By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Follow us on Instagram for more fun food ideas for kids!
This easy watermelon cake is super easy to make with just a few ingredients and looks just like watermelon fruit! It’s the perfect summer cake kids will love baking as well.
Watermelon Sugar…CAKE! I couldn’t resist, it’s one of those songs that just gets stuck in my head and I want to sing it all day! My 4 year old son @DashBakesTheGreats had the best time making this watermelon cake and with an unexpected special ingredient for both subtle flavor and color, we couldn’t wait to share it with you! This watermelon dessert is the perfect summer cake!
The watermelon cake is the ultimate cake to welcome and celebrate the summer months. Making this even quicker, we used a cake mix and store bought frosting. Mini chocolate chips make the perfect watermelon seeds also!
Can you add Jello to a cake mix?
Adding some dry Jello powder like we did makes the cake lighter and fluffier! In our case it doubled as a coloring agent without using food coloring to make the cake pinkish-red to resemble watermelon.
Keep in mind your cake will lightly taste like the Jello flavor you used. So you may want to add the Jello sparingly until you get the desired color cake batter.
Can you make any additions or substitutions to the Watermelon Cake?
If you’d like your cake to taste like a classic white cake just skip the strawberry jello and use red gel food coloring in your cake mix.
Although mini chocolate chips are the perfect seeds you could use regular-sized chocolate chips, and if it’s too much chocolate, just use a smaller amount or make it seedless and just decorate the top with chocolate chips!
Maybe next time we’ll experiment and use watermelon flavoring, extract or powder to give the cake a true watermelon flavor!
Watermelon Cake – Ingredients:
Cake Mix (we used Betty Crocker – either white or yellow cake works)
Strawberry Jello – two tablespoons (or add more until your desired pink batter color)
1/2 – 3/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips + extra for frosting
Frosting (we used store-bought vanilla white frosting)
Pink and green gel food coloring
How do you make Watermelon Cake?
Heat oven to 350 degrees for shiny metal or glass pans, 325 degrees for nonstick pans. Grease 2 round 8″ cake pans.
Prepare cake mix according to the instructions. Add the strawberry jello in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed or beat vigorously by hand 2 minutes. Add in mini chocolate chips and mix. Pour evenly into 2 round cake pans. Tap on counter to settle before baking. Add more mini chocolate chips on top if you’d like
Pro Tip: If you don’t want your chocolate chips to sink to the bottom of the cake as it’s baking, roll them in a bit of flour before adding to the cake batter. This will helps suspend them in the cake as it’s rising in the oven!
Bake as directed according to the directions, about 29-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before frosting.
While cakes are cooling, add pink gel food coloring to your frosting.
Place one round cake on cake plate and frost the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips onto frosting. Place second round cake on top of the frosting and repeat the process.
Mix your second batch of frosting and add green gel food coloring to resemble the outside of the watermelon. Frost the sides of the cake.
Pro Tip: Substitute milk for water in the cake mix for a super moist and extra flavorful cake!
Be sure to check out Dash’s baking Instagram @DashBakesTheGreats for more kids baking ideas and inspiration. Check out all his recipes HERE.
Watermelon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- Cake Mix (we used Betty Crocker - either white or yellow cake works)
- Strawberry Jello - two tablespoons (or add more until your desired pink batter color)
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips + extra for frosting
- Frosting (we used store-bought vanilla white frosting)
- Pink and green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees for shiny metal or glass pans, 325 degrees for nonstick pans. Grease 2 round 8" cake pans. Prepare cake mix according to the instructions. Add the strawberry jello in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed or beat vigorously by hand 2 minutes. Add in mini chocolate chips and mix. Pour evenly into 2 round cake pans. Tap on counter to settle before baking. Add more mini chocolate chips on top if you'd like Pro Tip: If you don't want your chocolate chips to sink to the bottom of the cake as it's baking, roll them in a bit of flour before adding to the cake batter. This will helps suspend them in the cake as it's rising in the oven!Bake as directed according to the directions, about 29-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before frosting. While cakes are cooling, add pink gel food coloring to your frosting. Place one round cake on cake plate and frost the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips onto frosting. Place second round cake on top of the frosting and repeat the process. Mix your second batch of frosting and add green gel food coloring to resemble the outside of the watermelon. Frost the sides of the cake. Pro Tip: Substitute milk for water in the cake mix for a super moist and extra flavorful cake!
Video
Agnes Hsu is a mom of three and has been inspiring parents and kids to get creative with easy activities and family friendly recipes for over 10 years. She shares her love for creative play and kids food to her 2MM+ followers online. Agnes' commitment to playful learning and kindness has not only raised funds for charity but also earned features in prestigious nationwide publications.