Fresh Berry Chantilly Cake
Layers of lemon-scented vanilla sponge cake, mascarpone whipped cream and fresh berries make this Chantilly cake a dreamy, showstopping dessert.
What is Chantilly cake?
Chantilly cake is a delicious cake consisting of layers of sponge cake sandwiched with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Ingredients needed
- Flour. I used cake flour but all purpose flour can also be used.
- Caster sugar.
- Baking powder.
- Greek yogurt. Adding yogurt to cake batter results in an incredibly light, moist sponge.
- Eggs. Extra-large eggs.
- Oil. I used canola oil but you could also use melted coconut oil. The oil results in a really soft sponge.
- Vanilla extract.
- Lemon zest.
- Salt.
- Cream. Heavy whipping cream.
- Mascarpone cheese.
- Icing sugar / Powdered sugar.
- Fresh berries. You could also add jam (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry) in between the layers.
How to make Chantilly cake
- Lemon-scented vanilla sponge cake: Grease and line three 20cm/7.8inch cake pans with baking paper and preheat the oven. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the yogurt, sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and lemon zest together in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients then mix until combined and smooth. Divide the batter between the three prepared pans. Place in the oven and allow to bake for 25-30 minute or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Make the Mascarpone whipped cream: Whip together the cream and icing sugar in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) until soft peaks form. Always start whipping cream at low speed as this allows smaller air bubbles to form which are less likely to collapse and deflate. Add the softened, room temperature Mascarpone and whip until stiff peaks form. It’s important for the mascarpone to be soft and at room temp otherwise it might not incorporate into the cream smoothly. The icing/powdered sugar along with the Mascarpone stabilizes the cream, allowing it to keep its shape for longer.
- Assemble and decorate the cake: Layer the cooled cakes with the sweetened whipped cream and berries. I used raspberries, sliced strawberries and blueberries in the layers and added fresh cherries to the top. Blackberries and gooseberries can also be used.
Can I make this cake in advance?
The cake layers can be baked up to 24 hours in advance. Wrap the cooled cakes well to avoid them drying out. The layers can also be frozen for up to 3 months. The assembled cake is best eaten immediately but to test its longevity I left it in the fridge for a day and it was still absolutely delicious. On cool days you could perhaps leave it at room temperature but I would still advise refrigerating a Chantilly cake to keep the cream and fruit fresh.
FAQ
Chantilly cake consists of layers of vanilla or lemon-scented sponge cake, whipped cream and fresh berries.
Chantilly cream is sweetened and flavored with vanilla whereas fresh cream is unsweetened and most often not whipped.
The baked cake layers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months. I wouldn’t recommend freezing slices of the assembled cake as the berries will change texture and become soggy once thawed.
Cake recipes
- Easy dulce de leche chocolate cake
- Sour cream lemon cake
- Lemon yoghurt cake with white chocolate frosting
Fresh berry Chantilly cake
Ingredients
for the cake layers
- 3 cups cake/all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups plain Greek yoghurt
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1½ cups caster sugar
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
for the mascarpone whipped cream
- 250 ml whipping/heavy cream
- 1 cup icing sugar/powdered sugar sifted
- 1 cup mascarpone room temperature and softened
Berries
- 3 cups fresh berries of your choice
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F and grease and line three 20cm/7.8inch diameter cake pans with parchment paper.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning out onto a wire rack. Make sure the layers are completely cool before assembling the cake.
- To make the mascarpone whipped cream, whip the cold cream with the icing/powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Add the softened mascarpone and whip to stiff peaks.
- Whipped cream tip: Whipping cream on a slow speed will ensure the air bubbles forming are small and more stable. Often when cream is whipped at a high speed the cream will deflate sooner because the larger air bubbles collapse quicker.
- To assemble the cake, sandwich the cake layers together with the whipped cream and add berries.
- Serve immediately.
Hi, how do you keep the cake layers from not sliding and falling over when cutting into it?
Thanks!
It can be a bit of a struggle but I use a sharp knife and a cake server. I also find if the cake stands for a bit before serving the layers are more secure.
For some reasons, my cake barely rose and ended up very dense and almost rubbery; don’t know what I did wrong — I usually have great baking luck!
That’s very strange. The yogurt and oil should result in a soft, moist cake. Could it be that your baking powder is expired? Rubbery or tough cakes can also be the result of over-mixing but if you usually have good results baking I don’t imagine that could be the issue.
Very easy to make and tastes delicious! It was an absolute hit for friends…
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂