Cake of the Day: Gluten-Free Watermelon ‘Cake’

Photo: Lorraine Elliott

Looking for a light dessert to serve this summer? Here is a perfect option — and one that will both delight and surprise your guests. It’s a watermelon cake — except there’s no cake involved. This juicy, refreshing, and easy-to-make recipe comes from Lorraine Elliott of the food and travel blog Not Quite Nigella. How easy is it? Fifteen minutes from start to finish with only five ingredients.

Elliott is a passionate home cook who started her site back in 2007 while working as a media strategist. She eventually made the leap to full-time blogger and even wrote a book about it. (It’s also called Not Quite Nigella.)

Back to her no-bake masterpiece, it actually came to her in a dream one night. “The next morning Mr NQN [her husband] had gone out early with the car for a bike ride so I texted him to bring one a whole watermelon, some strawberries and blueberries — the rest which were just cream and flaked almonds I already had,” she writes.

Photo: Lorraine Elliott

Elliott starts by cutting off the sides of the watermelon and taking an 8-inch plate to use as a guide for making perfect circular shapes. For the frosting, she whips heavy cream into stiff peaks. (Use coconut cream for a dairy-free version.) After she covers the “cake” with a blanket of fresh cream, she decorates the border and sides with berries and almond slices. Who said all cakes have to be baked? Certainly not Not Quite Nigella.

Get the recipe: Watermelon Cake

Photo: Lorraine Elliott

More “cakes” for you to enjoy:

Watermelon and Peach Fresh Fruit Cake

Black-and-White Pancake Cake

Caramel Espresso Flan Cake