Jell-O Whipāa fruity, mousse-like concoction of barely set Jell-O and whipped cream that firms up in the fridgeāwas markedly absent from the rotation of desserts that my brother and I enjoyed on a nightly basis throughout our childhood. In fact, straight-up Jell-O didnāt even make the cutāit was just a tad too āhomemadeā for our family of Double Stuf Oreoāeating peepsāeven though we both loved it.
We loved Jell-O so much we considered it a huge coup every time we got to leave our Flintstone lunchboxes at home (yes, this was the 1970s) and eat in the school cafeteria instead. We had a skip in our step even on days when the menu included the dreaded Salisbury steak. Who could care about having to nibble on leather-like meat when you knew that at the end of the lunch line, tiny white ceramic bowls filled with red or green or orange cubes, glistening and wobbly and topped with the most adorable squirt of sweetened whipped cream from a can, would be waiting for you?
Jell-O Whip, however, was not on offer in the cafeteria of the Edward Devotion School. Prior to writing my cookbook, The Vintage Baker, which is filled with updated old-school recipes from recipe booklets, a clever advertising tool distributed to Americaās early- to mid-century housewives by ingredient and appliance companies, I had never heard of it. But the dozens of Jell-O Whip recipes I found while researchingāwhich dated as far back as 1916āinstantly reminded me of the school cafeteria desserts of my youth.
As I embarked on revising the recipe, I realized very quickly that if youāve seen one Jell-O whip recipe, youāve seen them all. To make it, a box of powdered Jell-O is combined with cold and then hot water, and left to gel in the fridge until partially set. The soft gel is then whisked until quite foamy. Freshly whipped unsweetened cream is folded in, and the whip is returned to the fridge until it fully sets into a light, fruity mousse.
To tweak, I nixed the box of Jell-O and the water, substituting an envelope of powdered gelatin and several cups of both hot and cold passion fruit juice in their stead. In my stand mixer, I whisked the partially set gelatin-and-juice mixture for a good five to six minutes (I can't even imagine how long this might have taken in the pre-mixer days), added the whipped cream, portioned the mixture into ramekins, and refrigerated them until set, about an hour or two. If passion fruit isn't your family's favorite flavor, you can substitute another juice instead.
As we all scarfed down our ramekin-filled whips (kids love an individual serving size of anything, FYI), I regaled my boys with stories of my Jell-O-filled youth, and they wondered aloud about a magical time when school lunch included a dessert every day.
