Strawberry Watermelon Cake (Black Star Pastry)

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This has been on my list for the longest time. The OG Black Star Pastry @ Sydney is still on my to-visit list, but a couple of local bakeries have recreated it and I’ve had a handful over the years – so good! Finally took the chance to make this for a family friend’s birthday, a promise I made many years back!

This might seem fairly intimidating, but trust me if you break it down it really is quite manageable. The trickiest part to this, to me, was the cutting of the watermelon. I lugged home a whole watermelon and had the husband chop it up for me and cut to the right sizes using cake rings.

The cake is typically topped with strawberries, pistachios and dried rose petals. I didn’t have pistachios handy at home so I opted out. You can also glaze the strawberries with some jam and water for a glossy, professional finish.

Strawberry Watermelon Cake (Black Star Pastry)

Recreation of Black Star Pastry's Strawberry Watermelon Cake. Layers of freshly cut watermelon, fresh whipped cream, and almond daquoise, topped with strawberries, rose petals and pistachios.

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Difficulty: Advanced

Ingredients

Almond Dacquoise

Watermelon

Rosewater Whipped Cream

Toppings

Instructions

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Almond Dacquoise

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

  2. In a stand mixer bowl, add egg whites, sugar and whip until stiff peaks.

  3. Sift icing sugar and ground almond into meringue, fold to combine.

  4. Add batter to a piping bag.

  5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe batter onto lined baking sheet in the shape and size of your cake ring. You will need two layers of dacquoise. (It doesn't need to be perfect as you can cut it out later to fit your cake ring)

  6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden. Remove and let cool on baking tray.

  7. Cut almond dacquoise with the cake ring to ensure it fits during assembly.

Watermelon

  1. Slice watermelon to desired thickness. Use a cake ring to cut out watermelon to desired shape. If you do not have a whole watermelon, put pieces of watermelon together in the shape of your cake ring.

  2. Brush sugar and rosewater on both sides of watermelon. Let sit ~15 minutes to macerate.

  3. Pat dry with kitchen towel to remove excess moisture before assembly.

Rosewater Whipped Cream

  1. In a small microwavable bowl: Add gelatine and water, mix to combine.

  2. Heat in microwave for about 30s until gelatine dissolves.

  3. Add rose water, mix to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.

  4. With a hand or stand mixer, whip cream. Add sugar and continue whipping.

  5. Once around soft-medium peaks, add gelatine mixture and whip until stiff peaks. Do not overwhip!

  6. One whipped cream is ready, add to a piping bag and set aside in the fridge until ready to assemble.

Assembly

  1. On a serving plate, place cake ring over and line sides of cake ring with acetate sheet. If you do not have acetate, use parchment paper.

  2. Start with one layer of almond dacquoise, and pipe a layer of whipped cream over.

  3. Add watermelon and pipe another layer of whipped cream.

  4. Add the second layer of almond dacquoise.

  5. Pipe an additional layer of whipped cream.

  6. Top cake with sliced strawberries, rose petals and pistachios (optional).

  7. Let cake chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until whipped cream firms up. Remove cake ring and peel off acetate sheet.

  8. Best served within a day or the cake will get soggy.

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