Raspberry jello cake

This raspberry jello cake is the perfect holiday dessert and is always a favorite with the kiddos. The moist sponge cake paired with the sweet-tartness of the raspberry mousse and fresh raspberries will win your crowd over. You can also get as creative as you want with this; changing up the jello and fruit - the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

For the Raspberry Mousse:

6 oz package raspberry jello
8 oz tub cool whip, thawed in the fridge or 1 1/2 cup whipping cream whipped till nice and stiff

For the Cake Layer:

4 large eggs, room temp
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp vanilla
½ cup all-purpose flour

For the Syrup:

½ cup warm water
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Topping Ingredients:

3 oz package raspberry jello
6 oz package raspberries

Instructions

Start making the Jello Mousse:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 6 oz jello with 2 cups boiling water. Stir until dissolved then add 1 cup cold water (this is ½ of the cold water the package calls for). Let jello sit at room temp until just starting to set.

Note: If you need to speed set jello, you can refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes at the end or until the jello is syrupy and soft set.

How to Make the Cake & Simple Syrup:

Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line the bottom of a 13x9 Glass baking dish with parchment paper. Don't grease the sides.
Beat 4 large eggs with the whisk attachment for 1 min on high speed. With the mixer on, add ½ cup sugar and continue beating on high speed for 5 min until thick and fluffy. Fold in ¼ tsp vanilla.
Sift in ½ cup flour in thirds into the batter, folding it in between each addition. When mixing, scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure you don't have pockets of flour hiding at the bottom. Fold until no streaks of flour remain; do not over-mix or you will deflate the batter. Spread batter evenly into lined glass dish and bake at 350˚F for 18-20 minutes, or until top is golden brown and springs back when poked slightly.
Remove from oven, cut away from edges, invert onto a cooling rack and peel back the parchment paper.
(Note: Let cake sit on top of the peeled back parchment paper to cool - I have found that sometimes it sticks to a cooling rack and can be hard to pry off after it cools down).
Rinse and dry the baking dish then return cooled cake back to the pan.

Combine the syrup ingredients:

½ cup warm water, 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp lemon juice and set aside to cool to room temp. Brush the top of the cooled cake evenly with syrup.

Finish the Jello Mousse and Topping:

Once jello is starting to thicken and has a slight wiggle to it, beat in 8 oz cool whip or whipped cream.
Tip: If your mousse is watery, you should refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes until it's slightly thickened, but keep an eye on it so it doesn't set too much or it will be hard to spread.
Pour the mousse over the cake layer and spread evenly. Top with raspberries, pushing them down slightly into the mousse. Refrigerate 1 hour or until mousse is set. Meanwhile, start making your jello topping.
In a large measuring cup, combine 3 oz jello with 1 cup boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add ½ cup cold water and let cool to room temp.
(Tip: Never pour warm jello over the mousse or you'll end up with a creamy layer on top)
Pour jello over the back of a spoon on top of the mousse refrigerate another hour or until fully set.