Strawberry Watermelon Cake - Black Star Pastry

One of my colleagues had been urging me to try the Black Star Pastry Strawberry Watermelon Cake, so on a recent trip to Sydney, I took the plunge and did so.  I agreed that it was delicious.

I was then urged to try and replicate the Strawberry Watermelon Cake as a dessert for our upcoming team lunch.  Yikes!!

The recipe for the Strawberry Watermelon Cake in online here, so you are not guessing as to the cake's composition.  There are lots of steps, and I'd say it takes a little skill to be able to make this cake. 

Whilst my finished product was not perfect, I was pretty happy with it, and everyone who tried it liked it (even the sceptics who, like me, thought that watermelon in a cake was weird).

Here is a slice from the cake:

My notes on the recipe are as follows:

• I used a 9" springform tin as my "collar", lining the base with foil and the sides with acetate.
• Only make three quarters of the dacquoise recipe to make two meringue discs - you do not need four discs for one cake, and I found that there wasn't quite enough meringue to make four sturdy discs anyway. 
• I used a watermelon wedge and assembled the pieces like a jigsaw puzzle rather than pay for a whole watermelon to cut single thin disc of watermelon.
• I used heated apricot jam to glaze my fruit.
• I skipped the rose petal décor, as they taste like nothing and are expensive.
• Macerate the strawberries and grapes in rosewater for 15 minutes befor placing on the cake.
• Use a hot knife to slice the cake, as it tends to squash when you cut it otherwise.
• I just used crushed pistachios rather than the speciality item, slivered pistachios, as I can buy ordinary pistachios from the supermarket.

If you give this cake a go yourself, let me know!  Have fun with it.