Watermelon Cheesecake Dessert

Slicing open a lovely fresh watermelon is very much a family event in our home. Everyone gathers around, plates at the ready as we chop huge, delicious slices for everyone — the kids’ laughter flowing almost as quickly as the sweet watermelon juice.

This gorgeous Watermelon Cheesecake Dessert is out just in time for International Watermelon Day on August 3. It’s the perfect way to incorporate fresh watermelon juice in a very eye-catching dessert.

Watermelon Dessert Recipe

Crumb Base
200 g (7.05 ounces) plain cookies
100 g (3.53 ounces) butter or margarine
a few drops of green gel food coloring

200 g (7.05 ounces) plain cookies
100 g (3.53 ounces) or 1/2 cup butter or margarine
a few drops of red gel food coloring

Use a rolling pin to crush the biscuits (cookies) into fine crumbs. If you have a food processor you can use that instead.
Melt the margarine in the microwave or on the stove top then pour in the biscuit crumbs and the food co louring. Stir really well to incorporate the co lour.

Pour the red crumbs into a loose based cake tin, mine is 21cm (8.27 inches) in diameter and use the back of a spoon to squash it flats. Make a space around the edge for the green.

Take a small handful of green and squeeze it together to make it stick together, squash it and then press it onto the side of the tin.

Cheesecake

10 g (0.35 ounces) or 2/3 Tbsp powdered gelatin
25 millilitres (0.85 fluid ounces) or 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp room temperature water
250 g (8.82 ounces) block or 1 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup or 73 g (2.57 ounces) sugar
1/4 cup or 63 millilitres (2.13 fluid ounces) milk (4% fat)
1/4 cup or 63 millilitres (2.13 fluid ounces) (35% fat) cream

Add the gelatin to the water and stir well, then set aside to allow it to absorb the water.
Whip the cream to make soft peaks then set that aside.

Beat the cream cheese with electric mixers until it is smooth, then add in the sugar. Pour in the milk.
Heat the gelatin in the microwave until it is melted. Pour it into the cream cheese mixture and beat quickly.
Fold in the whipped cream.

Place 1 cup of this mixture into a bowl and co lour it red. Spread this over the red crumb base to seal it.
Add a bowl upside down in the center and pipe your white cheesecake mixture around the edge. Place that in the fridge to set.

Watermelon Jelly

345 g (12.17 ounces) fresh seedless watermelon (to make 375 millilitres (12.68 fluid ounces) or 1 1/2 cups of juice)
1 packet strawberry jello / jelly
45 millilitres (1.52 fluid ounces) or 3 Tbsp water
Tip the jelly crystals into the water and stir well.
Place the watermelon into a blender and blitz to make juice.

Strain through a fine sieve to get rid of any seeds and the coarse bit of the pulp so that you end up with a smooth clear jelly.
Heat the jelly mixture in the microwave until the sugar and gelatin are melted. Add to the watermelon juice and mix well, then allow to cool. Take the cheesecake out of the fridge and remove the bowl from the center. Pour the watermelon jelly mixture into the middle. Use the back of a spoon to pop any bubbles then place it in the fridge to set.

Watermelon seeds

100 g (3.53 ounces) compound dark chocolate
Melt the chocolate and pipe seeds onto non-stick baking paper.

Remove the desert from the tin, add the seeds and slice to serve.