Replies
    1. This is more artistic than most paint-by-numbers.

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  3. it IS really pretty, even if the colors are in a unique order. Does the condensed milk gel up while you are setting each individual layer? Sounds complicated. On the other hand, this recipe might make a really lovely jello-candle.

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    Replies
    1. It's not complicated. It just takes time. Let the milk layer set for about 20 minutes before adding the next colour. Also, let the liquid JELL-O cool a bit before pouring it over. And don't forget the spoon. Otherwise, you'll get craters.

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  4. That's just beautiful! What a lot of work! So many layers and boiling of water to make all of those JELL-O layers. Far, far beyond my caker laz- abilities. Happy Valentines!

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    Replies
    1. Boiling water is the true test of any caker's patience.

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  5. Sorry but this is a bit too sophisticated to be deemed "Caker." It's verging on molecular gastronomy! PS, never trust the accounting guy's kitchen. I've seen it and it's bad.

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    Replies
    1. Too sophisticated? Pshaw. There are only 3 ingredients. 4 if you count the boiling water. Accounting guys' kitchens are the worst.

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  6. Replies
    1. I think this is how the younger generation spells "cool" now. It makes it harder for the older folks like me to understand what's going on. Having said that, JELL-O is sick.

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  7. How long does it take to set that many separate Jello layers? I never had the patience.

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    1. It's a half hour setting time per JELL-O layer, so times that by six (3 hours). Then the milk layers need about 20 minutes each and there are 5 of those. So that's like an hour and a half. So about 4.5 hours in total.

      By the way, that was the most math I've done since high school.

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  8. Bam! The sequel!
    http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/rainbow-layer-cake-161053?sc_lang=en&cm_mmc=eml-_-rbecaen-_-20140319-_-2025&cm_lm=161E87D3B6F78053151A610DC910CE77

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    Replies
    1. It's the perfect accompaniment for rainbow squares! Serve with rainbow ice cream while wearing a rainbow wig.

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