Crown Jewel Cake

Of all the nostalgic desserts to revive, I think this one is most fashionably worthy.

This cake is based on a recipe that ran on the back of Jello boxes during the late 1950’s.  Long gone are the days when Crown Jewel Cake (a.k.a. Broken Glass Cake) was made with powdered, processed, and if I may say – oldfangled – dream whip.  The hydrogenated stuff has since been replaced with real cream, which makes it much tastier.

The original 50’s style recipe has a graham cracker (sometimes cookie) crust, so it is really more like pie than cake.  My vision for this recipe was to truly make it cake-like by surrounding the creamy filling with a pink jaconde sponge.

Each time this cake is sliced, it’s like getting a little piece of artwork.  You never know what shapes and colors you’ll get next!

This cake, and these cookies – made for each other?

At the bottom of this page, you’ll find a link to the original recipe.  It’s a little less work than my Jaconde sponge version, and still very pretty.

Crown Jewel Cake with Jaconde Sponge

Serves 6-8                                                                                                           [click to print]

To make this cake you will need a 7″ round spring-form pan, an 11×17″ jelly roll pan, and a tea towel.

Gelatin cubes:

Prepare 3 oz. flavored gelatin packages (I used 3 different colors/flavors of Jello brand) as directed on the box.  When set, cut into cubes and store in refrigerator for later use.

Jaconde cake: 

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling tea towel

1 cup almond flour

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 egg yolk

3 egg whites

1/4 cup extra fine granulated sugar

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tbsp Wilton pink/rose gel food coloring -or- Americolor deep pink gel food coloring (do not use liquid food coloring)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare tea towel with 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar. Grease jelly roll pan, line with parchment and grease paper.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond flour, 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, flour and eggs until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Add the 1 egg yolk and food coloring, then mix again to combine.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric hand mixer.  When foamy, gradually add in the granulated sugar until a white, thick meringue forms.  Gently fold the meringue into the almond flour mixture.  Add the melted butter and carefully fold again, as to not deflate the batter.

Pour mixture into jelly roll pan and bake for 5-8 minutes. Watch it carefully as it cooks quickly and will burn easily.

Remove cake from oven and turn out onto tea towel.  Trim edges and cut one long piece of jaconde big enough to fit around the inside of the 7″ spring form pan.  You may have to piece together a bit of the crust, as shown in the first picture below.

Using your pan as a guide, cut a circle of cake from the jaconde (upper right hand picture) and press it into the bottom of the pan evenly.

Filling:

1 Tbsp powdered gelatin

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup cold water

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 – 1 1/2 cups reserved gelatin cubes  (you will have left-over cubes if making a variety of colors)

Put the pineapple juice in a small sauce pan and sprinkle powdered gelatin over; let it sit for a few minutes until dissolved.  Heat gelatin/pineapple juice mixture on the stove-top until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the cold water.  Transfer to a small bowl and let stand on counter-top until it cools slightly.  Place in refrigerator until mixture has completely cooled (about 5 minutes) but hasn’t set up – it should still be liquid.

In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.  Whisk the gelatin/pineapple juice mixture into the cream until combined.  Drop the gelatin cubes in the cream randomly.  Shake the bowl until the gelatin cubes sink into the cream (stirring them in with a spoon can damage the cubes).

Pour the mixture into the sponge-lined pan and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

I’m such a sucker for vintage recipes, I couldn’t help but include the original (I should say, original sans “dream whip”).  You can find a printable version of it  [HERE].