Munch: Watermelon Cake

A month or so ago, the cover of a ladies magazine (not sure which one...) showcased a beautiful watermelon cake. I checked it out in each check out line that I stood in...'okay, it's on it's side...they must have flattened the bottom, looks like it's a two-layer...'But, I never read the article or the recipe. 

Then, I forgot about it. Until Merideth at http://www.lifeat7000feet.com/ made watermelon cookies with her kids. I was reminded of the beautiful cake, and inspired to make it with my own kiddo, but knew that it was no longer being featured in any check out line. However, I tend to not follow recipes or rules very well anyway (especially when they involve creative effort), so we just set out to make it based on what I could remember. 

We started with a Red Velvet cake mix. Landon added chocolate sprinkles to the batter (to look like seeds), and we then baked it in two 9-inch pans. When they had cooled, we iced and stacked (red icing), then cut in half, and iced and stacked again (again with red icing). Next, I cut off a little bit of the rounded side to make a flat bottom for it to rest on, and turned it to look like a slice of watermelon. Finally we added green icing to the sides.

It certainly didn't turn out as pretty as the one in the picture (there are definite benefits to following recipes...and rules), but we had FUN

 making it, 

decorating it, 

and squeezing leftover icing into our mouths!
Yum!
Any great kid-friendly summer recipes? Please share!