I always feel a little sorry for my kids when they get invited to a birthday party. Because of their allergies, they almost never can eat anything that is served… including the best part – dessert! So like always, I pack our own food, and a bring a special treat that I save for such occasions.
To be honest, I’m glad my kids can’t eat most of the garbage that is served – but that doesn’t mean their food has to be drab and taste like cardboard! I have several Gluten Free Dessert tricks up my sleeve, and oftentimes our desserts steal the show because it’s so different then the same ol’ cake & ice cream.
So when it’s my kids turn to have a party, I love to get creative! This year, my 3 year old made a special request for his favorite – Watermelon Cake… REAL Watermelon Cake… as in 100% Fresh Fruit only. Of course I also made a traditional natural cake to share with our guests, but almost everyone wanted a slice of the Watermelon Cake instead.
Here’s my How-To Make A REAL Watermelon Cake Video:
The Tools & Ingredients Used in this Recipe:
Real Watermelon Cake Recipe- 100% Fruit!
- Prep Time: 35 min
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 Cake (8-12 Servings) 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Gluten Free
Description
This REAL Watermelon Cake Recipe will be the star of the Party or Potluck. Made with 100% Real Fruit.
Ingredients
A Variety of Fresh Fruit Ingredients:
- 1 Whole Watermelon (find one as smooth, and round as possible)
- 1 Bunch Green and/or Red Grapes
- 1 Pint of Strawberries (washed, but leave stems on for decoration)
- 1/2 lb. Cherries
- 2–3 Star Fruit -OR-
- 1/2 Cantaloupe or Honeydew
Special Tools Needed:
- Toothpicks (the kind with one sharp & one dull end)
- Long, Sharp, Serrated Knife
- Serving Platter – Big & Strong Enough To Hold the Weight
- Tiny Cookie Cutters to Shape Melon/Fruit if desired.
Instructions
- Wash and prepare all fruit.
- Using a Large Serrated Knife, carefully cut each end of the Watermelon off (approx. 2-4 inches each side depending on the size and shape of the cake you want).
- Place one of the flat ends of the Watermelon on a Cutting Board and Trim the Rind off – Being careful to follow the natural curve of the Watermelon.
- Continue trimming the Rind off until the surface of the exposed Watermelon is as smooth as possible – it doesn’t have to be perfect, the fruit decorations will hide imperfections well.
- Once you are happy with the trimmed shape & size, transfer the Watermelon to a Serving Platter that is large enough to accomodate the Size & Weight of the finished Cake.
- Starting at the very bottom, begin decorating the Cake using Toothpicks to secure the fruit in place. Using Toothpicks will ensure that the fruit remains secure to the Watermelon during transport.
- Once the base is finished, begin decorating the middle ‘sides’ of the Cake… I used Star Fruit in my video demonstration, but you can also use small cookie or playdough cutters to stamp out shapes from strips of Cantaloupe or Honeydew. Get creative!
- Before decorating the top of the Cake, use a small scoop/melon baller or spoon to scoop out a ‘well’ on the inside edge of top. If you plan to use candles, be sure to leave a small ‘island’ in the middle so you the candle will be raised above the decoration.
- Use a paper towel or rag to soak up any excess Watermelon juice from the scooping, so that it doesn’t spill out during transport.
- Begin decorating the top using Fruit & Toothpicks to ‘Build-Up’ the outer edges… then fill the ‘well’ with loose fruit.
- Lastly, secure your Candle (if you are using one) to the cake using a toothpick pressed into the base of the candle and then pressed into the ‘island’ in the center of the cake.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Cut & serve as you would a regular cake… Enjoy!
Notes
- Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers in ziplock bags… Enjoy the next day or dump the fruit into your Vitamix for a delicious drink!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 85
I absolutely love this! What a fun way to serve fruit for a birthday or any special occasion. Thank you for sharing this :)
SOOOOO beautiful!!! ………And delicious ! XD
That is really cute!
Thank you. This is a brilliant idea. I’m definitely interested in finding healthy alternatives for kids! YOu are awesome!
This woman looks great for a her age. I wish my grandmother looked this good! Healthy eating really is worth it in the long run. I will def make this next time I crave cake, I want to look as good as her when I am old. :)
What a beautiful idea. Just wanted to say, I love your “God Bless” at the end of your videos!
Debbie *Ü*
OKay but it is not a cake!!! It’s a cake shaped fruit. Nice though but it’s no cake.
True, but don’t tell that to my kiddos! ;) God Bless! ~Erika
I just made this for my twin girls’ 2nd birthday party today. While I couldn’t find cherries or starfruit, it still came out fairly well and everyone was impressed, including my daughters. Thank you so much for such a wonderful idea!!! It was fun to make and I felt good about not having a traditional sugar-filled birthday cake.
BTW – I love your website and just bought an Excalibur dehydrator. I am looking forward to trying some of your other recipes. :)
Thanks!
Christina
Aloha Christina!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad it turned out well. Your girls are very blessed to have a Mama like you!
I just know you are going to love the Excalibur – it is a wonderful dehydrator, capable of making many wonderful, healthy treats!
God Bless!
~Erika
you didn’t use the banana
Good Catch! ;) I chose not to use the bananas at the end since I knew this would be sitting outside for a while in the heat & I didn’t want them to turn brown. However, you could always use a firm banana and spritz it with a lemon/water solution to keep the bananas from turning brown… this works like a charm when dehydrating fruit too! God Bless! ~Erika
Super cute! My son’s bday is in July, and I had the idea to make a cake out of watermelon because we don’t want him eating sweets.. So I looked for some ideas online, and found you! The “cake” :) is beautiful! I’m sure your son loved it. I’m going to make something similar. :) Thanks for the inspiration! One question: Did the many, many toothpicks present a problem? I would be worried about one of the little ones accidentally eating one or poking themselves.
very cool
Thank you for making it less complicated and daunting than I had anticipated! Excited to get started now :)
I love it!!! This is gonna be my next birthday cake!
This is awesome!!! HOW UNIQUE. I completely wanna try this out.
BRILLIANT!!!!!! I am soooo making this from now on!!!! lol
GENIAL…ALGO SORPRENDENTEMENTE BELLO !!!!!!!!!!!
Cool! Ah, I wish I knew where to get some of that “star fruit”. Do you think a grocery like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s would have something like that?
Good question! I imagine that Whole Foods might carry it seasonally. However, you can always take a little Cantaloupe or Honeydew and a star shaped cookie cutter and make your own fun shapes! =) God Bless! ~Erika
I wonder if we could do this a day before ……. :-/
this is a totally beautiful alternative to traditional cake that I will definitely be making thanku x sarah mum of 8
I was looking for “fruit” cake to make for my daughters high school graduation. She doesn’t eat alot of sweet but loves fruit. Your cake looks awesome!! You make it look very easy to make. I have a couple of questions. First of all, how difficult is it to cut in slices??? Also, have you made this using the long watermelon? I will be feeding alot of people and I thought the lower melon may be easier to cut and have more slices, what do you think?
antoinette
Thanks for the sweet comment! I love the 4th of July theme idea for a Watermelon Cake – I’m definitely going to try that next year! =) So glad to hear that you got to spend some time in our beautiful state… we thank the Lord for each day He gives us here. Hopefully you’ll be able to come back again someday. God Bless! ~ Erika
can you make this in advance? say early in the morning, then clean up and serve after a luncheon?
Hi Claire! Yes, absolutely… I made this one about 6 hours before the party & stored it in the fridge until serving. I was also very careful to wipe up any excess melon/fruit juice so it didn’t pool at the bottom of the tray. Enjoy & God Bless! ~Erika
Hi Erika,
This Watermelon Cake is a fantastic recipe. I have featured this in our website Green Thickies.
Not the actual recipe, but only one image from here and a small quote and link back to the recipe page. All credits given to you.
Thanks a lot,
Katherine