Broken Glass Jelly Cake

"Broken Glass" is a no-bake jelly cake: colorful cubes of fruit jelly get poured over with a sour cream mixture set with gelatin. This is a cake from my childhood that still delights my family - bright, bold, and fantastically delicious. I recommend making it for any celebration!

Broken Glass Jelly Cake

A no-bake cake made from colorful cubes of fruit jelly set in a sour cream and gelatin topping - a bright cross-section and delicate flavor.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Setting the jelly and the cake 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Jelly desserts

Cuisine: Home cooking

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 packets jelly different flavors and colors
• 400 g sour cream 21%
• 100 ml milk
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 20 g gelatin
• 100 ml water cold, for the gelatin
• vanillin optional

Method

 

Jelly

1. Prepare the jelly according to the package instructions, but use half the water: if the instructions call for 400 ml, use only 200-300 ml of boiling water.
2. Pour the jelly into molds and refrigerate until fully set.

Assembling the cake

1. Soak the gelatin in 100 ml of cold water to let it swell.
2. In a bowl, combine the sour cream with the sugar and milk, add vanillin if desired, and mix well.
3. Cut the set jelly of different flavors and colors into cubes, place them in a pan, and mix.
4. Dissolve the gelatin on the stove, add a couple of tablespoons of the sour cream mixture to lighten it, then pour the gelatin mixture into the rest of the sour cream mixture and mix quickly.
5. Pour the mixture over the pan of colorful jelly cubes and refrigerate the cake until fully set. Enjoy!
   

Notes

Less water when preparing the jelly means firmer cubes - they won't dissolve in the sour cream topping and will give a crisp pattern in the cross-section.

Tips

• The main secret is using less water in the jelly: if the package calls for 400 ml of boiling water, use only 200-300 ml. The cubes will come out firm and won't dissolve in the topping.
• Use jelly of different flavors and colors - that contrast is exactly what creates the "broken glass" effect in the cross-section.
• "Lighten" the gelatin before pouring it in: mix a couple of tablespoons of the sour cream mixture into the dissolved gelatin first, then combine it with the rest - otherwise it will set into lumps.
• Mix quickly and pour into the pan right away - the sour cream and gelatin mixture starts setting fast.