Nothing says Summer quite like fresh melon!  

This trio of sweet fruit is so abundant right now that I couldn’t resist making this layered “faux” cake.  Not only is it fun to make, it’s a nutritious and delectable dessert to close out a warm summer evening.  Covered in a fresh, minty whipped cream icing, we top it with toasted almonds.  The textures and flavors are amazing together!

The presentation on this dessert is unreal!  Trust me – it looks much more daunting than it actually is.  I used a rustic, free-hand method on the frosting and love the way it turned out. With the scattering of toasted sliced almonds to the top of the cake, you have that extra freedom to cover up any imperfections.

Here is the cast of characters we are using today:

 It’s easier if you can find all these melons in approximately the same size.  No matter what, we will be trimming them down a bit, but the closer the better!

Slice each melon right down the center and cut about a 1.5 inch slice from either side. Carefully use a knife to remove the rind and scoop out the middle pulp

Use that same method for all the other melons.  Find your smallest ring and trim all the other rings to the same size from the outside. (I didn’t have much trimming to do on mine)

Obviously, the watermelon doesn’t have middle pulp, so just use one of the other melons to gauge the middle circle and remove the flesh from the middle of the watermelon

Place all six rings on a paper towel to absorb some of the juice of the melon while we prepare the frosting.

In a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup of sugar and a dash of vanilla until stiff peaks form.  Whip in 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint

Scoop out about 2 cups of the prepared frosting and place in a separate bowl.  Add in 1/2 cup of toasted sliced almonds and mix until combined

Stack your melon rings in the order you want to on the cake plate of your choice. There is no wrong way to do this.  I stacked mine so the cleanest cut melon was on top

Fill the center ring with the almond cream mixture, making sure to push it all the way down in.

Now take the remaining minted frosting and frost the entire cake on the outside

Sprinkle the rest of the almonds on top, letting them fall around the bottom of the cake plate

Dig in and enjoy!

This was such a fun dessert to make and eat.  

And serve….

What a great way to say goodbye to summer and get the most out of our California melons!