I told my family I wanted to make a “Watermelon Cake” while we were on vacation in Florida. No one gagged, or even asked why, or how, they just said, “Okay.” 😂 Then they saw the 2 medium sized seedless watermelons arrive to our destination (I use this service for grocery delivery), and still…no one flinched. In fact, the watermelons just rolled around on the island for days and became part of the decor. After the cake was finished they all confessed that they actually pictured a cake with watermelon in it and they were a bit concerned. Had mama lost her senses? Did Julie have a few too many kitty co*cktails? Well, how about you be the judge…
Holy melon balls. That “Watermelon Cake” sure turned out gorgeous, didn’t it? When I woke up on my 50th birthday, the day I had planned to make the watermelon cake, I had no idea if I could actually turn those 2 watermelons in the kitchen into a watermelon cake like I had seen in magazines. All I knew was that I was 50, and was gonna try my damnedest.
At first, I asked my husband to assist because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to cut into the watermelon with my weak arms. Rick obliged, but it didn’t take me long to realize that it was fairly simple as long as I used a serrated knife (move over, Ricky). That is the secret folks —>a serrated knife. Be sure to use a large serrated knife. The kind you use for slicing bread.
You will find a full tutorial below, but before we get to that, I want you to know a few more tips.
After I had the small, medium, and large cube for the actual cake base cut (I tried round first, but immediately knew square would be easier), then came the scary part. I had no idea what I was going to do for the decorations. I had purchased strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and kiwi, but really had no idea how I would place them on the cake.
If you decide to make a watermelon cake, my advice to you is to try to have fun with the decorating part. I went a tad conservative because I was nervous Nelly. Now that I did it for you first, you can think outside the cube. For example, star fruit would have been really pretty, and other melons such as hone dew, or cantaloupe would have looked really nice shaped as balls (using a melon ball shaper) to extend the bottom.
Another idea that came to me later was using tooth picks to stick out of the top cube to place fruit on and make the cake appear taller. By the way, I did use tooth picks to attach most of the fruit. The kiwi didn’t need anything it acted like a magnet.
Okay…time for the quick & easy tutorial…
- -You will need 2 medium sized seedless watermelons, lots of berries, 2 kiwi, tooth picks, serrated knife, cutting board, and plate to set it on.
- -Wash the watermelons, and berries, and peel the kiwi with a knife.
- -Cut both watermelons the exact same way by slicing off both ends of the watermelon like in the photo above. Pay no attention to my butcher knife-use a serrated knife instead.
- -Turn the watermelon so the sliced side is on the bottom, and use a serrated knife to slowly carve/slice off the sides. Be sure to leave as much red parts as possible. In other words, don’t cut off too much red flesh and curve the cut if possible. Continue all the way around both watermelons.
- -Continue to use the serrated knife to carve off all white areas. You should end up with a big “head” of watermelon.
- -Cut one of the “peeled” full watermelon heads in half and make your 2 top cubes out of those 2 pieces. I didn’t measure, I just eye balled it.
- -You’ll need the top cube to be smaller than the middle cube. Be sure to make your cubes very square and level.
- -Use the other “peeled” full watermelon head for the big bottom cube. Use your serrated knife to get that piece as big as possible and as square and level as possible just by using your eyes.
- -Place the medium cube on the big cube, and the small cube on the medium cube. Use tooth picks to keep them in place if desired although I didn’t.
- -Now it’s time to decorate. I started at the base with the kiwi 1/2 slices, and then continued onto the middle cube with more kiwi slices. The kiwi sticks to the watermelon like a magnet, so I didn’t use tooth picks, but of course you can.
- -Next, I used the best strawberries I could find in my bunch and sliced big slices out of them and attached them to the cubes with tooth picks. I love how the strawberry slices make hearts!
- -Lastly, attach the remaining blue berries, and raspberries with tooth picks. The final touch is the big plump strawberry on top which definitely needs a toothpick to hold in place. If you need to put a birthday candle in the cake, I would use a paring knife to score the top of the strawberry first.
- -Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of a slice of this gorgeous watermelon cake, but we started at the top and added whipped cream to the slices.
Here’s a photo of us on our vacation where I made the watermelon cake…and just a few hours before my big “50th”. We tried to go to the beach that day, but it was too hot at almost 100 degrees. I was able to dip my toes into the Gulf for a few seconds and it was actually hot water! It was a perfect day to enjoy this beautiful cool “Watermelon Cake with my favorite humans. The evening ended with a big thunderstorm. I guess you could say my 50th came in with a big bang!
Appetizer Cube
