Easy Strawberry Jello Cake
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This Strawberry Jello Cake has to be one of our all-time favorite desserts made with yellow cake, strawberry mousse and a beautiful mirror glaze. It’s perfect for holidays like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, birthdays or a party!
This strawberry jello cake video was one of our biggest Facebook videos ever with more than 15 million views! It’s a showstopper that you can make up to a day ahead for a celebration.
Serve it standalone or with fresh berries and whipped cream on the side. The jello makes it easy to serve, since the pieces can easily be lifted out of the pan with any rigid spatula. It’s one of my favorite strawberry jello desserts along with Strawberry Pretzel Salad and Strawberry Poke Cake.
You make this cake with three layers inside a rectangular baking dish. The bottom layer is a simple fluffy sponge cake (you can use store bought cake mix or make your own).
The middle layer is an easy strawberry filling made with whipped cream and strawberry jello. Halved strawberries go on the top along with a strawberry jello glaze.
How to Make Strawberry Jello Cake
Start this recipe by making the bottom yellow cake layer. You can use a cake mix, although you’ll only need half of the box to get a one-inch layer.
If you prefer homemade, simply beat 4 eggs with a 1/2 cup of sugar for about 5 minutes to get it fluffy. Then fold in a 1/2 cup of flour until blended…
While the cake is baking, you can make the jello filling. If you want to use natural jello or agar agar, Simply Delish Strawberry Jel works well as a direct substitute for the jello powder. Just note the package sizes are different than jello, so get the same number of ounces.
Let the jello set while the cake bakes and then cools. When you mix the jello with whipped cream, the jello can still be liquid or soft setting, meaning it has a slight jiggle and running a spoon creates streaks through it.
Whisk it together with whipped cream and you will get light-pink colored filling, then you’ll be ready to pour it on top of the cooled cake.
You can put halved strawberries on the filling for a beautiful presentation, and raspberries are a great substitute here too. If your filling is too liquid to hold the strawberries, simply chill for 10-15 minutes and you’ll be good to go.
Depending on how big they are, you can fit about 20 berries in about a 4×5 pattern across the top. Then chill for an hour or more for the filling to set.
After the filling has set, you’re ready to add the mirror glaze. Make more strawberry jello the same way as for the filling, and let it cool to room temperature.
If you’re in a hurry, put your bowl of jello in an ice water bath for 5-10 minutes and stir a few times and it’ll be ready.
It’s best to pour the jello glaze over the back of a spoon, which helps it to dribble and avoid penetrating your filling. It’s fine to dribble onto the strawberries as well as the filling…
Once the mirror glaze is on, carefully place the entire dish into the fridge to chill for one more hour. Then you’re ready to serve!
You can make this cake up to two days in advance, as it keeps nicely in the fridge covered in plastic wrap.
Strawberry Jello Cake (Video Recipe)
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 15-oz box yellow cake mix, or white cake mix, see note
- half of ingredients on cake mix box, eggs, oil, water etc
Strawberry Mousse
- 6 oz strawberry jello powder, two small boxes
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup cold water
- 3 cups whipped cream, or cool whip, about 8 oz, see note
Mirror Glaze
- 10 fresh strawberries, halved
- 3 oz strawberry jello powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup cold water
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of a 13x9 inch glass baking dish and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, prepare the cake batter according to the instructions on the box. [If you prefer a homemade version, see note below]
- Pour cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and puffy.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the strawberry mousse.
Strawberry Mousse
- In a medium bowl, add 6 oz strawberry jello and 2 cups of boiling water. Stir slowly for one minute to dissolve.
- Stir in 1 cup of cold water and set aside until half set (THICK BUT NOT FIRM). It takes about over 1 hour at room temperature or 5-10 minutes in the fridge. It's important to wait until it's half set, otherwise, your whipped cream and jello will separate when the mixture cools down.
- Add the whipped cream/cool whip to the jello and mix until smooth. The mixture should be quite thick.
- Once the cake is cool, spread the filling evenly across the cake using a spatula. Rap the pan on the counter a few times to level the filling and remove any trapped air.
- Chill for at least 1 hour on a level surface in your fridge. Meanwhile, make the mirror glaze.
Mirror Glaze
- In a medium bowl, combine 3 oz jello powder with 1 cup boiling water and stir slowly for one minute until dissolved. Stir in ½ cup cold water and set aside to cool.
- Remove the cake from the fridge. Arrange strawberry halves on top of the filling, approx. 4 widthwise by 5 lengthwise.
- Once the jello is lukewarm, carefully pour it over the back of a spoon, dribbling across the top of the filling surface and over the strawberries.
- Chill one more hour to allow the glaze to set. Congratulations, you're done - enjoy!
Notes
- To make a yellow cake from scratch: In a medium bowl, beat 4 eggs and 1/2 cup white sugar for 5 minutes until fluffy; then fold in 1/2 cup all-purpose flour until blended.
- If you are planning to whip your own cream, it takes 1 1/2 cups of liquid whipping cream to make 3 cups whipped cream.
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I made a white 11″ cake in a spring form pan poked lots holes with a chopstick. I used a large orange jello and hot water. Half the jello I poured over the holes and the other half I mixed with cool whip and covered the top and put in fridge over night then added mandarins for decoration. This might be my new favorite cake. It’s beautiful and delicious.
Hi Suzzette, That’s great to hear and thanks for your comment.
Hello, thank you so much for posting this recipe. I was in near tears when I found it.
Our mother passed away in June and my brother’s birthday was the first occasion we were having without her. We grew up with her making this cake but with pineapples. It did take longer than expected for the jello to set for the mousse ( 1 hour in freezer) but probably because I was using pineapple juice. No matter, we ate the 15 x 10 inch dish in 4 days 😉
I will definitely be making it again!
I would like to send you pictures of the cake via email.
Hi Beatriz, That sounds amazing and so happy to hear of the memories too. Thanks for your review and glad you enjoyed!
Love to make sweets
Do you put any baking powder or baking soda in the cake in scratch?
Hi Starr, Thanks for your comment. So the cake mix already contains leavening agents, so don’t add any more. If making from scratch, you’d want to use some baking powder according to the recipe. Hope that helps!
Can I use all of the box
Cake mix.. it’ll just be thicker ?…
Hi Rinda, Thanks for your question. The cake will be too thick, making the jello layer unstable. Hope that helps!
Hi, I loved this recipe and wanted to try it for a birthday tomorrow, however the jello glaze didn’t sit on the mousse. It lifted the mousse and soaked into the cake, don’t think I could of saved it, but will definitely try it again, maybe let the mousse set longer, I’m not sure
Hi Shanice, Thanks for your comment and sorry to hear it didn’t quite turn out. The mousse layer needs to chill long enough to become firm (like ice cream) to hold the glaze. It’s also important to pour onto the back of a spoon to create a dribble. Hope that helps and you’ll try again!
The cake mix used is half so I guess the other ingredients on the box should also be halved? Like eggs, butter, water?
Hi Dee, Yes that’s correct. Good luck! 🙂
Is it two boxes of 6 oz jello making it total of 12 oz or just one 6 oz box?
Hi Dee, It’s 6 oz in total. Some boxes are 3 oz and other are 6 oz, so just check the label to be sure. Good luck!
I made this cake for my church and it was a home run. Everybody love it. Thank you so much.
Hi Elena, Thanks for your feedback and review! So happy to hear everyone enjoyed it 🙂
Looks lovely and easy to make before the day and will surely be enjoyed and admiredxthank you jenny
Hi Jenny, Thanks for your review and hope you enjoy it! 🙂
This did not work for me, I have been cooking for 50 years so I figured this would be no problem, I made the cake and let it cool completely, I made the mousse after letting the jello set in the fridge for 25 minutes it was soft set but still able to pour, I then mixed the coolwhip in and poured it on top of the cake my cake immediantly rose to the top as one other commented, there was no saving it. Not sure what went wrong, but if I decide to make it again I will let the jello thicken alot longer before adding the coolwhip
Hi Gail, Thanks for your feedback and sorry to hear about that. The jello needs to have a jiggle before mixing in the coolwhip. If it’s pourable, it’s still too liquid nd will not sit on top of the cake. Hope you’ll try again!
I want to add Mixed Fruit to the Cake as well as the Jello, can I make some holes larger to accomodate the Fruit? Or should I just serve it on the side with added cool whip?
Hi Catherine, What a great idea. While I haven’t tried it, I’d add the fruit to the cake batter – it might take an extra 5-10 minutes of baking time. Otherwise you can serve on the side. Enjoy! 🙂
Thanks Tipbuzz, I made this last night and it’s a great dessert. Nice and light and great flavors. I followed your processes, need to be patient with this one. For the cake I made a coconut cake from scratch as I don’t like box cake mix.
Thanks again….glad I found it.
Hi David, So glad to hear that and love the coconut cake idea too! Thanks for your review 🙂
Hmmmm….not sure if I should be thanking you or not now. Just received a request to make it again for a family dinner tomorrow….lol. Guess I am not the only one that enjoyed it..☺.
Hi Dave, That’s so awesome to hear, thanks for sharing! It’s a bit of work to master, but once you do the compliments keep on coming 🙂
Hola a todos, Dios les bendiga, me gusta mucho esta página porque consigo muchas ideas; pero algunas están en inglés, agradecería si se pudieran traducir al español. Gracias un saludo.
Hola Celia, Muchas gracias y lo tendremos en cuenta. 🙂
Iam going to try making the glaze with green jello and red and green cherries for Christmas———-that should ok anything else I should be aware of with the changes thanks joanne
Hi Joanne, Love the idea and I think it should work fine! Would love to see a photo when it’s done 🙂
Can you use the whole box of cake mix for this recipe?
Hi Patricia, Thanks for your comment. I wouldn’t suggest it, as the cake layer will be too thick relative to the other layers. 🙂
Can I use cool whip and how much of it
Hi Denise, Thanks for your question. Yes, thawed Cool Whip works well in the same amount as the whipped cream.
can i use a pan not a glass one?
Hi Pam, Thanks for your review. You can definitely use a metal pan as an alternative to glass. Good luck!
I was wondering if there is a way to make this in a round cheesecake pan, if so what size would you recommend? 9 or 10″
Hi Lucy, Thanks for your question. I wouldn’t recommend a round pan because it’d be difficult to cut and serve, plus the proportions would be off. A rectangular pan is far better. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi there ! What is the reason when I put the jello with mouse it soak in my sponge cake? ?
Hi Armine, you need to let the jello half set before mixing with the whipped cream. When it’s nice and thick, it won’t soak into your cake. Hope it helps.
Any ideas why when adding the cooled hello mix to the whipped cream it’s not smooth but like the cream has conjealed? I waited until it was cool enough to mix in?
i made this the other day shared with my friends and neighbors they said it’s a keeper fantastic turned out great can we use different filling such as blueberries or mixed berries thank you
Hi Beatrice, Thanks so much for your feedback and glad it turned out great! Love the mixed berry combo 🙂
hey i tried this out but my moose didn’t work out as i hoped the whipped cream and jelly separated. i would love to know why this happened
Hi Jenny, Sorry it didn’t turn out and thanks for your question. It separated because the strawberry jello hadn’t reached the “soft-set” stage, which is slightly jiggly, and/or the whipped cream was too soft. To bind together, they both need to be at that consistency. Hope you’ll try again!
Why did my cake float to the top when I poured in whipped cream jello mix? I whipped whipping cream to stiff peaks. Any tips?
Hi Rox, Thanks for your question and sorry you had trouble before your daughter’s birthday 🙁 So the cake should definitely not detach from the pan! Did you allow the jello to soft set before mixing in the whipped cream? It should form a thick pudding-like consistency that sits nicely on top of the cake… Make sure you watch the video to get an idea if you haven’t already. lmk if you have more questions.
I want to make this for my daughters bday tomorrow. In glad I tried to make it beforehand. Any tips on how to make it work? Did you use whipped whipping cream or cool whip? She REALLY wants this cake for her bday.
wHAT ABOUT USING A STRAWBERRY CAKE INSTEAD OF YELLO OR WHITE? SEEMS LIKE WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Sue that would be fine – any cake mix will work for this recipe 🙂
Is there no butter in the homemade cake mix ?
Hi Symone, Great question, it’s a yellow genoise-style cake made with eggs, sugar and flour. Try it and you’ll be amazed how easy it is 🙂
Why only 1/2 cake mix ?
Hi Robin, that’s to avoid having too thick of a cake layer… 1/2 box makes the cake layer about the same height as the jello cream layer, which is what you want 🙂
Made it last night and everybody loved it ! thanks
Made it once..all good but while serving..jello later separated from cake.. why? Would had been nice if it stuck to the cake?
Hi Dee, Thanks for your feedback. The jello was likely not “soft set” before you mixed in the cream, causing the separation. Sorry it didn’t work out.