Watermelons are sweet, juicy and refreshing fruits, especially to enjoy on summer afternoons. They instantly make you fresh and energetic. They also have a bright red look and unique sweetness about them. This makes them a brilliant fruit to use in desserts. There are several desserts that use and celebrate watermelons. They add a freshness to the dish, give it a bold look and a more nuanced flavor profile. These are also desserts that home bakers must try their hand at. So here’s a roundup of our favorite dessert recipes using watermelon.
Watermelon mousse
Ingredients:
- 2 cups watermelon juice
- ½ tbsp gelatin
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 10-15 fresh mint leaves
- Generous pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup cold fresh whipping cream
For topping:
Directions:
- Add ½ cup watermelon juice into a heatproof bowl.
- Sprinkle gelatin over it. Let it soak or bloom in the juice for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add mint leaves to the remaining juice and blend.
- Add the sugar, salt and lemon juice and mix well.
- Place the bowl with gelatin over hot water and mix well till the gelatin dissolves.
- Add the dissolved gelatin mixture to the mint watermelon juice. Stir well.
- Whip the cold fresh cream till soft peaks form.
- Add the whipped cream to the watermelon juice and whisk lightly till all the cream is incorporated into the juice mixture.
- Pour the mixture into individual serving bowls. Put it in the fridge to set.
- Serve topped with grated chocolate.
Watermelon cake pops
Ingredients:
- 1 box strawberry cake mix
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 can pink frosting
- 1 bag chocolate candy melts, dark green
- Pink food coloring
Directions:
- Prepare the cake mix.
- In a medium sized bowl, crumble the cake, about half the can of frosting, and the chocolate chips. Mix together until well combined and roll into small balls.
- Melt the dark green chocolate and dip the cake balls until fully covered and set on parchment paper to dry.
- Pipe thin pink lines around your watermelon ball and let dry.
Watermelon pie
Ingredients:
- 1 pack watermelon gelatin
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1 container Cool Whip, thawed
- 2 cups diced watermelon
- 1 graham cracker crust
Directions:
- Place the gelatin in a large bowl. Add boiling water and stir to dissolve the gelatin. Let cool to room temperature.
- Fold in the Cool Whip and the watermelon.
- Transfer the filling to a graham cracker crust, smoothing out the top evenly.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Watermelon pudding
Ingredients:
- 4 cups coarsely chopped, seeded watermelon
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
- 2 tsp strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Whipped cream, to serve
- Unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped or ground, to serve
Directions:
- Puree the watermelon in a stand mixer until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup, discarding remaining solids. You should have just about 3 cups of watermelon juice.
- Ladle 2 tbsp (30 ml) watermelon juice into a small bowl and stir in the cornstarch, until smooth.
- Pour the remaining watermelon juice into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the sugar and vanilla seeds, and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
- Stir the cornstarch mixture again, then whisk into the watermelon juice.
- Simmer, whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes, then whisk in the lemon juice.
- Pour the pudding through a clean strainer and into a measuring cup, then transfer to small glass jars, glasses, or ramekins. Cover and chill until set, at least 3 hours.
- Just before serving, garnish the watermelon puddings with whipped cream and pistachios.
Watermelon chia parfait
Ingredients:
- 1 cup watermelon juice
- ¼ cup watermelon chunks
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
- 1 tsp sugar, optional
- 2 tsp + 1 or 2 more of whipped dairy free topping
Directions:
- Use a fork to scrape half of a watermelon into shards. Reserve the juice and use that for this and save the rest of the shards.
- Add the watermelon juice, shards, chia seeds, lime juice, sugar, and 2 tsp whipped dairy free topping into a bowl and mix well.
- Spoon into bowls and let chill for 2 hours or more.