Watermelon Cake

If you've driven through the farmlands of the South, you've most likely seen fields of cotton, tobacco, and plump, juicy watermelons. We thought we'd use some fresh watermelon in this southern recipe for Watermelon Cake. The best part? No seeds!

Serves: 12

Cooking Time: 50 min

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25-ounce) package white cake mix
• 1 (4-serving) package watermelon-flavored gelatin (see Note)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups cubed and seeded watermelon, well drained, divided
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray; set aside.
    
2. In a large bowl, with an electric beater on low speed, beat cake mix, gelatin mix, flour, oil, and 1 cup watermelon until well mixed. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended.
    
3. Divide batter between the two pans. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center of each comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
    
4. In a medium bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, beat butter and sugar. Gradually beat in remaining 1/2 cup watermelon until smooth.
    
5. Place 1 cake layer upside down on a serving plate then frost the top. Place second layer over first and frost the top and sides. Serve, or cover loosely until ready to serve.

Note

If you can't find watermelon-flavored gelatin, you can replace it with strawberry or mixed fruit. With the fresh watermelon in here, either of those flavors should work fine.