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Chantilly cake decorated with fresh berries and mascarpone Chantilly cream.
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5 from 185 votes

Fluffy Chantilly Cake with Berries

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!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Calories: 834kcal

Ingredients

Vanilla Genoise Cake

  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 4 eggs room temperature
  • cup sugar
  • 1 ¾ tablespoon butter melted
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Cake Syrup

  • cup hot water
  • 3 tablespoons sugar

Mascarpone Chantilly Cream

  • 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
    Whipped eggs increasing in volume over time.
  • 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
    Cake flour and butter added to vanilla cake batter.
  • 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.
    Chantilly cake batter poured into a baking pan.
  • Cool: Remove all parchment paper and allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack.
    Soft and fluffy genoise sponge 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 ⅓ 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
    Soft vanilla cake sliced in layers.
  • Decorate: Frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate with more berries. Serve and enjoy!
    Chantilly cake decorated with fresh berries and mascarpone Chantilly cream.

Notes

Makes one 9-inch or two 6-inch Chantilly cakes (the photo shown is of one 6-inch cake).
I highly recommend using a kitchen scale and the metric measurements provided for the best results. Click on "Metric" under the ingredients list to access gram measurements.
  1. 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. 
  2. 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.
  3. Storage: Store decorated and filled Chantilly cake in the fridge for up to 2 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 834kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 63g | Saturated Fat: 39g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 246mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 2324IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 1mg