Juicy, fresh-tasting Watermelon Fruit Cake nourishes your body with each sweet fork full! With fresh fruit and homemade cream, it’s a fruity and flavorful dessert you’re sure to savor.
Watermelon Fruit Cake
It’s a little untraditional, but our recipe for watermelon cake hits all of those sweet spots — literally! This cake is prepared with tiers of crisp, juicy melon. Then there’s tangy mango, bursts of blueberry, sugary strawberries, and refreshing kiwi nestled on clouds of airy whipped cream. Slice and serve like a regular cake!
It’s so fun to be creative with fruit — have you ever tried fresh fruit pizza?
And if you find yourself with excess fruits after learning how to make watermelon cake, consider making it into a compote. Our blueberry and strawberry compote recipes are some of our favorites!
Why you will love this recipe
- It’s so good for you! It’s hydrating and contains huge amounts of vitamins A, C, E, B, and more.
- The whole recipe only takes 35 minutes to prepare.
- Watermelon fruit cake is very light, cool, and refreshing — no baking necessary!
- It’s gluten-free and, with some small changes, can be dairy-free as well.
How to Make Perfect Watermelon Fruit Cake
Save time (and pain) by chilling the cream. It’s so much easier to whip chilled cream. Give it at least 30 minutes in the fridge or 15 in the freezer — your forearms will thank you!
Dry off the melon and berries. Before dolloping the melon with the whipped topping, pat it dry with a paper towel. This will help the topping stick to the surface without slip-sliding all around. It would be helpful to dry the other fruits — particularly the mango — if you’d like to arrange them in a specific pattern.
- Control the cream with a piping bag. This recipe makes plenty of whipped topping to decorate and play around with. Using a piping bag will allow you to spread it evenly across the watermelon cake and even the sides of the fruit, making gorgeous, fluffy, cloud-like dollops of cream wherever you wish!
Pro Tips
- Choosing a ripe, juicy melon. We recommend scoping out a relatively small, firm melon. The sweetest, ripest ones will have a little give at the end opposite of the stem and have a deep, hollow sound when tapped.
- Accidentally over-whip the cream? All is not lost! All you have to do is add a little more chilled cream, fold gently with the spatula, and you’ll have a smooth texture in no time.
- Want to use frozen fruit? Avoid a mushy mess by thawing the fruits, especially the berries, in cold water and patting dry. This will reduce bleed and also plump the fruit back up!
- More topping tips! Hull the strawberries, peel the kiwis, and so on. Don’t make your guest have to deconstruct the watermelon cake to enjoy it. Additionally, try to finely chop the mint and scatter it evenly so that everyone gets a taste — but not too much all at once.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions for Watermelon Fruit Cake
Watermelon: We have tips on choosing a nice, ripe watermelon above. But you could use any other melon that you like! Honeydew, cantaloupe, and even the bright and cheery yellow watermelon. Whichever your choice, just try to choose a seedless one.
Heavy Cream: The whipped topping could also be made with evaporated milk or coconut cream. Your favorite store-bought option is just as fine — don’t hesitate to save some time!
Powdered Sugar: This sweetener is best for texture. Granulated or liquid sugars won’t cut it!
Powdered Milk: This ingredient stabilizes the whipped topping, keeping the peaks stiff and helping it hold up to the fruit. Cornstarch or gelatin would have the same effect, but not the same flavor!
Frequently asked Questions about Watermelon Cake
How do you cut a melon for watermelon cake?
First cut off both ends of the fruit — this will help it sit flat on the cutting board.
Then, with a sharp knife, slice off the sides. Work at an angle to remove as much rind as possible while preserving the fruity flesh inside. Once the rind is removed, make smaller cuts to remove any leftover bits of the hard shell and also give it a clean finish!
Can you make a watermelon fruit cake ahead of time?
The clock starts ticking as soon as the fruits are washed and cut and the cream is spread on top. Once assembled, watermelon fruit cake can be refrigerated for up to 6 hours. At room temperature, it is only crisp for a few hours until the cream weeps and the berries, melon, and kiwi become soggy.
However, you can prep all of the fruit a few days in advance to save some assembly time! The cream, unfortunately, must be made fresh.
How do you attach fruit to a watermelon fruit cake?
It’s all about the homemade whipped topping! It acts as a surface for the berries to nestle in and adhere to. That extra step spent drying the melon is very important here to arrange the cream just right so all of the other fruits stay put. If you’re still struggling, try toothpicks!
Watermelon Fruit Cake
Ingredients
- 1 small watermelon
- 2 cup heavy cream chilled
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp powdered milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup blueberries
- 12 small strawberries
- 1 small kiwi
- 1/2 small mango
- mint leaves
Instructions
- Start by chopping off the tips of a watermelon. Use a large knife with a sharp blade for better results. Then, place the watermelon onto the flat side and chop off the sides. After removing the hard peel, work around it gently to give it a nice finish.
- Whip up the cream: Utilizing either a hand-held or stationary mixer equipped with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract at a medium-high speed until you achieve peaks, which typically take around 3 to 4 minutes. In the event of accidental over-whipping resulting in a curdled and dense appearance, simply add a small quantity of chilled heavy cream and gently incorporate it by hand using a spatula until the texture becomes smooth once more.
- Once the cream is ready, incorporate powdered milk using a spatula. Refrigerate while you prepare the toppings for the cake.
- Use some paper towels to drain excess moisture from the watermelon so that the cream sticks properly. Next, chop your fruit toppings to your liking and set them aside.
- Use a piping bag to decorate your cake. This amount of cream will be enough to play around. You can opt for covering the top and sides or only the top of the cake.
- Finally, arrange the fruit topping around the cake. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 6 hours. This cake is definitely best when freshly made. After a few hours, the cream will lose its glossy appearance, and the fruit will become soggy.
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