How To Make a Layered Jello Mold

Step 1

Prepare the mold and chill the fruit: Coat a 10-cup Bundt pan or gelatin mold with cooking spray. Wipe with a paper towel to make sure there are no puddles of spray and the pan is well-coated. Rinse, dry, and cut strawberries into quarters. Stem and pit cherries. Refrigerate the fruit until needed.

Step 2

Bloom the gelatin: Place the gelatin with 1 cup of the cranberry juice in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside to bloom while preparing the rest of the mixture.

Step 3

Heat the juice and sugar: Heat the remaining 6 cups cranberry juice and sugar in a medium saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a bare simmer.

Step 4

Melt the gelatin: Remove the cranberry mixture from the heat, add the gelatin mixture, and whisk until the gelatin is fully dissolved.

Step 5

Divide the cranberry mixture: Measure off 3 cups of the cranberry mixture (a large glass measuring cup works best for this). Pour the remaining cranberry mixture into a large bowl.

Step 6

Cool the gelatin mixture and add the fruit: Place the bowl of cranberry-gelatin mixture over an ice bath. Cool the mixture, stirring regularly, until quite thick and it has a hair gel-like texture to ensure that the fruit doesn't float when added, about 30 minutes. Once thickened, carefully fold in the fruit.

Step 7

Refrigerate the fruit layer: Pour the gelatin-fruit mixture into the prepared mold. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Step 8

Make the creamy layer: Add the sweetened condensed milk to the remaining 3 cups gelatin mixture and stir to combine. Cool at room temperature until the fruit-filled gelatin sets.

Step 9

Add the creamy layer mold: Once the fruit-filled gelatin is set, carefully pour the creamy gelatin mixture into the prepared pan. Avoid pouring in one spot. Instead, steadily pour the creamy mixture in while turning the pan.

Step 10

Refrigerate until set: Refrigerate the whole pan until set, about 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Step 11

Unmold and serve: To remove the gelatin from the mold, carefully invert the mold onto a serving plate and let the mold fall gently from the mold onto the plate. This will take 2 to 3 minutes. (If it does not come out, fill the sink or large, wide pot — wider than your mold — with warm tap water. Dip the outside of the mold in the water for 10 seconds. Remove from the water, dry the outside of the mold, and flip out onto a serving plate.) Cut into slices and serve.