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This fluffy Chantilly cake is made with fresh berries and layers of soft vanilla sponge cake. To finish, it’s frosted with a light and airy mascarpone whipped cream and decorated with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries!
This Chantilly cake is the best dessert combining soft, layers of Genoise sponge cake, fluffy mascarpone Chantilly cream, and fresh berries!
I always serve this berry Chantilly cake during the summer when berries are at their peak. But it’s also a fantastic cake to serve all year round, especially during special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The base of Chantilly cake should always be a sponge cake. For this recipe, I used my Genoise recipe which requires a bain-marie but you can also use my Easy Sponge Cake recipe if you’d like.
What is Chantilly Cake?
Chantilly cake is a delicate sponge cake filled with berries and frosted with fluffy Chantilly cream, which is another name for whipped cream. Berry Chantilly cake was invented in New Orleans by baker Chaya Conrad while working at Whole Foods.
Ingredients
- Eggs – Start with room temperature eggs for a fluffy, light cake.
- Cake flour – Cake flour contains less protein than regular flour which helps produce a light, delicate cake.
- Sugar – Use white, granulated sugar. I don’t recommend other sweeteners for this recipe.
- Vanilla – Use good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Butter – Butter makes the cake moist and gives it a rich flavor.
Step by Step Photos
- Bain-marie: In a large heat-proof bowl, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Place this bowl inside a large bowl that’s been filled with hot water.
- Next, beat on high speed until the eggs become foamy and increase in volume.
- The final stage should be the ribbon stage, where the beaten eggs flow down the whisk like a ribbon and keep their shape for 3 to 4 seconds. The color should be pale yellow and the volume should be at least 3 times the initial amount.
- Sift the flour in three parts, gently folding after each time.
- Add the melted butter to the batter. Note: To help incorporate the butter, mix about three heaping tablespoons of the batter with the melted butter.
- Gently fold the butter mixture with the batter, being careful not to deflate it.
- Pour the sponge cake batter into a cake pan lined with parchment paper and bake.
Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack and remove all the parchment paper. Slice into layers only when the cake has completely cooled.
Frost the vanilla sponge with the Chantilly cream and layer with your berries. Decorate and serve. Enjoy!
Berry Chantilly cake can be served right after decorating, or you can store it in the fridge to set up. I recommend serving this the day of or within two days for the best results. Enjoy and happy baking!
Chantilly Cake Tips
- A proper Chantilly cake uses a sponge cake base. Use a bain-marie for best results, otherwise use this recipe for Easy Sponge Cake which doesn’t require a bain-maire.
- When whipping eggs with sugar, it’s essential to completely dissolve the sugar. The final result should be about 3 times the volume of its initial stage and achieve a ribbon stage where the mixture keeps its shape for 3 to 4 seconds when drizzling off the whisk.
- Cake syrup – To keep the cake moist and delicate, brush the cake syrup on each cake layer. This technique is used by many commercial bakeries and pastry chefs, including in my own family.
- When adding butter, it’s very easy to deflate the batter. Make sure the melted butter and batter are still warm. Cold temperatures will solidify the butter and deflate the batter. Fold very gently at this stage until just combined.
- For the Chantilly cream, add the heavy whipping cream in parts to help achieve a fluffy, voluminous frosting.
- Thoroughly dry the berries before decorating with it. It will keep it fresh for longer.
- If using more than 3 layers, I highly recommend using cake dowels for extra support.
More cake recipes:
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Light and Fluffy Chiffon Cake
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Bakery Swiss Roll Cake Recipe
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Easy Sponge Cake
Fluffy Chantilly Cake with Berries
Equipment
Ingredients
Vanilla Genoise Cake
- 1 cup cake flour
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 ¾ tablespoon butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cake Syrup
- ⅓ cup hot water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
Mascarpone Chantilly Cream
- 2½ cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1⅓ cup powdered sugar, adjust to taste
- 12 oz mascarpone cheese, cold
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Berry Topping and Filling
- 2 ½ cups berries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with parchment paper.
- Whip Eggs: In a large heat-proof bowl, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Place this bowl inside a larger bowl that's been filled with hot water (bain-marie). Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs on high speed until soft, fluffy, and pale yellow ribbons form, about 8 to 10 minutes. Replace the hot water halfway through as it cools down. See Note 1.⅔ cup sugar, 4 eggs, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add Flour: Sift in the flour in three parts, gently folding after each time.1 cup cake flour
- Add Butter: To help incorporate the butter, mix 3 heaping spoonfuls of the batter into the warmed, melted butter. Next, gently fold the butter mixture into the batter. See Note 2.1 ¾ tablespoon butter
- Bake: Pour the batter into your cake pan and bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For one 9-inch round pan, about 25 minutes. For two 6-inch round pans, about 18 minutes.
- Cool: Remove all parchment paper and allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack.
For the Mascarpone Chantilly Cream:
- Using a whisk attachment, beat the mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar together until fluffy and combined. Next, add 1/3 of the heavy whipping cream and mix on low. Once combined, add the remaining heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed until light and fluffy.2½ cups heavy whipping cream, 1⅓ cup powdered sugar, 12 oz mascarpone cheese, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Assemble:
- Cake syrup: Make cake syrup by dissolving the sugar in hot water. Set aside.3 tablespoons sugar, ⅓ cup hot water
- Fill: Slice the cake into even layers using a leveler. Working with the bottom layer, brush on a layer of cake syrup then add a thin layer of frosting. Top with berries and apply another thin layer of frosting on top. Add the next layer of cake and repeat the previous steps for the cake syrup, frosting, and berries. Note: Aim to use up all the cake syrup as this adds moistness to the sponge layers.2 ½ cups berries
- Decorate: Frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate with more berries. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Whipping eggs: It is essential the egg mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar is completely dissolved for this step, thus requiring a bain-marie. See step-by-step photos in the post for the proper ribbon stage. If you’re looking for a sponge cake that doesn’t require a bain-marie, try my Easy Sponge Cake recipe.
- When adding butter, it’s very easy to deflate the batter. Make sure the melted butter and batter are still warm. Cold temperatures will solidify the butter and deflate the batter. Fold very gently at this stage until just combined.
- Storage: Store decorated and filled Chantilly cake in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
There’s actually no difference. Chantilly cream is another name for sweetened whipped cream.
It’s made of rounds of delicate sponge cake filled and decorated with Chantilly cream and fresh berries.
This beautiful cake is a treasure of a recipe – I would rate it 10 stars if I could. One of the reasons I love this blog, is you can tell how thoroughly these recipes are tested, and they work every single time. This cake is no exception – be sure to follow the recipe and weigh your ingredients, and you will be as thrilled as I am! The Mascarpone Chantilly Cream is just divine – I might make double next time, as I can eat it by the spoonful!
what a delicious and elegant fluffy cake with chantilly. easy to make even for novoice like me!
This was perfect! The recipe was surprisingly easy to make, and while mine wasn’t quite as pretty as these pictures… it was still SUPER pretty! I served it for family and they instantly devoured it. Guess that means I will be making it again soon!
The perfect cake for our family birthday party. That cake syrup is a winner – I was surprised by the difference it made!
It’s Summer here, so I used beautiful fresh fruit to decorate – cherries, blueberries and mango slices. I didn’t have a leveler, but will be investing in one for the next time I make this cake, which I am assuming will be very soon, judging by the clean plates all round!
Merry Christmas to you!
I loved the easy to follow instructions to make the delicious chantilly cake! It came out perfectly. And the addition of mascarpone in the whipped cream gave it great contrast to the sweetness.
Such a lovely recipe! I would like to make a 3 layer 6″ cake. If I split the batter into three pans, how long should I bake it? Thank you!
This is the perfect cake for a celebration – I love Jamie’s recipes as they work every time. I am not the most confident baker, but her thoughtful instructions and process shots made this quite simple. I followed the recipe exactly and decorated my cake with the last of the blackberries and blueberries which I have grown in my backyard.
As fall is on the way, I am looking forward to my next baking project being your pumpkin layer cakes.
Thanks as always.
This cake is the perfect dessert if you are looking for a fancy dessert for those special occasions. The mascarpone chantilly cream is the perfect addition.
AMAZING! I normally don’t make cakes like this (I like sheet cakes!) but this was just perfect. The marscarpone cream is fantastic and so creamy and rich! So, so tasty, thanks!
If i want to make this into a sheet cake, can I follow the 3x measurements?
what size eggs do I use?