Recreating the Strawberry Watermelon Cake from Black Star Pastry! 🍓★🍉

The Watermelon Cake from Black Star Pastry has been on my to-make list and I've procrastinated for the longest time because NGL, it's intimidating! So glad I finally found the courage to take a stab at it and it is surprisingly really manageable. The original creation is topped with strawberries, pistachios and dried rose petals. I omitted pistachios, might've skimped a little on the rose petals and somehow ended up with really sour strawberries. Nonetheless it was still such a yummy treat! 🍓 🍉 Makes x1 6" round and x1 4" square Almond Dacquoise: 4 egg whites 100 g sugar 120 g icing sugar 120 g ground almond ① Whip egg whites, add sugar and whip until stiff peaks ② Sift icing sugar and ground almond into meringue, fold to combine ③ Pipe batter onto lined baking sheet ④ Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 15 minutes or until golden brown Watermelon: Whole or half watermelon, sliced into thick slabs and cut out in the shape of your cake ring 2 tsp Rosewater 4 tbsp Sugar ① Slice watermelon into thick slabs (~1-2 cm thick) ② Use cake ring to cut out desired shape ③ Macerate watermelon with sugar and rosewater ④ Let rest for ~15 minutes. Pat dry with kitchen towel to remove excess moisture before assembly. Rosewater Stabilized Whipped Cream: 7g gelatine 1 tbsp water 1 tbsp rose water 400g cream 40g sugar ① In a small microwavable bowl: Add gelatine and water, mix to combine. ② Heat in microwave for about 30s until gelatine dissolves. ③ Add rose water, mix to combine. Set aside to cool slightly. ④ With a hand or stand mixer, whip cream. Add sugar and continue whipping. ⑤ Once ~soft-medium peaks, add gelatine mixture and whip until stiff peaks. Do not overwhip until grainy. Toppings: 1 punnet strawberries 1 tbsp dried rose petals Optional: Pistachios Optional: Glaze for strawberry