This one is a bit of a mind bender since the decoration will have you thinking it’s watermelon!
Surprise! It’s a cherry chip cake all the way!
After baking the layers I thought those mini chocolate chips look just like the seeds of a watermelon
So naturally I had to follow through on that vision!
Cherry juice in the cake batter turns your favorite white cake recipe into a perfect subtle Cherry Chip Cake
Before we get into a heated debate about Maraschino cherries and my opinion that they are a blaspheme to nature itself
With bleaching and dyeing and all sorts of hideous processes done to these beautiful little drupes
Check out these All Natural Maraschino Cherries I found at Chukar Cherries *not sponsored
By using the cherry juice from the jar instead of water in the recipe your cake batter transforms into a vibrant pink with a hint of cherry taste!
I will admit I did use a drop of pink food color to give it a boost!
Alternatively you can use freeze dried fruit powders for the most intense flavor and color
For both the cake batter and the icing!
Starting with my super easy White Cake Box Hack for the cherry cake and equally simple American Style Buttercream
The decor for the watermelon is so easy and the entire cake is just two recipes!
With just a small amount of melted vegan chocolate you can pipe the “seeds” for the outside decor!
The filling and main icing for the cake is cherry buttercream
However by first making a tiny amount of that buttercream dark green, light green and then keeping some of it white
The watermelon rind effect is a done deal!
Add cherry juice or preferably fruit powder to the remaining buttercream and then get to building this fantastic cherry chip cake!
I know not everyone is on board with making box cakes, but sometimes it’s ok to cheat!
Of course you can adapt your favorite cake recipe or just use my Truly White Vegan White Cake recipe with cherry juice instead of the water!
I used my American Buttercream recipe for this one today but I have five recipes to choice from if you don’t love the ABC.
CLICK HERE FOR CHOOSING THE BEST BUTTERCREAM RECIPE
For more festive and fun layer cakes click the links below!
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- Cookie Dough Birthday Cake
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- Strawberry Vanilla Ruffle Cake
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- Pistachio Rose Cake
How to Make a Vegan Birthday Cake
Strawberry Vanilla Ruffle Cake
- 1Recipe White Cake Hack
- *Add cherry juice instead of water
- OR 2x Recipe Truly White Cake
- * Add cherry juice instead of water
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 Recipe Buttercream
- Food color or cherry fruit powder as needed
- Vegan Chocolate for the "seeds" approx ¼ cup
- Prepare the cake recipe as per the instructions on that post
- Add the mini chocolate chips and bake the batter in 3-7" cake pans
- While the cakes are baking & cooling prepare the buttercream recipe as per the instructions on that recipe post
- Divide the buttercream into 4 parts: ½c dark green / ½cup light green/ ½ cup white
- Then flavor the remaining buttercream for the filling & icing with cherry juice *approx ¼ cup OR cherry fruit powder ¼ OR simply color with pink-red food color
Refrigerate for longer storage up to 1 week
Freeze for up to 2 months
For more about traditional Maraschino Cherries, here’s a good article to read!
I’ve been looking to make watermelon macarons. I’m stumped on how to achieve the true flavor of watermelon. ANy thoughts? I was thinking about reducing fresh watermelon into a syrup and then adding this as my essence to the batter. Appreciate your advice. Thank you, Taryn
Hey there, I am NOT the person to go to for vegan Macarons LOL
But as for watermelon I find THAT flavor & blueberry is the hardest to achieve
SO while I like your idea to get the most concentrated flavor, to then translate that into a Macaron recipe~ Good Luck!