Watermelon Fruit Basket Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Set the watermelon on its side (stem end facing left or right) and cut off a small, flat piece of rind from the bottom so the watermelon is stable. Wrap a piece of thin masking tape horizontally around the watermelon about 1/2 inch above where the stem was. Wrap 2 more pieces over the top at the center to make a band/handle for the basket that is 1 1/2 inches wide.
• Using the tape as a guide, cut out the wedges that remain on either side of the handle to make a basket shape, down to the horizontal tape. Scoop out 4 cups of watermelon balls using a melon baller and reserve. Remove the remaining watermelon flesh and save for another use. Use a paring knife to trim the flesh from the handle to create a small, neat strip of melon. Use a spoon to do the same for the inside of the basket. Freeze the basket for at least 3 hours. Refrigerate the watermelon balls.
• Put 3 cups of the watermelon balls in the bottom of the basket. Scoop balls of sorbet and arrange on top of the watermelon. Decorate with the remaining watermelon balls. Serve immediately or put back in the freezer until serving, up to 1 hour.

Steps:

• Trim ends off watermelon, then cut watermelon in half at an angle. Remove flesh from each half with a melon baller; set aside. Scrape out any excess flesh with a spoon for a clean, smooth interior.
• Stand watermelon baskets upright on trimmed ends. Fill bottom third of each basket with about 40 watermelon balls. Place assorted melon and papaya slices on top of watermelon balls against the back of the basket, evenly dividing fruit between baskets. Fill in front with remaining watermelon balls. Sprinkle with lime zest. Serve with sea salt, sauce, and brittle as accompaniments.

Steps:

• Cut 2-inch-thick slice from both ends of watermelon; discard trimmed slices. Stand watermelon on cutting board. Starting at top of melon, use long thin sharp knife to carefully cut between rind and fruit all around watermelon to separate rind from fruit. Remove and discard rind.
• Pat melon with paper towels to dry; place on platter. Frost with COOL WHIP.
• Decorate with remaining ingredients to resemble photo.

Steps:

• Cut a thin slice from the bottom of watermelon with a sharp knife so it sits flat. Mark horizontal cutting line 2 in. above center and around the melon. , For handle, score a 1-1/2-in.-wide strip across the top of melon, connecting both sides to the horizontal line. With a long sharp knife, cut all the way through the rind above the cutting line in a zigzag pattern., Carefully lift off the side pieces. Remove fruit from both sections and cut into balls. Refrigerate the basket., In a large bowl, combine watermelon and honeydew balls. In another bowl, whisk cranberry juice, corn syrup and lime juice until blended; pour over melon balls. Cover and chill for 3 hours., Drain; spoon melon into watermelon basket. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and milk until smooth. Beat in sugar, lemon juice and cardamom; serve with melon.

Steps:

• For the frosting: With an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until the cream reaches stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the cake: Cut off the ends of the watermelon, leaving the middle section; remove the rind. Pat the outside of the watermelon dry with paper towels. Set the "cake" on a serving plate.
• Cover the watermelon cake with the frosting. Press the almonds into the sides of the cake. Top with the strawberry slices. Cut into 6 to 8 wedges and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 8-inch cake pans and a 2-quart (8-inch) metal bowl with cooking spray and coat with flour, tapping out the excess. Line the bottoms of the cake pans with circles of parchment.
• Toss the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of the flour in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, the remaining flour and 2 cups cold water. Beat on low speed just to combine, then increase the speed to high and beat until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add red food coloring to deepen the shade from light to dark pink (15 to 20 drops). Stir the flour-coated chocolate chips into the batter. Pour half of the batter into the bowl and divide the remaining batter between the 2 cake pans.
• Bake all 3 cakes until the cake rounds (not the bowl) are risen and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Remove the cake rounds to a cooling rack, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and continue to bake the cake in the bowl until it is risen and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes more. Cool the bowl cake on a rack, then unmold all three cakes and remove the parchment from the rounds.
• With a serrated knife, cut the domed tops from all 3 cakes to flatten them, and dust off any excess crumbs.
• Remove a heaping 1/4 cup of the frosting to a small bowl and stir in enough red food coloring to approximately match the color of the inside of the cake. Place 1 cake round, cut-side up, on a serving plate. Spread a very thin layer of red frosting on the layer. You do not want the layer to be visible when you cut the cake, it is just to glue the layers together. Top with the second cake round, cut-side down. Spread with another very thin layer of red frosting. Top with the domed cake.
• Frost the entire cake with a layer of white frosting about 1/4 inch thick to make the watermelon "rind." Let the frosting dry and harden in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes
• Meanwhile, put the remaining frosting in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and add green food coloring, about 15 drops to start, to make a medium-pale green color several shades lighter than your fruit candy.
• Smooth the green frosting over the white layer, taking care not to combine the two colors. Drape the green fruit candy over the cake, cutting to fit as necessary, starting in the center like spokes in a wheel to make the lines on the watermelon. Top with the black or brown licorice candy as a stem.

Steps:

• To create the base tier of the cake, cut 3 slices of watermelon, 1 to 2 inches thick, crossways through the center of the melon. Trim the rind from the watermelon slices, and place the largest slice onto a cake plate. Alternate layering sliced strawberries, slices of cantaloupe, and slices of fresh pineapple; follow with the second-largest watermelon slice. Repeat once more to make a layered fruit stack that looks like a cake.
• Thinly slice a few pieces of remaining melon and pineapple. With cookie cutters or a sharp knife, cut remaining fruit slices into decorative shapes. Decorate the cake tiers with the cut fruit shapes and remaining berries.
• Refrigerate until serving time. To serve, slice the cake with a sharp knife, one wedge at a time, and set the wedge onto a plate.