Christmas Jelly Cups

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I have called these Christmas Jelly Cups because they are something that I usually only make at Christmas. They were an easy dessert for Christmas Day that that my kids loved.
I use Aeroplane jelly because I can count on the quality of their product in terms of both flavour and the gelatin.
I use red and green jelly because, in my head, those are the traditional colours of Christmas. In truth, you could use any two colours to make these jelly cups.
use the whipped cream in the spray can. This allows the consumer of the jelly cup to stick the nozzle on the can into the jelly in the cup and force the cream down into the jelly. Then finish off with cream on the top of the jelly cup.
I don't follow the instructions on the packet for making the jelly. I use a 2-litre (8-cup) pyrex measuring cup, ordinary tap water and a microwave. See instructions for what I do with them.
If you don't have a measuring cup of that size use a microwavable container of a similar size.
You add less than the recommended amount of water when making the jelly. That is because my mother-in-law told me long ago that reducing the amount of water you use to make the jelly reduces the chances that the jelly will melt when you take it out of the fridge. We live in the tropics, in the Southern Hemisphere. Christmas happens for us in the middle of our summer. Jelly often melts when you take it out of the fridge at that time of the year here.
I put the disposable cups in the muffin tin for ease of transport between the kitchen bench and the fridge.
You could use glasses instead of disposable cups if you want to see the layers of jelly. You'd want glasses with a capacity of about 250ml. I used to use clear plastic disposable cups but we are no longer able to buy those here.
These will disappear at a speed that will astonish you. My advice would be to buy 4 packets of each colour of the jelly that you want to use and be prepared to make a second batch when the first one is gone.

Author: Aileen Sorohan

Ingredients

2 packets red jelly use raspberry or strawberry flavours
2 packets green jelly use lime flavour
3 cputs 750ml tap water
Spray can of whipped cream 1

Instructions

Empty the 2 packets of red jelly powder into the measuring cup. Add 750ml (3-cups) of tap water. Stir until the jelly crystals appear to be dissolved. Put the measuring cup in the microwave for 5-10min on High or until the water has come to a boil. Take the measuring cup out of the microwave and stir gently to make sure the jelly is all dissolved. Be careful because the liquid is really hot and sometimes will bubble up, especially if you use a metal spoon for the stirring - better with a wooden spoon. Put aside to cool a little.
While the jelly is cooling, put 12 disposable cups into a 4x3 muffin tin. Then divide the liquid jelly equally between the 12 cups. Refrigerate until the jelly sets.
While the red jelly is setting, repeat the microwaving process with the green jelly. After the final stir, leave the jelly, in the measuring cup at room temperature until the red layer in the cups is set. Then divide the cooled green jelly equally between the 12 cups. Make sure that you leave a space at the top for the layer of whipped cream the consumer will want to add. Keep the jelly cups and the whipped cream together in the refrigerator and the consumers of the jelly put them together themselves.