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jelly island magic cake with edible palm tree
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Jelly Island Recipe

How to make a trendy jelly island cake that actually tastes good! All the tools and materials needed plus tips and tricks for a cute little jelly island cake!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Cooling 2 days
Total Time 2 days 10 minutes
Servings 5 servings
Calories 385kcal
Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

  • Cake ring or springform pan
  • Cake acetate

Ingredients

  • 40 ounces cool water 5 cups
  • 14 ounces sugar 2 cups
  • 4 ounces gelatin ¾ cup - I use custom collagen brand but KNOX is ok too
  • 4 teaspoons blue Jell-O or a tiny drop liquid blue food coloring
  • 3 teaspoons strawberry extract or any flavor you want!
  • 2 teaspoons citric acid
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the cake

  • Bake your 6" round cakes and prepare your ganache. Make sure both are cool before you frost your cakes.
  • Add some ganache between the two layers and smooth with the spatula. Use a knife to shape the cake into a rounded island shape. Mix the cutoffs with a little ganache to make cake pop dough and build up the top of the island.
  • Frost the entire cake in ganache and put it in the fridge to chill until the ganache is hard.
  • Brush the surface of the ganache with a little white food coloring to give it dimension.
  • Place the cake onto a cake board (or the bottom of your springform pan). Attach with some ganache.
  • Place the ring around the cake and add the acetate. Tape down the seam so jelly doesn't leak out.
  • Seal around the cake ring with tape (make sure you don't have any holes!) and pipe a small line of ganache around the inside of the acetate for extra insurance. Also make sure the cake board (if you have one) is totally covered in ganache and the cake is completely sealed to the cake board or pan so jelly doesn't leak inside.
  • Refrigerate the cake until its firm or your jelly has cooled down to 90ºF

For the jelly water

  • Combine the cool water, sugar, Jell-0 and gelatin together in a medium-sized saucepan. Let the gelatin absorb for 5 minutes.
  • Turn the heat up to medium-high, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
  • Once you see steam just begin to rise from the surface, remove the mixture from the heat. DO NOT BOIL! It will weaken the gelatin.
  • Stir in your extract and citric acid.
  • Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature (or you can place it in the fridge to speed things up) until it's just barely warm. Still liquid but not hot!
  • Skim off the foam and discard it.
  • Pour the gelatin into your prepared cake ring. Refrigerate overnight.
  • Remove the ring and remove the acetate. Cover the jelly with plastic wrap and add crushed graham crackers to the ganache to make sand. Use white food coloring to paint waves around the edges of the jelly. Add decorations if you like!

Video

Notes

Tips for success!
Make sure you cover the whole cake in ganache to keep the jelly from leaking into the cake
Cool your jelly to 90ºF before pouring it! Be patient!
Pipe a dam of ganache on the inside of the cake ring to prevent the jelly from leaking out
Tape the cake ring down really well
Freeze the cake with cake ring for 10 minutes before pouring in the jelly to make it set faster
Only pour in ¼" of jelly to begin with to seal the seam at the bottom of the cake and prevent leaks
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 51mg | Sugar: 79g | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg