Strawberry Jello Cake

A few weeks ago, our church had a Jello festival. There was a Jello contest that I thought about entering, so I looked online for good recipes. I found this one on what I think was the official Jello recipe website. Unfortunately, by the time I selected this recipe, there wasn't enough time to go buy the ingredients and make it before the competition began. So I saved the recipe for later. I ended up making it for a Sunday dinner with my brother and sister-in-law and it was a huge hit! Although I adapted it somewhat, it is pretty much the same.

Crust:

2 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

10 Tbsp melted butter

6 tbsp granulated sugar

White layer:

12-16 strawberries, quartered

8 oz softened cream cheese

1 cup whipped cream

1 cup powdered sugar

Red layer:

8 oz pkg strawberry Jello (prepared according to Jello jiggler directions)

Combine crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Chill 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring water for Jello to a boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, stir in Jello powder until it is completely dissolved, then remove from heat. Leave the Jello in the pan while you are making and chilling the white layer. This will allow the Jello to cool somewhat and begin to thicken slightly. 

Proceed with the white layer by whipping the cream cheese with a hand mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar, then the whipped cream. Remove crust from refrigerator and spread strawberries over the entire crust. Top with the white layer. Chill for another 15 minutes.

Pour Jello over the white layer and return to the refrigerator. Allow it to set for approximately 3 hours before serving.