Prep Time: 40 min.

This refreshing watermelon fruit cake, made entirely with fruit, is a showstopper and the perfect centerpiece for any occasion. It's fresh and colorful, and summer on a plate!

This is not a cake in the traditional sense (if that's more your vibe, try my Fruit Pizza). It's sweet, juicy watermelon shaped in a tiered design, decorated with all your favorite fruits, and every bit as mouthwatering and fun!

To make this guilt-free dessert, shape watermelon into two cylinders. Top with green grapes, sweet strawberries, and fresh mint. Depending on how many people you serve, you can make your cake 1-tiered, 2-tiered (like this one), or even 3-tiered.

When you're ready to serve your melon cake, just cut it like an ordinary cake. Bring on Summer!

Ingredients You'll Need

Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details!

• Watermelon - Choose a heavy and firm watermelon that sounds hollow when you tap it, and has a big yellow spot. You'll need two watermelons for this design, ideally one larger than the other.

• Strawberries - Use fresh and ripe strawberries with a pointy shape (they'll look the prettiest, but any will do).

• Green grapes - Find the most vibrant green grapes and use scissors to snip them into clusters of 8-10.

 • Fresh mint leaves - Fresh mint is perfect to fill in the gaps between the fruit.

How to Make A Watermelon Fruit Cake

1. Slice the top and bottom off a watermelon.

2. Trim the rind off the sides.

3. Repeat with the other watermelon.

4. Stack the smaller melon on top of the largest. Secure them with wooden skewers.

5. Use toothpicks to stick grape clusters onto the watermelon cake.

6. Repeat with halved strawberries.

7. Insert fresh mint to fill any gaps.

8. Serve.

Tips for Success

• Place a large bowl or a cake tin on top of the watermelon when trimming. This can help guide you to the perfect round shape.

• Arrange the fruit from the top corner to the opposite bottom corner for an elegant presentation.

• Dry off the freshly cut fruit with a paper towel to prevent the watermelon cake from becoming soggy.

Do make your guests aware of the toothpicks prior to eating.

Possible Variations

• Replace the watermelon - Use yellow watermelon, cantaloupe, Galia melon, pineapple, or honeydew.

• Decorate with any seasonal fruit you like: passionfruit, berries, citrus, dragonfruit, kiwi, mango, marshmallow roses, etc.

• Top the entire cake with whipped cream before adding fruit.

• Add a tier (especially if you are serving over 12 people) or make it a single-layer cake.

FAQs

Can I make this Watermelon Fruit Cake ahead of time?

Yes, a few hours in advance, but no longer, as cut fresh fruit can get soggy.

I can only find small watermelons. How do I still get that tiered effect?

As you can tell from the video, the two watermelons I used were more or less the same size. I trimmed one to be smaller than the other. Alternatively, you can make a single-tiered cake.

How do I store leftovers?

Store any remaining fruit in an airtight glass container in the fridge.

How do I serve it?

Cut the cake like you would any other, picking off the fruit on the side to add to each plate.

Other Dessert Ideas

Chocolate Covered Grapes

Strawberry Snickers Treat

Blueberry Chocolate Grapes

Chocolate Strawberry Roses

Ingredients

Instructions

Serves 8-10.

1. Top and tail the watermelon.

2. Lie the melon flat and trim away the rind to shape it into a cylinder.

3. Repeat with the other watermelon (ensuring one is a smaller cylinder shape than the other).

4. Insert three wooden skewers into the largest watermelon cylinder (you may need to shorten the skewers with scissors).

5. Arrange the smaller watermelon on top of the skewers.

6. Dry off the fruit with a paper towel.

7. Cut the grapes into clusters.

8. Attach the clusters with toothpicks starting from the bottom left (or right) to the opposite top corner.

9. Halve the strawberries, and secure these with toothpicks along the row of grapes.

10. Use fresh mint sprigs to fill in any gaps.

11. Serve. 

Did you make and enjoy this recipe? Don't forget to tag @foodbites in your recreations on Instagram!