Is this Sydney’s most sought-after cake? Black Star Pastry’s strawberry watermelon cake has become synonymous with the pastry shop itself. The visual appeal of the dessert means it’s made for social media snapping and sharing; while the cake itself is a fine, delicate thing – layered almond dacquoise, precision-cut watermelon slices, and a pretty-in-pink crown of strawberries, grapes and rose petals. And each tier is sandwiched together with rose scented cream. It tastes as good as it looks.
It’s important to use fresh fruit in this recipe, as the fruit slices remain uncooked and form an integral part of the cake’s structure. Black Star uses strawberries in their cake, which is what we have used here, but feel free to add a raspberry or a blueberry or two if those are your preferred fruits. Because of watermelon’s high water volume, it is also best to enjoy this cake the day of making.
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Ingredients
Method
For almond dacquoise, preheat oven to 200C. Process almonds in a food processor until finely ground, then combine in a bowl with icing sugar. Whisk egg whites in an electric mixer until soft peaks form (3-4 minutes), then gradually add caster sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form (1-2 minutes). Gently fold through almond mixture, spread on a 30cm x 40cm oven tray lined with baking paper and bake until golden (10-15 minutes). Set aside to cool on tray, then cut in half lengthways.
Arrange watermelon slices in a single layer on a wire rack. Sprinkle with 20ml rosewater, then scatter with 2 tbsp sugar. Stand to macerate (30 minutes), then pat dry with absorbent paper.
Meanwhile, for rose-scented cream, whisk cream and sugar in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, gradually add rosewater and whisk until stiff peaks form (do not over-whisk).
Spread one-third of rose cream evenly over one half of dacquoise, scatter with half the almond meal, then top with watermelon, trimming to fill any gaps. Scatter over remaining almond meal, spread over half remaining cream. Top with remaining dacquoise, spread over remaining cream and refrigerate until firm (1-2 hours).
Combine strawberries, remaining rosewater and remaining sugar in a bowl, toss to combine and set aside to macerate (15 minutes). Carefully arrange on top of cake, gently pushing into cream. Trim edges of cake, scatter over grapes, pistachios and petals, and serve.
Slivered pistachios and dried rose petals are available from David Jones food halls, select delicatessens and Pariya Food.
Notes
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