Watermelon Flavored Cake

My oldest daughter gave me the inspiration for this cake.

That girl seriously loves watermelon!

When I told her that I was decorating a cake to look like a watermelon,

she excitedly asked, "Will it taste like watermelon too?"

Umm...

could I make a cake that tastes like watermelon?
After some brainstorming and research, the answer is "Yes!".

Watermelon puree and Jell-O give this cake it's flavor, and it is fantastic!
And the frosting is SO good...I just want to eat it with a spoon!

Watermelon Cake

adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen

Ingredients

Watermelon Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box of watermelon Jell-O powder (reserve 2 teaspoons for frosting)
1/2 cup watermelon puree
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
red food coloring

Watermelon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
5 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons watermelon puree
2 teaspoons watermelon Jell-O powder
red and green food coloring

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of 2 eight inch round pans with wax paper, and spray the sides with cooking oil.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and Jell-O. Add water and oil; mix on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Add watermelon puree and beat until blended. Add red food coloring a little at a time, until you reach desired color. Place chocolate chips and a teaspoon of flour in a ziploc bag; shake to coat. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter. Pour into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together. Beat in watermelon puree. Gradually add sugar and Jell-O, beating until smooth. Color 1/3 of the frosting green, color the remaining 2/3 the same color as the cake.

Things to Note:

To make puree: Cut chunks from the center of a watermelon and remove any seeds. Put them in a blender and hit the puree button!
The chocolate chips in my batter sunk to the bottom while baking, and didn't quite achieve the "seeds" look I was going for. After I posted this recipe, several astute readers gave me the solution to that problem: Coating the chocolate chips with a small amount of flour keeps them from sinking! But I think I will leave out the chocolate chips in the future.
Trim the brown edges off the cake before frosting.
Use pink frosting between the layers and on the top of the cake. Spread green frosting on the sides and outer edge of the top. Press mini chocolate chips on top for seeds.