Watermelon Cake

My baby had her first birthday this weekend. When I saw this watermelon cake on Betty Crocker I knew it was the one. Simple, colorful and cute!

Watermelon Cake
adapted from Betty Crocker

1 strawberry cake mix - eggs, water and oil as called for on box
2 cubes butter - room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
1tsp vanilla
1 tbsp - milk
Food coloring (gel food coloring will make dark and bold colors)
1.5 cups miniature chocolate chips

Cake:
1. Make cake as directed on the box. Add a few drops of red food coloring to make the batter darker.
2. Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips to batter.
3. Pour batter evenly into 2 round cake pans.
4. Bake as directed on the box.
5. Let cakes cool before assembling and frosting.

Frost and Decorate:

1. Make butter cream frosting by mixing the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add milk to get desired consistency. For pictures and further instructions on making butter cream frosting click HERE.
2. Divide frosting into 2 bowls  - about 2/3 in one bowl and 1/3 in the other.
3. Add red food coloring to the larger bowl and green to the smaller. Mix thoroughly.

I don't have a cake stand so I just turned over a large plate as my makeshift stand. Put a dab of frosting on the plate to keep the cake from slipping off. Place 1 cake on the plate. If if has a rounded top take a serrated knife and gently level it off.

Cover the cake with a thin layer of red frosting on the top top surface. Place the second cake on top.  Use the remaining red frosting to cover just the top portion of the cake.. Go slow and try not to drag crumbs. (Freezing your cake a few hours before you frost it will help keep the crumbs under control.) 

Use the green frosting to frost along the edge of the cake. Add mini chocolate chips to the top of the cake! (To give the cake even more texture you could press green jelly beans into the green frosting.)

Here's the birthday girl enjoying her cake. No messy face or hands here. She'd only poke her fingers in it. 

I linked to Today's Creative Blog.