Home / Strawberry & Watermelon Cake (Including Thermomix Method)

Strawberry & Watermelon Cake (Including Thermomix Method)

Said to be one of world’s most “Instagrammed” cakes, Belinda & I first tasted this incredible dessert at our friend Jay’s 50th birthday in Sydney! Created by Christopher Thé of the Black Star Bakery in Sydney, I first made this for my Dad’s 85th birthday in Canada a few months later, after finding Christopher’s recipe in Gourmet Traveller.

Here’s my version, which I adapted for the Thermomix, and it has now become my “go-to” celebration dish for any party or event with family & friends! It has “Summer” and “Christmas” written all over it and we hope that you’ll also make it one of your “go-to” desserts!

For you Thermomixers, you can also check out the recipe on Cookidoo where you can prepare it using Cookidoo’s Guided Cooking. Please click here.

Thermomix in Australia also shared a video of me making this incredible dessert on their Facebook page, so if you’d like to see a step-by-step version of its preparation, please click here!

Enjoy!!

Strawberry & Watermelon Cake
Serves 10
(Makes one x 24cm x 7cm springform cake)

Almond dacquoise

150g whole almonds

150g caster sugar (CONVENTIONAL METHOD: use 150g pure icing sugar)

5 egg whites (CONVENTIONAL METHOD: use 4 egg whites)

100g caster sugar

Vanilla cream

600 ml thickened cream

60g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (to taste)

Watermelon & Topping

250 gm seedless watermelon, sliced 1/3”thick

1 tbsp caster sugar

40g whole almonds (CONVENTIONAL METHOD – use almond meal)

500g strawberries (about 2 punnets), halved

4 tbsp pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp dried rose petals, optional

THERMOMIX METHOD

To prepare Almond Dacquoise

Preheat oven to 200C (Fan forced).
Mark two sheets of baking paper with a 24cm circle using the loose base of your springform tin as a template. Turn over and place each on separate baking trays.
Add 150g sugar into TM bowl and mill – 10 sec / SP10. Place into a large mixing bowl.
Place 40g of whole almonds into TM and mill for 10sec | SP 10. Set aside.
Place 150g of almonds into TM and coarsely chop 3sec | SP7. Add to large mixing bowl with milled icing sugar and stir to combine.
Wipe down TM bowl really well. Insert butterfly. Add egg whites and whisk until soft peaks form – 3 min | SP3.5.
With motor running at SP3.5, gently drop in 100g of caster sugar to egg whites until egg whites are stiff and glossy, about 1 minute.
Add egg whites to almond/sugar mixture in large bowl and gently fold together using a large metal spoon until just combined.
Spread mixture evenly between two baking paper marked circles and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool on tray, then gently peel away baking paper. (Can be prepared one day in advance and kept in an air tight container or covered in plastic wrap.

To assemble cake

Cut watermelon pieces so that they will make a 24cm circle, the same diameter as the springform tray. Cut a couple of extra pieces to have on hand when assembling cake. Place all the watermelon pieces on a wire rack and sprinkle caster sugar over both sides. Leave to macerate for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
Prepare vanilla cream by inserting butterfly. Whisk cream, sugar and vanilla until firm, being careful not to over whisk – SP4 | (Keeping an eye on it through the hole until set firm). *The fresher the cream the quicker it will whip.
Place whipped vanilla cream into a piping bag with a 10mm – 13mm round head. Or alternatively just use a pallete knife to spread cream.
Use the base of the springform tray to trim almond dacquoise circles to fit into springform tray.
To assemble, cut a round piece of baking paper to fit base of springform tray.
Place one trimmed dacquoise onto base. Pipe (or spread) one third of the vanilla cream over dacquoise. Sprinkle half of the reserved almond meal over cream then carefully assemble watermelon pieces to cover cream.
Sprinkle remaining half of the almond meal over watermelon and pipe/spread one third of the cream.
Place remaining dacquoise over cream. Pipe/spread remaining one third of vanilla cream evenly over dacquoise.
Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm.

To serve

Fifteen minutes before you would like to serve the cake, combine strawberries and sugar into a bowl and macerate for about 15 minutes.
Remove springform ring from cake and place cake onto cake platter. Gently scrape the sides of the cake with a knife to trim up edges and expose the watermelon and dacquoise layers.
Carefully arrange macerated strawberries over top of cake, gently pressing into cream.
Sprinkle over pistachios and rose petals (if using) and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

To prepare Almond Dacquoise

Preheat oven to 200C (Fan forced).
Mark two sheets of baking paper with a 24cm circle using the loose base of your springform tin as a template. Turn paper over and place each on separate baking trays.
Process 40g of whole almonds into almond meal. Set aside.
Coarsely chop 150g of whole almonds and mix together with 150g pure icing sugar in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg whites for 3-4 minutes or until soft peaks begin to form.
While continuing to whisk egg whites, slowly add 100g of caster sugar – in tablespoon quantities – until the egg whites are stiff and glossy (A spoonful of the mixture should be able to stay on an upturned spoon).
Add egg whites to almond/sugar mixture in large bowl and gently fold together using a large metal spoon until just combined.
Spread mixture evenly between two baking paper marked circles and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool on tray, then gently peel away baking paper. (Can be prepared one day in advance and kept in an air tight container or covered in plastic wrap.

To assemble cake

Cut watermelon pieces so that they will make a 24cm circle, the same diameter as the springform tray. Cut a couple of extra pieces to have on hand when assembling cake. Place all the watermelon pieces on a wire rack and sprinkle caster sugar over both sides. Leave to macerate for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
Prepare vanilla cream by whisking together cream, sugar and vanilla until firm.
Place whipped vanilla cream into a piping bag with a 10mm – 13mm round head. Or alternatively just use a pallete knife to spread cream.
Use the base of the springform tray to trim almond dacquoise circles to fit into springform tray.
To assemble, cut a round piece of baking paper to fit base of springform tray.
Place one trimmed dacquoise onto base. Pipe (or spread) one third of the vanilla cream over dacquoise. Sprinkle half of the reserved almond meal over cream then carefully assemble watermelon pieces to cover cream.
Sprinkle remaining half of the almond meal over watermelon and pipe/spread one third of the cream.
Place remaining dacquoise over cream. Pipe/spread remaining one third of vanilla cream evenly over dacquoise.
Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm.

To serve

Fifteen minutes before you would like to serve the cake, combine strawberries and sugar into a bowl and macerate for about 15 minutes.
Remove springform ring from cake and place cake onto cake platter. Gently scrape the sides of the cake with a knife to neaten up edges and expose the watermelon and dacquoise layers.
Carefully arrange macerated strawberries over top of cake, gently pressing into cream.
Sprinkle over pistachios and rose petals (if using) and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

We hope you enjoy our recipes! Please don’t hesitate in letting us know how it went for you and should you have any questions about any of the steps or any of the recipes, please don’t hesitate in contacting us at urbanprovider@icloud.com .

Strawberry & Watermelon Cake (Including Thermomix Method)

Here’s my version, which I adapted for the Thermomix, and it has now become my “go-to” celebration dish for any party or event with family & friends! It has “Summer” and “Christmas” written all over it and we hope that you’ll also make it one of your “go-to” desserts!

For you Thermomixers, you can also check out the recipe on Cookidoo where you can prepare it using Cookidoo’s Guided Cooking. Please click here.

Thermomix in Australia also shared a video of me making this incredible dessert on their Facebook page, so if you’d like to see a step-by-step version of its preparation, please click here!

Enjoy!!

Strawberry & Watermelon Cake Serves 10 (Makes one x 24cm x 7cm springform cake)

Almond dacquoise

150g whole almonds

150g caster sugar (CONVENTIONAL METHOD: use 150g pure icing sugar)

5 egg whites (CONVENTIONAL METHOD: use 4 egg whites)

100g caster sugar

Vanilla cream

600 ml thickened cream

60g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (to taste)

Watermelon & Topping

250 gm seedless watermelon, sliced 1/3”thick

1 tbsp caster sugar

40g whole almonds (CONVENTIONAL METHOD – use almond meal)

500g strawberries (about 2 punnets), halved

4 tbsp pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp dried rose petals, optional

THERMOMIX METHOD

To prepare Almond Dacquoise

Preheat oven to 200C (Fan forced).

Mark two sheets of baking paper with a 24cm circle using the loose base of your springform tin as a template. Turn over and place each on separate baking trays.

Add 150g sugar into TM bowl and mill – 10 sec / SP10. Place into a large mixing bowl.

Place 40g of whole almonds into TM and mill for 10sec | SP 10. Set aside.

Place 150g of almonds into TM and coarsely chop 3sec | SP7. Add to large mixing bowl with milled icing sugar and stir to combine.

Wipe down TM bowl really well. Insert butterfly. Add egg whites and whisk until soft peaks form – 3 min | SP3.5.

With motor running at SP3.5, gently drop in 100g of caster sugar to egg whites until egg whites are stiff and glossy, about 1 minute.

Add egg whites to almond/sugar mixture in large bowl and gently fold together using a large metal spoon until just combined.

Spread mixture evenly between two baking paper marked circles and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool on tray, then gently peel away baking paper. (Can be prepared one day in advance and kept in an air tight container or covered in plastic wrap.

To assemble cake

Prepare vanilla cream by inserting butterfly. Whisk cream, sugar and vanilla until firm, being careful not to over whisk – SP4 | (Keeping an eye on it through the hole until set firm). *The fresher the cream the quicker it will whip.

Place whipped vanilla cream into a piping bag with a 10mm – 13mm round head. Or alternatively just use a pallete knife to spread cream.

Use the base of the springform tray to trim almond dacquoise circles to fit into springform tray.

To assemble, cut a round piece of baking paper to fit base of springform tray.

Place one trimmed dacquoise onto base. Pipe (or spread) one third of the vanilla cream over dacquoise. Sprinkle half of the reserved almond meal over cream then carefully assemble watermelon pieces to cover cream.

Sprinkle remaining half of the almond meal over watermelon and pipe/spread one third of the cream.

Place remaining dacquoise over cream. Pipe/spread remaining one third of vanilla cream evenly over dacquoise.

Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm.

To serve

Fifteen minutes before you would like to serve the cake, combine strawberries and sugar into a bowl and macerate for about 15 minutes.

Remove springform ring from cake and place cake onto cake platter. Gently scrape the sides of the cake with a knife to trim up edges and expose the watermelon and dacquoise layers.

Carefully arrange macerated strawberries over top of cake, gently pressing into cream.

Sprinkle over pistachios and rose petals (if using) and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

To prepare Almond Dacquoise

Preheat oven to 200C (Fan forced).

Mark two sheets of baking paper with a 24cm circle using the loose base of your springform tin as a template. Turn paper over and place each on separate baking trays.

Process 40g of whole almonds into almond meal. Set aside.

Coarsely chop 150g of whole almonds and mix together with 150g pure icing sugar in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg whites for 3-4 minutes or until soft peaks begin to form.

While continuing to whisk egg whites, slowly add 100g of caster sugar – in tablespoon quantities – until the egg whites are stiff and glossy (A spoonful of the mixture should be able to stay on an upturned spoon).

Add egg whites to almond/sugar mixture in large bowl and gently fold together using a large metal spoon until just combined.

Spread mixture evenly between two baking paper marked circles and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool on tray, then gently peel away baking paper. (Can be prepared one day in advance and kept in an air tight container or covered in plastic wrap.

To assemble cake

Prepare vanilla cream by whisking together cream, sugar and vanilla until firm.

Place whipped vanilla cream into a piping bag with a 10mm – 13mm round head. Or alternatively just use a pallete knife to spread cream.

Use the base of the springform tray to trim almond dacquoise circles to fit into springform tray.

To assemble, cut a round piece of baking paper to fit base of springform tray.

Place one trimmed dacquoise onto base. Pipe (or spread) one third of the vanilla cream over dacquoise. Sprinkle half of the reserved almond meal over cream then carefully assemble watermelon pieces to cover cream.

Sprinkle remaining half of the almond meal over watermelon and pipe/spread one third of the cream.

Place remaining dacquoise over cream. Pipe/spread remaining one third of vanilla cream evenly over dacquoise.

Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm.

To serve

Fifteen minutes before you would like to serve the cake, combine strawberries and sugar into a bowl and macerate for about 15 minutes.

Remove springform ring from cake and place cake onto cake platter. Gently scrape the sides of the cake with a knife to neaten up edges and expose the watermelon and dacquoise layers.

Carefully arrange macerated strawberries over top of cake, gently pressing into cream.

Sprinkle over pistachios and rose petals (if using) and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

Strawberry & Watermelon Cake
Serves 10
(Makes one x 24cm x 7cm springform cake)

Prepare vanilla cream by inserting butterfly. Whisk cream, sugar and vanilla until firm, being careful not to over whisk – SP4 | (Keeping an eye on it through the hole until set firm). **The fresher the cream the quicker it will whip*.