Here is a great dessert for St. Patrick's Day that literally tastes like a rainbow of Skittles.

 

Ingredients:

6 (3 ounce) packages Jello in rainbow colors

1 tub (8 ounce) Cool Whip

 

Instructions:

For each layer, add 1 cup of boiling water to the package of Jello. Stir and dissolve Jello.

Pour 1/2 cup of it into a small glass measuring cup. Add 3 Tablespoons cold water to it. Stir.

Using a whisk, stir 1/3 cup Cool Whip into the other half of the Jello (the half that has the boiling water in it). Stir until combined. 

Pour the creamy Jello layer into your dish. Put in freezer for 12-15 mintues or until the layer is set. 

When the first layer is set, pour second layer on it. Return to freezer for 12-15 minutes.

Repeat process for remaining packages of Jello. Pour creamy layer first and then the clear layer. You should end up with 12 layers. 

Add Cool Whip on top for a dash of "cloud."

Hint: if your freezer is not perfectly level and you end up with a funky first layer, you have two choices... 1) just roll with it by keeping the dish the same each time it goes in the freezer so you end up with perfectly even layers except for that first layer. 2) Rotate the dish each time it goes in the freezer so you end up with a pattern of thick and thin layers. I've done both. I now prefer choice 1 for the rainbow pattern. I might do choice 2 next time I make this with just pinks and reds for Valentines day for a fun twist.

Here is our super amazing cheesecake recipe. Its our recreation of a Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. It makes ALOT. Or maybe not so much if you're eating for two...

Although you can probably use chocolate chips, the chocolate bars will melt better and be fancier. We use a food processor to chop the chocolate because it takes a lot. We couldn't find bittersweet chocolate so we substituted semi sweet and it was great! So either is fine.

It has multiple steps and layers, but its not technically very hard. We love being able to cook the crust cake layer and cheesecake at the same time. Enjoy!


Servings: 16-20
Flourless Chocolate Cake (Crust)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped and melted
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), melted
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray.

In a food processor, chop chocolate into small pieces. In microwave, melt butter. Add chocolate and microwave as needed just to melt chocolate.

Stir in sugar, eggs and whisk well. Sift unsweetened cocoa powder and mix in. Pour into the springform and set aside while preparing cheesecake layer.

Chocolate Cheesecake
6 1-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate, chopped and melted
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chop chocolate in a food processor into small pieces. Melt in a microwave just until melted.

In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while beating. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Stir in the melted chocolate.

Pour mixture over flourless cake. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45-60 minutes (or more as needed) until set on the outside area, just still jiggly in the center.

Let cool to room temperature. Do not remove springform pan. Proceed to mousse step or cover cake with saran wrap and refrigerate until the next day.

Chocolate Mousse
1 ½ teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 ½ tablespoon cold water
3 tablespoons boiling water
½ cup sugar
¼ + 1/8 cup cocoa powder (or 6 tablespoons)
1 ½ cup whipping cream
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, combine gelatin and cold water and allow to stand for about 1 minute. While gelatin is softening, bring about 1 cup of water to a boil in the microwave and measure out 3 tablespoons. Discard the rest. Whisk the 3 tablespoons of boiling water into the softened gelatin and allow to cool slightly.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa powder, whipping cream, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix in gelatin mixture.

With springform ring still in place, add mousse on top of cheesecake, but you don’t have to add it all. This recipe allows for some mousse to be eaten! Cover cake with saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to top with ganache. Recommended set time 1 hour before removing springform and adding ganache.

Ganache
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Remove cheesecake from refrigerator to bring to more of a room temperature so ganache will not set too fast when poured on top.

Bring heavy cream just to a simmer, then pour over the chocolate. Stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in the corn syrup.

Allow to cool briefly - don't let the ganache cool too much or it will start to harden when it hits the cold mousse and be harder to spread. Remove Springform ring and pour over top. Put the cheesecake into the refrigerator about 20 minutes.

Shopping List
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
6 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups whipping cream
8 tablespoons butter
2 – 8 oz. cream cheese
5 eggs
1 1/3 cup sour cream
Unflavored gelatin