berry chantilly cake
Berry Chantilly Cake is one of the quintessential desserts for the warmer seasons. This single layer cake is a delicate treat that isn’t overwhelmingly sweet, thanks to a robust olive oil and butter cake base, lightly sweetened vanilla chantilly cream and fresh sugar-salted berries.
If you’re a lover of fresh fruit on cakes and whipped cream, this recipe is dedicated to you.
what is chantilly cake?
This recipe is an adaptation of southern style chantilly cake, which is traditionally a vanilla sponge cake frosted with crème chantilly, or sweetened whipped cream.
You’ve probably seen a variety of Berry Chantilly Cake recipes floating all over the internet by now, thanks to the popularity of Whole Food’s and Central Market’s versions. When I started a home baking business with my friend (hi, Rachel!) back in 2016, this was one of the first recipes we began developing. We both loved the Berry Chantilly Cake from Whole Foods, and were desperate to replicate it.
what you can expect from this recipe.
I’ve tested this recipe with both a butter based yellow cake and an egg-white based sponge cake. I find the butter cake soaks up the cream and syrups better, and is closer in taste and texture to what you would find at (keeping it real) a grocery store.
The yellow cake for this recipe is made with both butter and olive oil (the olive oil pairs well with the fresh fruit, adding a floral and slightly peppery undertone), and is made using the reverse-creaming method – a method that yields a soft, tender and fluffy cake reminiscent of boxed cake mix (but without all the artificial stuff).
The flavor is a bit more rustic compared to traditional yellow cakes. It also doesn’t call for vanilla extract (just a bit of honey for flavor). You can add vanilla extract if you’d like, however I promise you this yellow cake doesn’t actually need it. The richness of the eggs and yolk, along with the salted butter and olive oil (fats!) really do all the work, providing tons of flavor on their own.
The cake gets a soak of apricot syrup, which offers a different fruit flavor profile for an already berry heavy cake. You won’t find almond extract in this recipe – in my opinion, it distracts from the bright medley of fruity flavors this cake has to offer (okay, and maybe I’m just not a fan of almond flavor). However, this is your cake, so feel free to add a teaspoon or two of almond extract to your cake batter or frosting if you desire.
The berries that fill and top the cake are coated in cane sugar and salt, which really punches up the natural flavors of the berries. The cane sugar also adds a little bit of crunch and texture due to the large sugar granules.
lastly, the chantilly cream.
The chantilly cream for this recipe is composed of softened mascarpone cheese, a bit of cream cheese and heavy cream. It’s sweetened with confectioners’ sugar, and flavored with pure vanilla extract. It’s crucial for the cheeses to be at room temperature. The silkier the mascarpone cheese is, the better the ingredients will combine. Check the ingredients for a list of brands I enjoy.
tools you'll need:
- 8″ square or round cake pan
- Electric hand mixer
- Parchment paper
- Rubber spatula
- Small pallet knife
- 1 Large serrated knife
- 1 Pastry brush
let's talk ingredients
- Cake Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
- Salted Butter, Softened
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Whole Milk
- Vinegar can be white or apple cider, to be added to the whole milk
- Olive Oil may be subbed with a neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
- Honey
- Eggs and Yolk
- Sea salt or Kosher salt
- Apricot Preserves
- Heavy Cream
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Mascarpone Cheese Trader Joe’s, Vermont Cheese (pricey but the creamiest I’ve used by far) and Whole Foods brand mascarpone are my favorite to use for a chantilly cream base
- Cream Cheese
- Confectioners’ Sugar
- Blueberries, Raspberries and/or Blackberries
- Cane Sugar
step by step: the process
Prepare the Ingredients
To a large bowl, combine the cake flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and softened butter.
Combine the room temperature whole milk, eggs and egg yolk, olive oil and honey in a pitcher or glass measuring cup. Whisk the ingredients together well, breaking up the eggs and yolks.
Make the Cake Batter
Using an electric hand mixer, beat the dry ingredients and softened butter together on low speed until a sandy, crumbly texture has formed.
Pour in half of the wet mixture and increase the speed up to medium high for about 45 seconds to a minute, or until thickened and pale, like soft-serve ice cream.
Turn the mixer speed back to low, and add in the remaining liquid ingredients in three separate increments, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition. Give the bowl a good scrap and mix for another 15 seconds. Your batter will be smooth, creamy and completely homogenous.
Pour the batter into a prepared 8” cake pan lined with parchment. Tap the pan on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles (about 3-4 times). Take a palette knife, and run it through the batter, swirling back and forth from one end of the pan to the other to rid of any sneaky air bubbles. Bake at 335 F/ 170 C for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven.
Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. I typically wait until the pan has cooled significantly, though not completely, before removing the cake.
Prepare the Apricot Soak
To a small saucepan, add the water, sugar, pinch of salt and apricot jam. Heat on low until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the syrup into a glass jar to cool. As the syrup cools, it will thicken.
Soak the Cake
Move the cooled cake to your serving dish or platter of choice.
Using a large serrated knife, gently trim the top of the cooled cake. Exposing the crumb of the cake will allow the syrup to soak in easily.
Use a pastry brush or spoon to soak the cake with the apricot jam, repeating with as many layers as desired. Allow the cake to rest, and the syrup to soak in while preparing the berries and chantilly cream.
Prepare the Berries
Wash the berries, and set to dry completely on a large baking sheet between paper towels. Once dried, toss the berries in the cane sugar and sea salt until well coated. Place the berries into the fridge while preparing the chantilly cream.
Make the Chantilly Cream
To a large bowl, combine the softened mascarpone cheese and softened cream cheese. Beat together on medium high speed until smooth and creamy. Add in the confectioners’ sugar, and beat until the mixture is smooth, light and aerated, and reaches a spreadable consistency similar to whipped cream.
To a separate large bowl, add in the cold heavy cream, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Whip together on medium speed, gradually increasing to high speed as the mixture thickens. Stop whipping once stiff peaks have formed.
Add about ½ of the whipped cream to the whipped mascarpone and cream cheese mixture, and fold it in gently using a rubber spatula.
Rotate your bowl as your scrape your spatula around the sides, and then drag your spatula through the bottom of the mixture, dragging upward and repeating the process until thoroughly combined.
Folding Tip: When folding the chantilly cream, it’s important for the components to be similar in texture and consistency to combine properly. Be sure the mascarpone and cream cheese mixture has been whipped until very light and fluffy so that it’s not too dense to combine into the lighter whipped cream. Ensuring the cheeses are at room temperature before whipping will aid in this process.
Assemble the Cake
Spread the chantilly cream over the cake, pushing the cream all the way to the edges. Continue to pile the cream on, creating gentle swirls with your palette knife. The more swirly the cream, the more pockets the fruit will have to sit in.
Sprinkle the fruit over the cake, covering the entire surface to ensure every slice will have a healthy serving. Use your fingers to gently push the berries toward the corners.
Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle, and the frosting to become firm. When ready to serve, slice the cake into as many squares or rectangles as desired. Serve yourself, let your loved ones grab a piece (or not, it’s your cake) and enjoy.
Berry Chantilly Cake
Equipment
- 1 8" square or round cake pan
- 1 Electric Hand Mixer
- Parchment paper
- 1 Rubber Spatula
- 1 Small Pallet Knife
- 1 Large serrated knife
- 1 Pastry brush or spoon
Ingredients
Yellow Cake
- 190 grams cake flour
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 75 grams light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 113 grams salted butter softened
- 120 ml whole millk room temperature
- 45 grams olive oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 21 grams honey
Apricot Syrup Soak
- 50 grams apricot preserves
- 30 ml water
- 12 grams sugar (preferably cane, or granulated)
- 1 pinch of sea or kosher salt
Chantilly Cream
- 227 grams mascarpone cheese softened
- 60 grams cream cheese softened
- 30 grams confectioners' sugar
- 120 ml heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Sugar-Salted Berries
- 170 grams blackberries washed and dried
- 170 grams raspberries washed and dried
- 200 grams blueberries washed and dried
- 12 grams cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients
- To a large bowl, combine the cake flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and softened butter.
- Combine the room temperature whole milk, eggs and egg yolk, olive oil and honey in a pitcher or glass measuring cup. Whisk the ingredients together well.
Make the Cake
- Using an electric hand mixer, beat the dry ingredients and softened butter together on low speed until sandy and crumbly.
- Pour in half of the wet mixture in, and increase the speed up to medium high for about 45 seconds to a minute, or until thick and pale.
- Turn the mixer speed back to low, and add in the remaining liquid ingredients in three separate increments, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition.
- Pour the batter into a prepared 8” cake pan lined with parchment. Tap the pan on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles (about 3-4 times). Take a palette knife, and run it through the batter, swirling back and forth from one end of the pan to the other. Bake at 335 ℉/170 ℃ for 30-33 minutes, depending on your oven.
- The cake will spring back slightly in the center when ready.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then remove from the pan to cool completely.
Prepare the Apricot Soak
- To a small saucepan, add the water, sugar, pinch of salt and apricot jam. Heat on low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour the syrup into a glass jar to cool. As the syrup cools, it will thicken.
Soak the Cake
- Move the cooled cake to your serving dish or platter of choice.
- Using a large serrated knife, gently trim the top of the cake.
- Use a pastry brush or spoon to soak the cake with the apricot jam, repeating with as many layers as desired. Allow the cake to rest until all the syrup has soaked in.
Prepare the Berries
- Wash the berries, and set to dry completely on a large baking sheet between paper towels.
- Once dried, toss the berries in the cane sugar and sea salt until well coated. Place into the fridge until ready to use.
Make the Chantilly Cream
- To a large bowl, combine the softened mascarpone cheese and softened cream cheese. Beat together on medium high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the confectioners' sugar, and beat until the mixture is smooth, light and aerated, and reaches a spreadable consistency similar to whipped cream.
- To a separate large bowl, add in the cold heavy cream, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Whip together on medium speed, gradually increasing to high speed as the mixture thickens. Stop whipping once stiff peaks have formed.
- Add about ½ of the whipped cream to the whipped mascarpone and cream cheese mixture, and fold it in gently using a rubber spatula.
- Repeat with the remaining ½ until fully combined.
Assemble the Cake
- Spread the chantilly cream over the cake, pushing the cream all the way to the edges. Continue to pile the cream on, creating gentle swirls with your palette knife. The more swirly the cream, the more pockets the fruit will have to sit in.
- Sprinkle the fruit over the cake, covering the entire surface to ensure every slice will have a healthy serving. Use your fingers to gently push the berries toward the corners.
- Place the assembled cake into the fridge for 30 minutes.
- When ready to serve, slice the cake into as many squares or rectangles as desired and enjoy.