Sugar-Free Stained-Glass Jell-O (a.k.a. Cathedral Jell-O)

My sister Ada made this Jell-O in Manila for an afternoon tea with her friends. She based it on one that I had made a year ago, which had a slight variation (see photo below). It's a great guilt-free dessert, especially for those who are watching their diet.

In my version, which I made for one of the meetings of CHOP in Manila, I added some slices of jarred peaches, which gave a touch of sweetness to the dish. I also used a bigger mold, which was actually a bundt cake pan, which provided the finished dish with some height.(Note: The packs of gelatin have Manila measurements; it would be different here in the U.S., so you may need to tweak the amount of water needed.)

Ingredients:

1pack (90-grams) red gelatin (flavored or unflavored; I use strawberry flavored)

1 pack (90-gram) green gelatin (flavored or unflavored; I use pandan-flavored)

2 to 3 drops of pandan essence

1 3/4 cups (400 ml) water for each pack

2 packs (90-grams each) clear unflavored gelatin (or 3 packs if your container is big; see note below)

1 cup of cream (I use lite cream, but you can use full cream if you wish)

3 1/2 cups (800 ml) water

Cubes of fruits like peaches or bananas (optional)

Directions:

Separately empty the contents of the red and green gelatin into two sauce pans.  Stir in the water into each pan to dissolve the gelatin.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, just until the mixtures start to bubble.  Pour into two separate trays and allow to cool and set (or put in the refrigerator to cool faster).

When the green and red gelatin have set, cut into one-inch cubes.  Pour into a dome mold or deep bowl.  Stir lightly to distribute at the bottom and along the sides. (You can also add the fruits, if using.)

Empty the contents of the two packs of unflavored gelatin into a clean sauce pan.  Add the cream and stir to dissolve the gelatin. Cook over medium heat, stirring, just until the mixture starts to bubble.  (Note: If using 3 packs of gelatin, use 1 1/2 cups cream and 3 3/4 cups water. You can adjust the amount of water depending on how firm or wiggly you want the Jell-O to be.)

Gently pour the white gelatin into the mold a little bit at a time, and let some of the red and green cubes float and get distributed (but make sure you have enough to cover the bottom and some of the sides of the mold or bowl, because the bottom will become the top when you invert the Jell-O onto a serving platter.

Cool and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving. Serves 6 to 8.