Watermelon Cake in Mason Jars: Perfect Summer Dessert

The cutest watermelon cake made in pretty green and pink layers!Watermelon Cake

If there is one food synonymous with summer in my opinion, it’s watermelon! When dreaming up a picnic-worthy dessert (did you see yesterday’s bright and colorful summer picnic?!), I decided to turn this iconic summer fruit into a layered watermelon cake parfait. Desserts that are easy to pack as well as eat are the only way to go for a picnic, so leave messy treats at home and enjoy these watermelon cake parfaits.

You can truly let your creativity run wild with layered mason jar desserts. Think banana pudding, key lime pie, birthday cake, you name it! I love the bright green and pink of watermelon, however, so that’s what I chose. I also love the presentation because it’s perfect for a picnic party. You can easily see the fun, layered colors right through the jar. Plus, you can tie on a cute mini spoon or fork for easy eating. I love these little wooden spoons! You can find lots here on Amazon.

If you love the idea of this watermelon cake, try it out with other fruity cake flavors! This is one of my favorite strawberry cake recipes, and you could easily layer it in the same way in a mason jar. Add sliced strawberries on top, and you’re ready to go! I also love how their individually portioned which is so perfect for picnics or traveling. I also had a friend just welcome a new baby girl, and I’m pretty sure some of these watermelon cakes would be such a sweet treat to surprise her with!

How to Make Watermelon Cake

Print Recipe

Watermelon Cake

A perfect layered watermelon cake for summer! 

Ingredients

• 2 boxes white cake mix
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2-3 Tbsp. milk
• green food coloring
• pink food coloring
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

• Prepare both cake mixes as directed on the package. Add 1 tablespoon of green food coloring to one cake batter, and 1 teaspoon of green food coloring to the second cake batter to create one darker green and one lighter green cake. Pour each cake batter into a 9”x13” or larger sheet cake pan and bake according to the package instructions. Be sure a toothpick inserted comes out clean, but do not overbake.
• After both sheet cakes have cooled, use a round cookie cutter the same size as your mason jar (2½” or similar) to cut out cake rounds in the dark and light green cakes. You will need one of each cake for each mason jar.
• To make the frosting, beat room-temperature butter until it’s creamy. Add in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Beat in extracts, salt, milk and several drops of pink food coloring until the desired pink color is reached. Add more powdered sugar or milk until the desired consistency is reached.
• Using either a spatula or piped from a piping bag and tip, add frosting on top of the light green cake layer. Top with mini chocolate chips.
• Tie on a mini spoon with ribbon or raffia, and enjoy at your picnic!
• Recipe makes 1 dozen mason jar parfaits.

Notes

You can make these treats up to two days before and store them in the refrigerator until picnic time. This makes packing the perfect picnic just a little easier! If you want your cake parfait to taste like watermelon too, then simply add in a drop of watermelon flavoring to your cake and frosting!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend! If you try out these watermelon cakes, let me know in the comments below!
Cheers!
Courtney