Watermelon Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of premium flour + extra for work
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 packages of 400g dry strawberry sponge cake mix
• 6 large eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• Red food coloring to tint the dough
• 2 tubes of vanilla glaze (450g each)
• Green food coloring to tint the icing
• Green ribbons of marmalade or fruit candy, such as Rip Rolls, Fruit Roll-Ups, or Joray Fruit Rolls, cut into strips for cake decoration, if needed
• 1 round black or brown licorice candy
• Special equipment: 2 cake pans with a diameter of 20 cm and a 2-liter metal bowl (diameter 20 cm); parchment

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray two 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans and a 2-quart (2-liter) metal bowl with cooking spray and dust with flour, shaking off any excess. Line the bottoms of the cake pans with circles of parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon flour and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, remaining flour, and 2 cups of cold water. Beat on low speed to just combine the ingredients, then increase the speed to high and knead until the dough is very smooth, about 2 minutes.
4. Add red food coloring to give the dough a light to dark pink hue (15-20 drops). Fold in flour-coated chocolate chips. Pour half the batter into a bowl, and divide the remaining batter between two cake pans.
5. Bake all 3 cakes until those in the pans (not the bowl) are puffed and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
6. Transfer the pans to a wire rack, reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C), and continue baking the cake in the bowl until it rises and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, another 40-45 minutes. Cool the cake in the bowl on a wire rack, then stack all three cakes on top of each other and remove the parchment.
7. Using a serrated knife, trim the tops of all three cakes so they are flat and shake off any excess crumbs.
8. Transfer 1/4 cup heaping frosting to a small bowl and add enough red food coloring to roughly match the cut side of the cake layers. Place one thin cake layer, cut side up, on a cake plate.
9. Spread a very thin layer of red icing on top. This layer is only needed to adhere the layers together; it shouldn't be visible when cutting the cake. Place a second thin layer of cake, cut side down, on top. Spread another very thin layer of red icing. Place the dome-shaped cake on top.
10. Cover the entire cake with a 0.5 cm thick layer of white frosting to create the watermelon rind. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set.
11. Meanwhile, place the remaining icing in the bowl of a stand mixer and add green food coloring—about 15 drops to start—to create a pale green hue, a few shades lighter than your marshmallow. Beat with the paddle attachment.
12. Spread green frosting over the white layer, being careful not to let the two colors bleed. Decorate the cake with strips of green marshmallow, cutting as needed, starting from the center, like spokes on a wheel, to create watermelon stripes. Place a black or brown licorice candy on top. This will be the stem.