Watermelon Cake

Photography by Dan Engongora

This fruit “cake,” like the ones my mother always made for special occasions, will allow you to have your cake and eat it too!

Supplies:

• 1 whole watermelon,oval shaped
• 2-3 kiwis
• 1 mango
• blueberries
• cantaloupe
• green grapes, halved
• toothpicks
• flower-shaped cookie cutter (optional)

Directions:

When choosing your watermelon, try to pick one that is oval-shaped.

1. Cut off both ends of the watermelon, leaving a six-inch wide slice to form the base of your “cake”.
2. Lay flat and remove the rind with a sharp knife while trying to keep the watermelon as round as possible.For best results when removing rind, leave a thin layer of white flesh, and then remove the white layer while rounding out a perfect circle.
3. Place on large platter.
4. Peel and slice kiwi and arrange slices on the top of the watermelon at the outer edge, slightly overlapping.
5. Cut one side off of a mango and thinly slice lengthwise.
6. Peel and arrange in center of cake in a pinwheel fashion.
7. For a finished look, place a few blueberries in the middle to cover mango tips.
8. Break toothpicks into halves and use to attach blueberries along the top and bottom edges of the cake.
9. To decorate the sides of the cake, use flower-shaped cookie cutters to cut flowers out of cantaloupe slices.For best results, stand cantaloupe upright and cut thin slices from its side.  Attach flowers and green grape halves with toothpicks.

To serve, slice as your would any round cake.

This Article by EstherO. originally appeared in Mishpacha Magazine.