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Duvalín Jello is inspired by the Mexican candy Duvalín. This is a chilled jello that has a layer of strawberry, vanilla and lastly, delicious, rich hazelnut chocolate. It’s the perfect no-bake dessert recipe that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, along with being totally gorgeous.
Chicano Eats Cookbook
This recipe comes from my friend Esteban Castillo’s book, Chicano Eats. It comes out this week and it is SUCH a beautiful book. I truly can’t say enough about his cookbook.
It’s full of recipes that I want to make over and over. They’re all doable, easily cookable, some meat-driven, some vegetarian, delicious looking desserts and all the drinks you could possibly want for summer and beyond. BUY IT!
The Inspiration
Esteban says in the headnote that this Jello is inspired by Duvalín candy. I have never had it, admittedly, but I did see it at a Mexican market the other day and it looks EXACTLY like this Jello. There are layers of strawberry, vanilla and hazelnut chocolate. It looks delicious.
Gelatina is a popular Mexican dessert that’s essentially a chilled Jello. Esteban combined these two ideas for a beautiful mash-up that everyone will want to eat this summer.
No Bake But the Waiting Game
While this recipe is super easy—there is zero baking—there are breaks while each layer sets. But a lot of us aren’t really doing much these days…so I mean perfect timing, I guess!
How to Make Duvalín Gelatina
- The very first step of this recipe is blooming gelatin. Gelatin should ALWAYS be bloomed in cold/room temperature water. We’re going to add this large amount of gelatin in three separate batches.
- Strawberry Layer is the first on deck. Take your strawberries, half and half and sugar and blend it up in the blender. Put a strainer on top of a 2-quart saucepan and pour it through.
- Warm the strawberry mixture just until the gelatin will melt in. Add one-third of the gelatin to the strawberry mixture and mix it until it totally dissolves.
- Pour the strawberry layer into a greased bundt pan. And transfer it to the fridge for 1 hour 30 minutes. SET YOUR TIMER FOR 1 HOUR.
- Vanilla Layer. Clean out that saucepan you were using. Pour in the half and half, sugar and cinnamon stick. Heat it just under a simmer. And then immediately turn off the heat and cover it so that it can steep for 20 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick. And then warm it back up so we can dissolve the gelatin. Pour in the vanilla.
- Add the gelatin and mix it until it dissolves. Then, we’re going to wait like 10 minutes just so it doesn’t melt the strawberry layer. Then, pour it on top of the strawberry mixture. And put it back in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Chocolate Hazelnut Layer. Clean that saucepan we were using. And then combine the half and half and Nutella. Whisk it together until it totally comes together. Then, add the remaining gelatin and whisk it until smooth and dissolved.
- Pour it on top of the vanilla layer and transfer it to the fridge to chill and set for 2 hours. I set it overnight.
- When you’re ready to serve it, use your fingertips to carefully pull the gelatin away from the pan or run a thin knife along the edge and pop it out onto a plate. GORGEOUS!
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure you’re blooming the gelatin in cold water. This is a rule of cooking!
- Cooking spray is your friend with this recipe. Admittedly, I hardly ever use cooking spray but I used it for this recipe because I was too nervous to just brush it with olive oil (which is what I usually do).
Here is a link to Esteban’s book!
If you make this Duvalín Jello, tag him and myself on Instagram!
Looking for more recipes? Here are some favorites:
Duvalín Jello
Ingredients
Gelatin:
- 4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin, (from about 6 packets)
For the Strawberry Layer:
- 8 ounces (225g) strawberries , hulled
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2/3 cup (134g) sugar
- Red gel food coloring, optional
For the Vanilla Layer:
- 2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- 1 (4-inch) stick Mexican cinnamon, broken in half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Hazelnut Layer:
- 2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half
- 2/3 cup (165ml) Nutella
Instructions
Gelatin Blooming and Prep:
- In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and 1 cup (240 ml) water and set aside for about 5 minutes so the gelatin can bloom. Coat a 10-cup (2.5 liter) Bundt pan or jello mold lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
Make the Strawberry Layer:
- In a blender, combine the strawberries, half-and-half, and sugar and blend on high until the mixture is smooth, 20 to 30 seconds. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a 2-quart (2 liter) saucepan). Warm slightly over medium heat—you want to warm up the mixture just enough to melt the gelatin, but not enough to boil and curdle the mixture. Once warm, reduce the heat to low and add about one-third of the bloomed gelatin (it should be like a big chunk of an eraser after it’s bloomed). Stir occasionally until the gelatin has dissolved. To make this layer pinker, whisk in a drop or two of red gel food coloring.
- Pour the strawberry gelatin mixture layer into the Bundt pan or mold. Place the pan in the fridge to set for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. Rinse out the saucepan to have it ready for the next layer.
Make the Vanilla Layer:
- After the strawberry layer has been setting for 1 hour, in the saucepan combine the half-and-half, sugar and cinnamon stick and heat over low heat to just under a simmer. Remove from the heat over low heat to just under a simmer. Remove from the heat and let the mixture sit for 20 minutes to let the cinnamon stick steep, then use a slotted spoon to remove it. Rewarm slightly over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, then add half of the remaining bloomed gelatin and stir until it’s dissolved. Stir in the vanilla extract, remove from the heat, and let it cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes, so it does not melt the strawberry layer.
- Carefully pour the room temperature vanilla layer into the Bundt pan or mold over the strawberry layer and return to the refrigerator for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. Rinse out the saucepan to have it ready for the next layer.
Make the Chocolate Layer:
- After the two layers have been setting for 1 hour, in a saucepan, bring the half-and-half to just under a simmer over low heat. Add the Nutella and whisk until it melts and resembles hot chocolate. Add the final bit of the bloomed gelatin and stir until the gelatin has dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes, so it does not melt the other layers.
- Carefully pour the room-temperature chocolate layer into the Bundt pan or mold over the vanilla layer and return it to the refrigerator for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- When you’re ready to serve, use your fingertips to carefully put the gelatin away from the edge of the pan, or run a thin knife along the perimeter and invert the desert onto a serving platter.
Notes
- Make sure you’re blooming the gelatin in cold water. This is a rule of cooking!
- Cooking spray is your friend with this recipe. Admittedly, I hardly ever use cooking spray but I used it for this recipe because I was too nervous to just brush it with olive oil (which is what I usually do).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yum! I always love seeing the beautiful gelatina encapsulada in México 🙂 This looks great!