Strawberry Danish Dessert
In case you are wondering what Strawberry Danish Dessert is. Let me begin by clarifying that it is not the same thing as a Strawberry Danish pastry that you buy in the bakery section at the store.
I love those delicious pastries, but this Strawberry Danish Dessert Recipe is a Strawberry gelatin dessert.
You can buy the mix in a box (Junket Strawberry Danish Dessert - affiliate link), and it is often used as a glaze or filling for strawberry pie.
But Strawberry Danish Dessert can also be served as a yummy and refreshing dessert that is the consistency of pudding. It is a very refreshing treat, and I love it with lots of fresh strawberry slices. Although, it tastes good made with frozen strawberries as well.
Ingredients
- Water is the liquid base of the dessert. It's used to dissolve the sugar and Kool-Aid powder.
- Sugar provides sweetness. It not only sweetens the overall flavor but also helps to enhance the natural sweetness of the strawberries.
- Strawberry Kool-Aid powder adds flavor and color to the dessert. It provides a strawberry taste that complements the strawberries used in the recipe.
- Cook-type Clear-Jel is a modified food starch used as a thickening agent in fruit-based desserts. It thickens the strawberry filling, giving it a smooth and glossy texture without clouding the color.
- Cold Water is used to mix with the clear-jel before adding it to the hot mixture. This step helps prevent lumps from forming and ensures a smooth consistency.
- Strawberry Gelatin Powder adds flavor, color, and additional thickening to the dessert. It enhances the strawberry flavor and helps the dessert become firm once chilled.
- Strawberries (Fresh or Frozen) are the star ingredient of the dessert, providing juicy sweetness and vibrant color. Whether fresh or frozen, they contribute to the fruity flavor and add texture to the dessert. They can be used whole, sliced, or mashed, depending on the desired texture of the filling.
How to Make Homemade Danish Dessert
To make this Danish Dessert: heat water, sugar, and Kool-Aid in a large pot. Mix a ¾ cup of clear jel with 1 cup of water. Slowly pour this mixture into the hot water mixture, stirring constantly.
I usually wait to add the clear jel until the water is basically boiling, so that I don't have to stand there and stir for a long time.
Once the mixture is boiling and slightly thickened (it will not be very thick, as the gelatin will thicken it more), remove it from the heat and add the gelatin. Stir until dissolved.
Cool slightly and add strawberries or whatever fruit you are using. Refrigerate to chill completely. This will keep fine in the refrigerator for at least a week.
Danish Dessert
It's almost strawberry season again where I live, which means it's time for strawberry desserts. But actually, this Danish Dessert recipe is very versatile. You can adjust the flavor of Kool-Aid and gelatin to make any kind of berry Danish dessert.
I like to use strawberry gelatin and strawberry Kool-Aid to make Strawberry Danish.
But I went to buy Kool-Aid the other day, and Walmart didn't have the strawberry flavor. So I used black cherry Kool-Aid and strawberry gelatin. It gives it a little different flavor, but it is still very yummy.
You can use any combination of Kool-Aid and gelatin, and add raspberries or any kind of berries you want.
Amish Dessert - Easy Strawberry Dessert
As I've told you before, my mom had a huge garden. I don't have a clue how big it actually was in measurements because I'm not good at judging distance.
But we always had at least 3 rows of strawberries in our garden, and the rows were very long. Picking strawberries is back-breaking work, and it always felt like we were never going to get to the end of the row.
We sold some strawberries to our neighbors, we made strawberry jam and froze a lot of sliced strawberries. And those came in handy whenever we wanted to make Danish strawberry desserts.
We cooked the strawberry filling and then dumped a container of frozen strawberries into the sauce. It was a very quick and easy dessert. And Danish Dessert was served with a lot of meals for visitors.
We ate lots of amazing desserts, pastries, pies, etc. But a very common and easy dessert that was often served at gatherings was chocolate cake, homemade vanilla pudding, and Strawberry Danish Dessert. It goes really well together!
How would I use this Strawberry Danish Recipe?
This homemade Danish dessert is amazing to eat all by itself like pudding, or topped with whipped cream. But it is even more amazing on top of vanilla ice cream. Mmm, it is so good!
Another dessert we frequently made with this Danish was a layered angel food dessert. Cut an angel food cake into cubes and layer the cake, strawberry Danish, and whipped cream in a trifle bowl. Now my mouth is watering ;).
There are so many delicious ways to use this Danish dessert recipe. You can use it as a topping for a layered dessert or cheesecake. You could also make a Danish strawberry pie with this filling. However, you may need to cut back on the amount of water to make it thick enough. (I have another recipe for strawberry pie.)
This strawberry Danish dessert does get pretty firm after being refrigerated long enough for the gelatin to set. So, if you want a thinner sauce, cut back on the amount of gelatin.
Clear-jel versus Cornstarch
Clear Jel works a lot like cornstarch. It is modified cornstarch that works better for making pie fillings. And I always use clear jel to thicken fruit sauce for desserts.
Cornstarch makes the filling cloudy, while clear jel looks nice and clear. Another thing I like about clear jel is that you can tell how thick your filling will be. Cornstarch thickens as it cools, while clear-jel usually stays about the same as when you finished cooking it.
So when making pie filling, you can mix up the clear jel and water (enough water to make a liquid paste) and slowly pour it into the boiling liquid (be careful when you do this, you don't want it boiling too wildly or it might splatter).
Keep stirring and slowly pouring in the clear jel until it is the consistency you want it to be.
You can usually find clear jel (make sure that you get the cook-type and not the instant) at Amish or Mennonite bulk food stores.
But if you're not lucky enough to have a bulk food store close by, you can also buy it on Amazon. (This is an affiliate link. It means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link to make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you.)
This is a very refreshing and summery strawberry dessert! If you try this recipe for Amish Strawberry Danish Dessert, I would appreciate a comment and star rating below. Thank you.
📖 Recipe Card
Strawberry Danish Dessert
Ingredients
- 6 c. water
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 pkg. strawberry Kool-Aid
- ¾ c. cook-type clear-jel
- 1 c. cold water
- ½ c. strawberry Jello
- strawberries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat the 6 c. of water, sugar, and Kool-Aid. Bring to boiling point.6 c. water, 1 c. sugar, 1 pkg. strawberry Kool-Aid
- Mix clear-jel and 1 c. of cold water.¾ c. cook-type clear-jel, 1 c. cold water
- Slowly pour the clear-jel mixture into your hot Kool-Aid mixture, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture back to boiling. Be careful, as it may splatter if you let it boil too wildly.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin until dissolved. Cool.½ c. strawberry Jello
- Wash and slice fresh strawberries. Or you can add frozen strawberry slices.strawberries, fresh or frozen
- If you are using fresh strawberries, allow your sauce to partially cool before adding the strawberries. If you use frozen strawberries, you can add them anytime after it's done cooking.
- You can add as many or as little strawberries as you want. Make it to suit your taste.
Notes
Nutrition
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Anna
Yummy!
Julie Quick
I live in MO too, and also couldn't find the strawberry kool-aid at my local Walmart, but if you have a Price Cutter they carry it there.
Anna
Kinda weird that they don't carry strawberry flavor.
Denise+Snyder
This looks really yummy! Could you make a strawberry pie with it?
Anna
Yes, you can make pie filling with it. I think you would want to add a bit more clear jel. But it does set up pretty firm.