Easy Watermelon Cake and Frosting

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When your almost 6 year old asks for a watermelon cake for his birthday, you make a watermelon cake!  This cake recipe is a watermelon cake with watermelon and vanilla frosting.  It tastes like a Jolly Rancher and looks like an adorable watermelon.  And even better, it’s a straight up easy cake to diy.

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Birthday Boy

Ben’s birthday is what kicked off my passion for baking and cake decorating in the first place, so it’s always an exciting event. (Besides the fact that it’s the anniversary of the best day of my life!)  For his 2nd birthday, I made the infamous Cookie Monster Cake, his 4th was the Kryptonite Cake, and last year was the Geode Cake.

This year, he was very clear that it was going to be a Watermelon Cake.  It needed to taste like a watermelon and look like a watermelon.  Challenge accepted.  This cake was all Ben’s idea.  I drew it up and he rejected the first sketch.  But we got it right on the second try!

Getting the Watermelon Flavor

I love to use freeze dried fruit in my recipes.  It adds tons of flavor without added moisture or sugar.  But freeze dried watermelon is not a thing.  And an actual melon wouldn’t have enough flavor to help out this recipe.

So I went with a watermelon drink mix!  I couldn’t find watermelon Kool Aid anywhere (is that even a thing?), so I used a Jolly Rancher drink mix.  This is probably a very accessible ingredient, but you could also use the watermelon flavor by LorAnn Oils.  I haven’t used it, but I do like this brand.

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Watermelon Frosting

To make our watermelon cake look like the real deal, I split my big batch of frosting into three bowls.  First I took out one small dollop of white vanilla, about a heaping cup.  Then I divided the remaining frosting into two bowls.One of those became the bright green of the watermelon rind.  

The other bowl of frosting became watermelon frosting!  I mixed 1 packet (1 tsp) of the drink mix with a tablespoon of milk and added that to the frosting.  It was a very light pink, so I added some magenta and red food gel.  Be careful to not add too much or use a tasteless food gel because the colors can add bitterness.

Watermelon Cake Layers

Since Ben is more of a frosting person than a cake person, I decided to use my 5 layer 6 inch cake pan set.  This gives you thin layers, so you get more frosting than cake.  But these pans don’t hold a full batch of cake batter, so I also got a dozen cupcakes out of the deal.

Related Reading: How to Use Piping Tips… for Beginners

For the cake, I used two packets of the watermelon drink mix.  The mix went into my milk mixture and I made the cake batter like normal.  I was shooting for a very bold flavor, but I think you could probably get away with one packet.  To create the illusion of seeds, I sprinkled some chocolate jimmies on the layers, but you could mix those in the batter.

DIY Watermelon Cake

Okay, we’ve got the watermelon cake and the watermelon frosting.  Now we need to make the whole thing look like an actual watermelon.  First I layered up my cakes with the pink watermelon frosting and did a crumb coat.  Chill that until firm.

Now that you’ve got the middle of your watermelon, use that white frosting to add another coat to the cake.  This is part of the rind.  Chill it until very firm.  Now you can add the final coat of green frosting!  The top does not need to look pretty since we’ll be adding sprinkles.  After this last layer, chill the cake again.

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Add Those Details

Grab some dark green color dust and a big fluffy brush.  Brush green stripes onto the firm cake.  Make sure to leave a bit of space between the stripes so that the lighter green shows through.  I only needed a small amount to cover the whole cake in stripes!

Now you can add a nice little border to the top of your cake and fill in the center with adorable watermelon sprinkles.  I suggest adding some fresh frosting so that the sprinkles will stick, otherwise they go everywhere when you slice the cake.

Blunders

Fun fact, this week is my two year blog-aversary!  When I started Bakes & Blunders, baking did not come easy, but I loved it and I loved learning.  That’s what inspired me to create my blog’s name and embrace any flubs.  I’m happy to say that I now have many more “bakes” than “blunders” these days.  And my blunders tend to be way less dramatic.

This cake does not have any true errors.  I love everything about it!  However, I definitely spaced on some details I meant to add.  I meant to add more chocolate jimmies to the batter and between layers.  It slipped my mind, so let me know if you try that and how it works out!  I also forgot to spray one of my pans.  Clearly my head was in the clouds!

Enjoy!

So, how do you like this fun cake recipe and tutorial?  Ben thought it was perfect, and that makes me so happy!  I believe he gave it “Three billion, 2 billion, one million thumbs up”.  I love that it tasted like watermelon candy.

It’s such an easy cake to make, even if you are a straight up cake novice!  If you’re looking for more recipes and tutorials, you’ve got to check out the Bakes & Blunders YouTube channel.  Ben is a regular and loves making videos for you guys.  Don’t forget to leave a comment and say hi!

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Watermelon Cake

This cake tastes like watermelon candy and is filled with watermelon frosting. Vanilla frosting gives the look of an actual watermelon!

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Birthday, Cake, Frosting

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 17 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 17 minutes minutes

Servings 24 Servings

Calories 416kcal

Author Colleen

Ingredients

Watermelon American Buttercream

• 1 lb unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 lbs powdered sugar sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2- 4 Tbsps cream or milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp watermelon drink mix
• Gel colors - green, pink, red

Watermelon Cake

• 8 oz all- purpose flour
• 2 oz cake flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsps baking powder
• 8 fl oz milk
• 2 tsps watermelon drink mix
• Gel food color - pink and red
• 8 oz unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
• 14 oz sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs room temperature

Instructions

Watermelon American Buttercream

• Beat the butter on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3- 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl down as needed.
• Add a third of the powdered sugar and the vanilla to the bowl. Beat on low until combined, then on medium until creamy, about 1- 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down.
• Add another third of the sugar. Beat on low until combined, then on medium until creamy, about 1- 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down.
• Add the remaining sugar and a pinch of salt to the bowl. Beat on low until combined, then on medium until creamy, about 1- 2 minutes. Add a tablespoon of cream or milk and beat to combine. Scrape the bowl down.
• Remove a heaping cup of frosting and place in a small bowl. Divide the remaining frosting in two. Add a light green color to one and set aside. Mix the watermelon drink mix with a tablespoon of milk and add to the remaining frosting. Add pink and red color until you have your desired shade. Add cream or milk if the buttercream is too thick.

Watermelon Cake

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray five 6 inch cake pans with baking spray and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine, then set aside. In a measuring glass, combine the milk, watermelon drink mix, and gel food color. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
• In a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla on a medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down.
• With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs one or two at a time. Beating between additions. Scrape the bowl down as needed.
• With the mixer still on low, add one third of the flour mixture. Once combined, drizzle in half of the liquid mixture. Scrape the bowl down and repeat the process. Scrape the bowl down again and add the final addition of flour. Mix until just nearly combined. Then fold the mixture with a spatula until combined.
• Pour 3/4 cup of batter into each of the prepared pans. Bake for 17- 19 minutes. Cool for 5- 10 minutes before removing the cake layers from the pans. Cool completely before assembly.

Assembly

• Add a dollop of watermelon frosting to your cake board. Top with a layer of cake and cover in a thin layer of frosting. Add the next layer of cake and repeat. Place the final layer of cake upside down for a flat top. Cover the cake in a watermelon frosting crumb coat and chill until very firm, about 30- 60 minutes.
• Use the white frosting to cover the cake in a thin layer of vanilla. Chill until very firm, about 30- 60 minutes.
• Use the green frosting to add a final layer. Smooth your sides and chill until very firm, about 30- 60 minutes. With a large fluffy brush, dust strips of dark green color dust around the cake. Top with dollops of green frosting and fill the center in with watermelon sprinkles.

Notes

• This makes a small 6 inch cake and a dozen cupcakes.  You could also bake in 3 standard 6 inch pans for a taller cake.
  • Cupcakes - 350F 18- 20 minutes
  • Three 6 inch - 350F 30- 35 minutes

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