Melon and fruit tower

Carve the watermelon (1) base. Cut off the two ends off the watermelon at the point where they curve most acutely, so you’re left with the thick middle band. Cut this in half so you have two equal-sized circles. Stand one of them on one of its flat sides and use a serrated knife to carefully remove the rind, without losing the circular shape. Do this bit by bit – better to be tentative than trim too much, or it could end up very angular.

With the other circle, use a small bowl to cut around – or go freehand – to create a smaller circle. This will be your top tier.

For the middle tier, take your cantaloupe (1) and cut it in the same way as you cut the watermelon at first, but this time you only need the very middle section of the melon (one tier instead of two). Carefully remove the rind again and scrape the seeds from the middle.

Now the hardest work is done! Stack your three melon circles: the largest watermelon circle at the bottom, then the cantaloupe circle and finally the small watermelon circle.

Decorate using mango (1 pack), kiwi (as needed), grapes (as needed), raspberries (as needed), blueberries (as needed), mint (as needed), flowers (as needed), or any other fruit your child loves. Canned pineapple rings make a fun trim for the outside, and blackberries make a very grand crown for the top. You could also take the melon remnants or some fresh pineapple and use cutters to form shapes, letters or numbers. Avoid anything that browns quickly: banana, apple and pear are no-gos. (All age suitability recommendations and recipes are only guides, please alter as appropriate to suit your baby’s weaning journey)