Experience the perfect blend of freshness and sweetness with our adorable Watermelon Cake. Juicy melon slabs meet creamy whipped perfection in this unique and delightful dessert, perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth on a hot summer day. Ready in just 30 minutes, experience the pure joy of fruity indulgence in every bite.
I love using fresh fruit to make summer dessert once hot weather hits, and fresh watermelon cake is pretty satisfying when it’s a hundred degrees outside! I think it’s such a fun twist for a no bake dessert to use fresh fruit instead of cake for the cake layers. Peach Pretzel Salad, Raspberry Trifle, and Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle are a couple of others that are family favorites and potluck worthy!
You can’t eat dessert before the main course! Try these grilled shrimp skewers or the best tri tip marinade before you slice the cake at your summer bbq. Use the same whipped cream recipe to frost your key lime pie, lemon cheesecake, or strawberry crunch poke cake.
Why You’ll Love This Simple Watermelon Cake Recipe
- No bake and easy to make!
- Ready in 30 minutes.
- The presentation is out of this world!
- Perfect for warm weather.
🍉 Ingredients:
- watermelon – use a seedless watermelon if possible. Not only do seedless watermelons have few seeds, they’re also typically smaller. Look for melons that are similar in size.
- cantaloupe – ripe cantaloupes should have a slightly sweet smell at the top. The stem end should have some give when gently pressed.
- honeydew melon – A ripe honeydew should have some give and a slight scent at the blossom end. They should be pale green or even slightly yellow in color.
- heavy whipping cream – Use fresh whipping cream and keep cold
- granulated sugar – we use granulated sugar to stabilize the whipped cream. It adds some sweetness and helps it hold up over several days for fridge storage.
- vanilla extract – optional flavoring for the whipped cream
- blueberries – These are optional but make for a nice garnish. You can use any type of your favorite fresh fruit to garnish.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
- Fresh Berries: Top the watermelon cake with an assortment of fresh berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. They add a burst of color and complement the watermelon’s sweetness.
- Mint Leaves: Sprinkle some fresh mint leaves over the top of your cake to enhance its refreshing taste and add a pop of green color.
- Edible Flowers: Decorate the watermelon cake with edible flowers like pansies, nasturtiums, or violets. They lend an elegant and artistic touch to the dessert.
- Lime or Lemon Zest: Grate some lime or lemon zest over the cake for a zesty and citrusy flavor that pairs well with the watermelon.
Substitutions and Variations
- Make a single melon watermelon cake. Cut a watermelon into a cylinder, and frost with whipped cream. Decorate however you like.
- Use red frosting and mini chocolate chips as “seeds” to make the outside of the cake look like a watermelon. Add a strip of white and green frosting at the base to mimic the rind.
- Garnish with other fruits such as fresh raspberries or strawberries.
- You can also add nuts or shredded coconut to the top for more decoration.
- If you don’t want to make the whipped cream, you can try using Cool Whip. If it seems a little thin when frosting, you can add a little powdered sugar to thicken it up. You may have to work in batches so it doesn’t thaw too quickly.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Chill melons and heavy cream until ready to prepare the melon cake.
Step 1: Slice the melons so you get slabs that are 1- 1.5 inches thick. You’ll need 2 watermelon layers, 1 honeydew, and 1 cantaloupe. Set the rest of the fruit to the side to use later. Don’t worry about removing the rind or peeling fruit yet.
Step 2: Use a cookie cutter to cut out the middle flesh and seeds from the center of the cantaloupe and honeydew slabs.
Step 3: Stack the slices on each other with the largest on the bottom (typically the watermelon slab is the largest).
Step 4: Use a sharp knife to cut a circle around the stacks. In one step, you are removing the rinds and creating the layers of the watermelon cake that are all the same size around.
How to choose the best watermelon: Watermelons are the best when they are ripe. Find one that is heavy, and that has a large yellow spot. You also want to avoid purchasing any that have cuts or bruises on them.
Step 5: With one watermelon slice on the bottom and the other on top, stack the fruit slabs to make sure they are all the same size. Trim any areas that are significantly different from the others.
Step 6: In a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the cream, vanilla, and sugar. Whip on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
Step 7: Do not over beat whipped cream mixture or it will turn to butter. It should be thick and creamy, holding its shape but still smooth and spreadable. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
Step 8: Place the first slab of watermelon on a serving platter or cake plate to form the bottom of the cake. Top with a layer of whipped cream.
Step 9: On the whipped cream layer, stack the cantaloupe ring, forming the second cake layer. Add a thick pool of whipped cream to fill the empty center and then another layer of whipped cream on top of the cantaloupe.
Step 10: Repeat the process with the honeydew, filling the center solidly with whipped cream.
Step 11: Top with the final slab of watermelon and mound the remaining whipped cream on top.
Step 12: Use an offset spatula to spread the remaining whipped cream down the sides of the cake, frosting the cake completely.
Step 13: Use a melon baller on the remaining fruit to scoop out balls to place on top of the cake, along with the berries.
Step 14: Decorate your fresh fruit cake. You may like to garnish with some mint leaves or additional berries. Edible flowers would also be lovely on top of the watermelon cake.
Tips for Making a Watermelon Fruit Cake
- Keep the mixing bowl and beaters or whisk attachment in the fridge until you are you are ready to use. The colder you can keep the cream, the faster it will whip.
- The sugar helps to stabilize the whipping cream and holds its shape really well when it comes to frosting.
- Try to shop for melons that are similar in size.
- Choose a seedless watermelon so when you are eating the cake, you aren’t biting into the seeds.
- If you don’t have a cookie cutter larger enough to cut out the middles, use the rim of a glass instead or just a sharp knife!
- Keep a few paper towels nearby when slicing off the rinds. Some melons may release more liquid than others.
- Have extra balled fruit? Keep it in a small bowl for a healthy snack later on.
Fun Fact
Watermelons are naturally gluten-free, are made up of 92% water, and are a cousin to squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers.
Keep the cake in the refrigerator for 3-4 days covered loosely with plastic wrap. I was surprised to find that the juicy watermelon didn’t release too much water and turn the whipped cream to mush, but it held up quite well. Still, I think you’ll enjoy this cake the most eaten just after assembly.
More Fruity Summer Dessert Recipes
If you tried this Watermelon Cake or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Watermelon Cake
Ingredients
- 1 whole watermelon seedless
- 1 whole cantaloupe
- 1 whole honeydew melon
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup blueberries optional
Instructions
- On a large, stable cutting board or work surface, slice the watermelon, making two “slabs” from the center, each about 1½ inches thick.
- Slice one “slab” from the center of the cantaloupe, 1½ inches thick. Slice one more “slab” from the center of the honeydew, 1½ inches thick. Reserve the excess melons for later.
- Use a large round cookie cutter or your knife to cut around the seeds/pulp in the center of the cantaloupe and honeydew slabs. Discard.
- Stack the melon slabs on top of one another, with the largest in diameter on the bottom.
- With your knife straight up and down, cut a circle around the melon stack, slicing just within the rind of the top slab. This should result in 4 equal slabs of melon, with no rind left on any of them. You may want to work in batches, stacking just 2-3 of the slabs at a time. Just be sure they are all the same diameter as the smallest slab.
- Whip the heavy cream in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form, but do not over whisk.
- Place one watermelon slab on a serving plate. “Frost” the top with a bit of the whipped cream. Stack the cantaloupe slab on top, then continue stacking and frosting between each layer. After the cantaloupe and honeydew have been stacked, mound a pile of whipped cream in the center to fill in the hole left where you’ve removed the seeds and pulp.
- Stack the final watermelon slab on top, mound the remaining whipped cream, and spread it down over the sides of the cake to “frost” your cake.
- Top with melon balls (made with the leftover melon) and blueberries.
- Keep refrigerated until serving.
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Notes
- Keep the mixing bowl and beaters or whisk attachment in the fridge until you are you are ready to use. The colder you can keep the cream, the faster it will whip.
- The sugar helps to stabilize the whipping cream and holds its shape really well when it comes to frosting.
- Try to shop for melons that are similar in size.
- Choose a seedless watermelon so when you are eating the cake, you aren’t biting into the seeds.
- If you don’t have a cookie cutter larger enough to cut out the middles, use the rim of a glass instead or just a sharp knife!
- Keep a few paper towels nearby when slicing off the rinds. Some melons may release more liquid than others.
- Have extra balled fruit? Keep it in a small bowl for a healthy snack later on.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Zaida says
Is very beautiful and good I like so much
Stefanie says
Thank you so much, Zaida!