Baby Graham, also fondly know as Mr. Squishy, turns one this month. Where has the time gone friends?! It seems like just yesterday that I was gigantic and miserably pregnant and now I have a baby trying to walk around the house! I’m so grateful I’m not where I was a year ago; pregnancy is rough. All that work was worth it, though. I managed to create the world’s cutest baby ,and he was well worth all the suffering to get him here.
This little lamb is a bright spot in our family. His siblings adore him, and so do his parents. He’s my fattest baby by far, he’s silly and snorts, and he loves to keep up with his siblings. We love this little guy and are so excited to celebrate his birthday.
A few weeks ago we went to a first birthday party, and the one-year-old had a smash cake (a cake just for the baby to play in). My older kids thought this was the cutest thing ever. In the past the most I have done is give the baby a piece of cake or a cupcake, but my big kids are begging me to make a smash cake for Graham’s birthday. I did really want to make a cake just for him, so I got to looking around and thought I might try making a watermelon cake!
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PrintWatermelon and Whipped Cream Cake
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 8
Ingredients
- 1 small to medium watermelon
- 2 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup toasted coconut
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Cut the watermelon into the shape of a cake by cutting away the rind and making the top and bottom flat. (See video for further tips on cutting.) Place the watermelon on your serving plate. If you watermelon is very juicy you may want to lightly blot the outside with a paper towel to remove extra moisture before adding the whipped cream.
- To whip the cream place the cream in bowl of your stand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip on high until peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Cover the outside of the watermelon with the freshly whipped cream. Decorate with toasted coconut and sprinkles. You could also add fresh berries for decorations.
Notes
One little trick that I would recommend would be to use paper towels to blot off any extra moisture from the watermelon before spreading on the whipped cream. The whipped cream might want to slide off if the watermelon is very wet. I made this and stuck it in the fridge and it held up very well over night. This was because I used heavy whipping cream instead of just regular whipping cream. The heavy whipping cream is more stable and stays whipped much better. I assume this is because it has a high fat content but I’m not actually sure. But now you know. If you want your cream to stay nice and whipped, choose heavy whipping cream. If you are going to be whipping it and using it right away (if you were making strawberry shortcake or something), then regular whipping cream works great.
One little trick that I would recommend would be to use paper towels to blot off any extra moisture from the watermelon before spreading on the whipped cream. The whipped cream might want to slide off if the watermelon is very wet. I made this and stuck it in the fridge and it held up very well over night. This was because I used heavy whipping cream instead of just regular whipping cream. The heavy whipping cream is more stable and stays whipped much better. I assume this is because it has a high fat content but I’m not actually sure. But now you know. If you want your cream to stay nice and whipped, choose heavy whipping cream. If you are going to be whipping it and using it right away (if you were making strawberry shortcake or something), then regular whipping cream works great.
Have you ever thought about trying a watermelon cake? They are pretty fun, easy, and delicious! Enjoy, from my kitchen to yours.
Now I know what kind of birthday cake to make my sister who has to be gluten-free! Never in a million years would I of thought of this! My mom made all of us a smash cakes for our first birthdays…..I carried on the tradition with my own kids and took a roll of 36 pictures in nothing flat. I put the dogs in charge of clean-up duty for both the floor and the kid!
Looks like we need to get a dog! That sounds so cute and what a fun tradition. I’m king of wishing I would have done it with the other kids!
Oh my gosh…. I’ve never heard of this but we are definitely trying it! Thanks so much. Your cake is super cute with the sprinkles on top and coconut at the bottom!
My husband’s family has always done a smash cake for the one-year-olds (though they don’t call it that). I don’t do a full-size one but a small personal one. I use my two-cup Pyrex glass storage bowl and it seems just the right size. Then I bake the rest of the batter in a 9 x 13 pan and frost it for everyone else. The tradition is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting so the baby gets good and messy. It’s fun. 🙂 I’ll have to show the watermelon cake to my almost-seven-year-old…she might want that for her birthday next week. Thanks for sharing! I’ve seen those before but haven’t been brave enough to try making them. But if you tried it and liked it I may give it a shot. Thanks for sharing!