Chantilly Cake is a dreamy dessert with layers of moist vanilla cake topped with simple syrup, sweetened cream frosting, and fresh berries.
This is a classic Southern recipe. One of the secrets to its amazing flavor is brushing simple syrup over the cake layers. The sweet syrup seeps into each layer of cake, creating a more sweet and moist cake. Then top that amazing sweet cake off with Chantilly cream, fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. The fresh fruit against white cream makes the cake look as good as it tastes. It’s the perfect cake for a special occasion.
This Chantilly Berry Cake is a showstopping dessert perfect for holidays and other celebrations. For more delicious Cake Recipes, be sure to try our Strawberry Bundt Cake and Ultimate Jam Carrot Cake next.
Images: Step-by-Step How to Make
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Chantilly Cake Recipe
Making Berry Chantilly Cake is perfect for special occasions because while it looks impressive on your cake table, it’s not much harder to make than a classic Vanilla Cake. You’ll use a simple cake batter to make moist vanilla cake layers. But what sets this airy cake recipe apart is the unique frosting.
The combination of sweet chantilly cream, mascarpone, and cream cheese makes a wonderful, tangy, and sweet frosting with an unbelievably fluffy texture. The Chantilly frosting definitely sets this dessert apart. Then you’ll finish the cake with plenty of juicy berries for the perfect decoration and flavor addition.
Can I make Chantilly Cake ahead of time?
Because of the light cream frosting, your Chantilly Cream Cake won’t keep as well as other baked goods. But, if you want to make it a day in advance, you can carefully cover it in plastic wrap to store in the fridge. Just don’t try to make it more than a day or two in advance, or the Chantilly Cream can make the cake soggy.
Ingredients
- Butter: Before starting the recipe, bring the unsalted butter to room temperature. The softened butter creams perfectly with the granulated sugar to make a light, fluffy base for the cake batter. It makes the cake light with a moist crumb.
- Flour: To keep your cake from turning out dense, use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Cake flour is lighter and has less protein and gluten. This stops the cake from becoming too dense or chewy. Sift the 2 ¼ cups cake flour with the other dry ingredients for a light and airy flour mixture.
- Simple syrup: If you have ready-made simple syrup, you can use it for this recipe. However, it’s easy to make yourself by combining water and sugar and cooking them down into a reduced, syrupy mix.
- Cheese mixture: For the softened cream cheese frosting, you’ll use a combination of cream cheese and mascarpone. Adding mascarpone to the cream cheese makes a more mild, airy, and smooth frosting. Be sure to bring the cheese to room temperature before using it.
- Powdered sugar: To make the chantilly cream, you’ll combine the heavy cream with powdered sugar. This sweetened cream recipe uses more sugar than standard whipped cream. But you’ll still whip the two ingredients together the same as you would for classic whipped cream.
- Berry mixture: The fresh fruit is the perfect finishing touch for this delicious cake. You can use any kind of fruit you like, but traditionally you’ll want sliced strawberries, fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, and blackberries. Add the fresh berries between the cake layers and over the entire cake to finish the recipe with bright colors and a refreshing, sweet flavor.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Mixer: You’ll need a mixer for mixing the cake batter and chantilly cream frosting. A hand mixer can work if you don’t have a stand mixer.
- Cake Pans (8-inch): Two 8-inch cake pans are required for baking the cake layers. Grease and flour them well and let the cakes cool before removing them.
- Saucepan: Use a saucepan to make the simple syrup by cooking water and sugar until it becomes syrupy. Stir occasionally.
- Sifter or Sieve: A sifter or fine-mesh sieve helps evenly mix dry ingredients like cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Cake Stand or Platter: You’ll need a wide, sturdy stand or platter for assembling and presenting the Chantilly Cake. A rotating stand can make frosting easier.
How to Make Chantilly Cake
Time needed: 45 minutes.
- Prep time
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then grease two 8-inch cake pans with butter and dust flour over them.
- Vanilla Cake Batter
Sift the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt into a medium mixing bowl, and set the dry ingredients to the side. Then add the softened butter and 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar to your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer speed to medium to beat the butter mixture until it has a light and fluffy consistency. Then add in one egg at a time, leaving 15 seconds of mixing between before adding the next. Finish the wet ingredients by adding the vanilla extract. Then lower the electric mixer speed to the slowest setting. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the mixing bowl, mixing at low speed until combined.
- Baking time
Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Then bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the baked cakes cool before frosting.
- Simple Syrup
Add water and granulated sugar to a saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil. Then turn down the heat to medium-low, and keep the sugar mixture at a simmer for 18-20 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and let the simple syrup cool.
- Chantilly Cream Frosting
Add softened cream cheese, mascarpone, and 4 ½ cups powdered sugar to your stand mixer. Then use a whisk attachment to cream the mixture at medium speed for about 1 minute or until stiff peaks form. Remove the cream cheese mixture from the mixing bowl and set it to the side. Add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the stand mixer. Then beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Add the mascarpone cream back into the bowl and beat at medium speed for 1-2 minutes until the mascarpone frosting has the perfect texture.
- Frost Cake
Add a spoonful of the chantilly cream frosting to your cake stand or cake plate. Then use a serrated knife to level the cake layers, and discard any extra cake strips and crumbs. After leveling the cakes, brush the homemade simple syrup over both cake layers. Then add the first layer of cake to the cake stand. Add a cup of frosting to the center and use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly. Top the fluffy frosting with mixed berries. Then place the next cake layer over the berry filling. Use an offset spatula to add another layer of frosting and a layer of berries to the top. Then add the cake frosting to a piping bag. Pipe swirling mounds of chantilly cream frosting over the top of the finished cake. You can also layer additional berries over the decorative frosting. Keep the entire cake in the fridge until you’re ready to slice and serve.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
Storing
To keep your Chantilly Cake fresh, cover it with plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container. Refrigerate it for up to 3-4 days. The airtight seal prevents the cake from drying out and helps maintain its moisture and flavor.
Freezing
It’s not recommended that the cake recipe be frozen after you add the Chantilly frosting. But, if you make the vanilla cake in advance, you can carefully wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap followed by tin foil and place them in a freezer bag. Frozen cakes can stay good for up to 3 months.
Frequent Questions
Mascarpone is a soft Italian cream cheese. If you don’t have mascarpone to make the mascarpone frosting, the closest substitute that you could use is crème fraîche. They give the same fluffy consistency and lightly tangy flavor.
Although they have most of the same base ingredients, the key difference between Chantilly Cream and whipped cream is that chantilly cream is sweeter. It also frequently has added flavors such as vanilla. In this recipe, I’ve added vanilla as well as almond extract. Then, you’ll mix the chantilly cream with cream cheese and mascarpone frosting to make a fluffy, sweet, and tangy frosting similar to cream cheese frosting.
Yes, due to the Chantilly Cream frosting, this cake recipe needs to be refrigerated to stay fresh.
This cake recipe originated in New Orleans. It’s a traditional dessert recipe throughout the Southern US.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk , room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Simple Syrup:
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup sugar
Chantilly Cream Frosting:
- 24 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 12 ounces mascarpone , softened
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
Berry Mixture:
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries , chopped
- 1 cup blueberries , halved
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup blackberries
Instructions
Vanilla Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt then set aside.
- To your stand mixer add the butter and sugar and beat them together until light and fluffy on medium speed, 2-3 minutes, then add in the eggs one at a time 15 seconds apart along with the vanilla then lower the speed to low. Add the flour mixture and milk, alternating a little of each at a time.
- Pour into the cake pans evenly and baked for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cakes completely before frosting.
Simple Syrup:
- Add water and sugar to a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on medium-low heat.
- Let simmer for 18-20 minutes until thickened and reduced to a syrup.
- Let cool.
Chantilly Cream Frosting:
- Add the cream cheese, mascarpone and powdered sugar to your stand mixer at medium speed for 1 minutes until stiff peaks form. Remove from stand mixer and set aside.
- Add the heavy cream, the vanilla extract and the almond extract to the stand mixer and beat on high speed until soft peaks form.
- Add in the mascarpone mixture and beat on medium speed until creamy, 1-2 minutes.
To Finish:
- To your cake stand add a spoonful of chantilly cream frosting.
- Level the cakes with a large serrated knife and discard the cake pieces.
- Cut each layer of the cake into two pieces through the middle horizontally so you have four thin cake layers.
- Brush off excess crumbs.
- Brush the simple syrup onto the top of each cake layer.
- Add the first layer of the cake to the cake stand.
- Top with 1 cup of chantilly cream frosting, spread evenly.
- Top with a mixture of berries.
- Top with the second layer of cake, add 1 cup of frosting, spread. Add ½ cup of berries and top with the third and fourth layers.
- Brush with simple syrup.
- Frost the cake with half the remaining chantilly cream frosting.
- Pipe swirly mounds onto the top of the cake.
Notes
- Click on the “yield” amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- To convert measurements to grams, click on the “Metric” option next to “Ingredients” in the recipe card.
Nutrition
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Variations on Chantilly Cake
- Jam Filling: If you prefer, you can swap out the cream filling in the original recipe for a fruit jam filling. Spread Strawberry or raspberry jam over the first cake layer (you can also add the fresh berries over the top). Then add the next cake layer and a layer of the cream frosting to the rest of the cake as usual.
- Lemon Blueberry Chantilly Cake: Lemon and blueberry are a classic flavor combination perfect for the summer. To bring those flavors into this recipe, you can mix fresh lemon juice into the cake batter and the frosting. Then layer fresh blueberries over the cake frosting, and garnish the top with lemon zest curls.
- Berry Mix-ins: You could also mix berries into the cake batter. Using fresh or frozen berries gives a delicious addition of fruit flavor throughout the cake recipe.
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