Thanks to Bird on A Cake for this great recipe. I'll start off by saying that I hate watermelon. I have a coworker who asked for a watermelon cake, and because I work with such a variety of people, I took it as an opportunity to create something new. It tasted just like watermelon and the birthday girl was happy. Mission accomplished.
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
Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
5 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons watermelon puree
2 teaspoons watermelon Jell-O powder
red and green food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of 2 eight inch round pans with wax paper, and spray the sides with baker's joy.
Cut chunks from the center of a watermelon and remove any seeds. Put them in a blender and hit the puree button. Viola! Watermelon puree.
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. If you skip this step, the chocolate chips will fall to the bottom of the pan as the cake bakes. This keeps them suspended. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter. Pour into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool. If you are feeling ambitious, you can remove the brown edges of the cake before frosting. It may blend in ok, it's really up to you.
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. Use pink frosting between the layers and on top of the cake. Spread green frosting on the sides and outer edge of the top. Press mini chocolate chips on the top for seeds.
