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This fruit jelly cups recipe makes delicious and healthy agar agar dessert with layers of fresh strawberries, mango, kiwi, blueberries, and dragon fruit in rainbow colors held together in a cute cups with agar jelly.

The combination of flavors and textures in these fruit jelly cups create a refreshing and delightful dessert that is perfect for any occasion. The sweet and chewy texture of the jelly balances perfectly the tangy and firm, juicy texture of the fruit pieces, making this a dessert that can be enjoyed by everyone.

The front images of jelly fruit cups in rainbow colors. — Fruit Jelly Cups in Rainbow Colors

These fresh fruit jelly cups are made by layering different flavors and colors of fresh chopped fruit in the order of rainbow colors, and these are held together with a simple solution of clear jelly. The bottom layer consists of chopped white dragon fruits, followed by blueberries, then chopped green kiwi, chopped mangoes and finally chopped strawberries on top. There is no artificial flavor or color in these jellies, so they are quite a health treat.

Assembling the fruit jelly in transparent individual serving cups allows the vibrant rainbow colors of the fruit jelly layers to shine through. The strawberries create a deep red layer, the mango creates a bright orange layer, the kiwi creates a light green layer, the blueberries create a deep purple layer, and the dragon fruit creates a pale pink layer. If you want to know how to make a single large jelly fruit cake in the same rainbow color, you can check out my fruit jelly cake recipe here.

Overall, these fruit jelly cups in rainbow colors are a beautiful and delicious way to enjoy a variety of fruits in one dessert.

How to Make
Notes
- Use fresh fruits
- What causes the jelly to not set properly?
Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you should check out:
Recipe (Printable)

How to Make

Ingredients

Agar agar powder
Granulated sugar
Water
Strawberries
Mango
Kiwi fruits
Blueberries
Dragon fruit

Preparing molds

The first step in making any jelly is preparing the molds. This is an important step as jelly tends to set quickly at room temperature and preparing the molds after the jelly is cooked could result in the jelly setting in the pot before being poured into the molds.
Wash and pat the molds dry. Arrange them in a tray and set them aside.

Preparing the fruits

To make these rainbow colored fresh fruit jelly, choose at least 4 or 5 different types of fruits, each one in one of the rainbow colors.
If you are making with 4 different types of fruits, choose one each in red, orange/yellow, green and blue.
If you are making with 5 fruits, you can choose the fruits in red, orange/yellow, green, blue and purple.
For this fruit jelly cups recipe, I used 5 fruits as follows, and in chopping or cutting the fruits, keep the size of the chopped fruits consistent:
- Strawberries - hull the fruits and chop into small pieces.
- Mango - Peel the skin and cut the flesh into small cubes.
- Kiwi fruit - Peel the skin and cut the fruits into small pieces.
- Blueberries - Choose berries that are of a small variant so that you can add them whole into the jelly cups and do not have to cut them any further.
- Dragon fruit - Choose the one with white fresh. Peel off the skin and cut the fruit into small cubes.

Once the fruit are all cut up and ready, set them aside in separate bowl under ready to assemble the fruit jelly cups.

Cooking the agar agar jelly

An important point to remember when cooking the agar agar is to make sure it is cooked to a rolling boil. This will ensure the jelly powder is completely dissolved. If the jelly is not thoroughly dissolved, it will not set properly.

A poster of 6 images showing how to cook jelly.

Start by measuring the water into a small saucepan.
In a separate bowl, measure the sugar and agar agar powder. Stir both these dry ingredients until the agar agar powder is well combined with the sugar.
Pour the sugar and jelly mixture into the pot of water. Stir to disperse the sugar.
Turn on the heat and cook the jelly over medium low heat. Stir constantly for about one minute to avoid the jelly from clumping. Thereafter, stir occasionally.
Keep close watch on the jelly as it tends to boil over the pot if the heat is not turned down on time once it starts boiling.
Turn off the heat and set the jelly aside.

Layering the fruits into the jelly cups

A poster of 6 images showing how to arrange fruit layers in cups.

While waiting for the jelly to cook, arrange the fruits into the prepared jelly cups. Start with the dragon fruit. You want to make sure each fruit layer is as even as possible. Divide the chopped dragon fruit in the prepared cup molds.
Level them with a spoon.
Next, divide the blueberries. Try to arrange the blueberries such that they touch the sides of the mold so that the blue layer in the fruit jelly cups is well visible from the sides.
For the next layer, add the chopped kiwi fruit. Press them down lightly with a spoon if you want to compact them, but not too hard that you squash them.
Top the green kiwi layer with the yellow mango layer.
And finally, add the chopped strawberries.

Assembling the jelly

Once the fruits are all well layered in the cups, it is time to pour the cooked agar agar jelly over.
If the agar agar jelly has cooked, turn off the heat and let is cool down slightly. Pouring the boiling hot jelly onto the fruits can result in them becoming soft and soggy. Hence, it is best to let the jelly cool down slightly for about 5 to 10 minutes before pouring over the fruits.
For easy pouring, you can transfer the jelly solution into a large mug with a pouring lip. Otherwise, you can scoop the jelly with a ladle.

A poster of 2 images showing how to pour jelly into fruit cups and how to break bubbles with a toothpick.

I used ladle. Pour jelly into each cup until almost full. Tap the jelly cup lightly to release air bubbles that is trapped between the fruits and to allow the jelly to move down to the bottom of the molds.
You will realize that tapping actually creates more space in the jelly cups. Add more jelly to fill the space until the fruit jelly cups are full.
If you see any large air bubbles on the surface of the fruit jelly cups after the jelly pouring and tapping process, use a toothpick to break them. Do this as soon as you see the bubbles to avoid the bubbles from setting on the jelly.
Repeat the process for all jelly cups. If you find that the un-poured jelly has cooled down considerably, you can heat it up again to make sure it does not set before pouring into the jelly cups.

Transfer the fruit jelly cups into the refrigerator to cool and set completely for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Notes

Use fresh fruits

Fresh fruits will ensure best results for your fruit jelly cups. The choice of fruits to be used in the jelly is entirely up to you. You can choose any fruit you like, in any color you like. The order of color is also up to you. If you wish to maintain the order the colors of the rainbow, you can either start with red at the bottom or end with red at the top.
When layering the fruits, make sure the layers are even, as this will create a pretty visual effect for your jelly cups.

What causes the jelly to not set properly?

Ideally, the jelly should set within one hour of chilling time. If this does not, it could be for these following few reasons:
- The jelly did not dissolve completely when cooking. Sometimes it is hard to see if the jelly has completely dissolved in the water when cooking. The best way to ensure the jelly is properly cooked is by making sure to wait until the jelly mixture comes to a rolling boil.
- Not enough jelly powder used. If the proportion of jelly to liquid is not correct, the jelly will not set properly. Always ensure to follow the instructions at the back of your jelly packet. In this recipe, I have used 10g of agar agar powder for 1 liter of water.
- Not allowing sufficient time for the jelly to set. Ideally, the jelly should be allowed at least one to two hours of chilling time to ensure it sets properly. This setting time depends very much on the depth of the mold used. If you use a shallow mold, the setting time will be much faster, vice versa.

Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you should check out:

Fruits agar agar in cups. — Fruit Jelly Recipe in Cups

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my mixed fruit jelly cup recipe card.

📖Recipe

Fruit Jelly Cups in Rainbow Colors

These fruit jelly cups are made with layers of strawberries, mangoes, kiwi, blueberries and dragon fruit for easy rainbow colored dessert.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Fruit Jelly Cups

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 10

Chilling time: 2

Total Time: 2 40

Yield: 20 cups

Author: Priya Maha

Metric - US Customary

For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.