Watermelon Galore

Watermelon Galore

We like it lush! That‘s why we spontaneously decided to bring together food stylist Nadine Page and floral artist Hürriyet Bulan. This resulted in a food feature that finally sheds a new light on watermelon this summer, because you can create so much from it. Ranging from melon fries to wedding cakes – we love watermelons!

And because we had so much fun, you can download our lush cover picture as wallpaper.

Three-tiered Cake

For a summer garden party or a birthday party during a hot day – this three-tier cake does not require baking. You only need a few watermelons.

It’s best to use a template for the three sizes. Our cylinders are approximately 25cm, 20cm and 15cm in diameter. Garnish with fresh fruit.

Special tip: To cover up unsightly spots or edges, we used wafer-thin layers of watermelon, placed around the edge.

Watermelon Pizza

Ready in 5 minutes and perfect for an evening with friends: fresh watermelon pizza made from a thick slice of watermelon.

Cut a 2.5cm slice from the middle of a watermelon. Place the slice onto a large plate. Garnish with blackberries, gooseberries, strawberries and pomegranate.

We added basil minette. Chopped basil with large leaves is also possible.

Watermelon Salad

In summer, this salad is perfect as an appetizer.

Cut watermelons into large triangles and geometric shapes. Place into a deep garnish bowl. Particularly suitable: gooseberries, blackberries, blueberries and honeydew melon – shaped here with a small flower cutter. Garnish with mint and drizzle lemon juice over it.

Vanilla Cake with Swiss Buttercream Frosting

Serves 8-10

Difficulty: Medium

Time: 35 minutes active, 40 mins inactive

You can decorate this classic American style cake any way you like – We decided to use freeze dried fruits and fresh cherries for an organic but super punchy look.

Yellow Cake

• 400 g All Purpose Flour
• 25 g Cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 340 g tsp Unsalted Butter, Softened
• 400 g White sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 packet vanilla sugar

1. Prepare 3 9’’ cake pans, or for a cute and tall cake, 4 6’’ cake pans.
2. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the pans and cut parchment paper disks to match the size of the bottom of the pan. This will help the cakes easily release.
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy_ this will take it’s time, about 5 minutes until the butter is soft. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Add the eggs in slowly (I like to crack them into a measuring cup and pour them in a slow steady stream). Make sure the egg is incorporating fully before adding too much more. The mixture should‘nt break. Add the vanilla extract.
5. In 4 additions, add the dry mix and the buttermilk a little at a time. Finally mixing, just until the batter is uniform.
6. Evenly distribute between the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 6 large egg whites
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 350 g unsalted butter,
• soft but still cold

1. Over a double boiler, whisk the egg whites and the sugars together until the mixture is warm and the sugar is fully dissolved – No sandy feeling of sugar crystals if you feel the mixture between your fingers.
2. Whip in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until it becomes a swiss meringue with stiff peaks – Stiff peaks stand upright and do not fall. When it’s done, add the salt and mix it in.
3. If the mixture still has heat, allow it to cool completely. Then use a hand mixer or stand mixer to mix the softened butter in a tablespoon at a time until it is all incorporated. Once all the butter is in, continue mixing until the desired texture is achieved. If it gets too thick, pop it over the double boiler again to let some of the outside melt- then mix again. It should fix the texture. Too thin? Allow it to cool in the fridge and beat it again.
4. When you like the texture, use a rubber spatula to incorporate the food coloring as desired – pastel colors are easiest and most appealing looking – I used hot pink and a fleck of black to make the color on this cake.
5. Decorate with fresh cherries, freeze dried red fruits ( I used Johannesberries and raspberries).

Prickly Watermelon Hugo

A light and fruity summer drink for friends and family: bartender Cris transforms the classic Hugo with watermelon into our alcohol-free summer drink 2020.

Fill glass with ice. Mix 1oz of watermelon nectar (e.g. puree watermelon) or juice with 2oz of rhubarb lemonade. Then pour in alcohol-free Light Live Hugo.

Garnish with fresh fruits and mint.

Three kinds of frozen Watermelon

In summer we like to enjoy ice-cold things. That is why we have prepared three variations of frozen watermelon for you: ice cubes, granita and ice pops make every heart beat faster and are all made super fast.

Watermelon Honey Granita

Serves 6-8

Time : 15 minutes active, 2.5 hours inactive

• 500 g watermelon, cubed
• 4 tbsp honey, especially wildflower honey
• Juice of 3 limes

Blend the ingredients with an immersion blender, or a standing blender and pour into a shallow glass or ceramic casserole.

Place into the freezer and stir with a fork every 30 minutes for 2 and a half hours. At the end it should be like fluffy shaved ice – you can decorate this with lime zest and serve right out of the freezer.

Strawberry Watermelon Ice Pops

Serves 6

Time : 15 minutes active, 2.5 hours inactive

• 500 g watermelon
• 150 g ripe strawberries
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp white sugar

Blend the ingredients together and strain through a fine – mesh sieve to remove any remaining seeds. Whisk in the lemon juice, the white sugar and if extra citrus flavor is desired, add the lemon zest.

Pour these into popsicle molds, adding edible flowers, herbs, or thinly sliced berries or cucumbers as desired to make beautiful popsicles sure to make an impression. When your mold is full, you can use anything left over to make watermelon ice cubes. Both will bring a super fun refreshment to a hot summer day!

Watermelon Chips with fresh Dip

Who determines that watermelons can only be enjoyed in a sweet way? With the fresh spices and yoghurt dip, these fries can also be served during a barbecue.

For the dip, mix 200g plain yogurt with a little lime zest and Tajin spice. If you can‘t find Tajin spice, just use chili with salt and a little lime peel.

Cut watermelon into approx. 1 cm wide sticks and place onto plates. Sprinkle with lime zest and Tajin.