This recipe for berry chantilly cake is a light and yellow cake with plenty of fresh berries and a unique fluffy whipped cream frosting. The perfect cake for a celebration!
When I’m looking to impress, I turn to dessert recipes such as pink cake, Nutella cake, red velvet brownies, black forest cupcakes and this beautiful and delicious chantilly cake.
Easter is almost upon us and I can’t think of a better way to usher in the holiday than this berry chantilly cake recipe. Each year I host Easter at my house and my girls are already so excited! Of course their favorite part is hunting for Easter eggs but I enjoy spending time with the family and of course creating a fabulous holiday meal.
I always make an Easter ham with a variety of side dishes and a showstopping dessert like mini egg cookies or a layer cake. One of my favorite Easter desserts is this chantilly cake which is a copy cat of a Whole Foods recipe. This cake has four layers of yellow cake, plenty of fresh berries and the fluffiest frosting I’ve ever had that literally melts in your mouth. Once you taste it, you’ll never want to buy a cake at a bakery again!
Table of Contents
Berry Chantilly Cake Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need butter, granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, kosher salt, baking powder, all purpose flour, buttermilk, raspberry jam, water, heavy whipping cream, mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, powdered sugar, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and fresh mint sprigs.
How Do You Make Berry Chantilly Cake?
Start by preheating the oven, and soaking cake baking strips in water. Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, then pour in the vanilla extract. Mix together the dry ingredients of flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, then mix. Next, add half the buttermilk to the mixer, and combine. Repeat the process with the rest of the dry ingredients and buttermilk. Divide the vanilla cake batter into two pans, wrap the baking strips around the pans, then bake. Let the cakes cool for a bit, then invert them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cakes are cooling, prepare the berry syrup. Mix together raspberry jam and water, then microwave for a few seconds until the jam melts. Strain the jam mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. Next, prepare the frosting. Beat the heavy cream and vanilla extract with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a separate bowl. Add butter to the mixer bowl, and beat until smooth. Place the mascarpone cheese, cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl with the butter, then beat until smooth.
To assemble the cake, trim the cakes so that they are completely flat. Cut each cake in half so you end up with four layers. Spread a little frosting onto a cake stand, and attach the first layer of cake onto the stand. Brush some of the berry syrup over the cake layer. Pipe a layer of frosting onto the cake, then arrange some of the berries on top of the cake layer. Repeat the process with more cake layers, syrup, frosting and berries. Coat the entire cake in a thin layer of frosting as a crumb coat, then chill the cake. Add a final layer of frosting. Decorate the cake with more berries and fresh mint, then cut into slices and serve.
Tips For The Perfect Cake
- Baking at a low temperature and using baking strips will help to prevent the cakes from doming so you will be able to cut two even layers from each cake.
- Overmixing the batter can cause the cake to have a tough texture. To create a light airy cake, only mix until just combined.
- Weigh your cake pans before adding the batter, then weigh again once the batter has been added to ensure each pan contains the same amount of batter.
- I highly recommend using cake baking strips for this recipe. These strips wrap around the sides of the cake pans, and help the layers bake up flat. You can find cake baking strips online or at craft stores.
Quick Tip
Chantilly cake will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Let the cake sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Berry chantilly cake contains sugar, butter, flour, buttermilk, fresh berries, raspberry jam, eggs, egg yolks, baking powder and vanilla extract. The frosting contains heavy cream, butter, mascarpone cheese and cream cheese.
Chantilly cake is a delicious option because it’s the perfect blend of flavors and textures. The whipped cream frosting pairs perfectly with the berries, and the cake is light and fluffy, which makes this a dessert that doesn’t weigh on you after a big meal.
This recipe is called berry chantilly cake because the frosting is based off of chantilly cream, which is a type of whipped cream that is sweetened and flavored with vanilla.
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So tell me, what’s on your Easter menu this year? I’m still working on finalizing my menu but one thing’s for sure, I’m excited to make this berry chantilly cake again to share with my family and friends.
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Berry Chantilly Cake
Ingredients
For the cake layers
- cooking spray
- 1⅓ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1⅓ cups buttermilk
For the berry syrup
- ½ cup raspberry jam
- 3 tablespoons water
For the frosting
- 1⅔ cups heavy cream
- 1 ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1⅔ cups mascarpone cheese room temperature
- 1⅔ cups cream cheese room temperature
- ⅓ cup butter room temperature
- 4⅛ cups powdered sugar sifted
For the filling and decoration
- ¾ cup strawberries
- ¾ cup blueberries
- ¾ cup blackberries
- ¾ cup raspberries
- fresh mint sprigs
Instructions
For the cake layers
- Preheat the oven to 325º F. Coat two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper cut into rounds and line the sides with parchment paper cut into strips.
- Soak two cake baking strips in water.
- Place the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat for about 2-3 minutes until combined.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and beating after each addition.
- Add the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
- Stir together the salt, baking powder, and flour in a large bowl. Pour half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Add half of buttermilk, then add the remainder of the flour mixture followed by the remainder of the buttermilk. Do not over mix.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the pans.
- Squeeze out the excess water from the baking strips and secure around the pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and place the pans on a wire rack. Remove the baking strips and allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes. Then, turn the cakes out on the cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, wrap the cakes and store at room temperature if assembling the following day. If you are assembling the cake on the same day, freeze them for 30 minutes.
For the berry syrup
- Combine the raspberry jam and water; heat in the microwave for 20 second increments or until melted.
- Press through a sieve to remove seeds.
For the frosting
- With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream and vanilla extract until stiff peaks just start to form. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl. Keep a close eye on the cream once it starts to thicken to prevent over whipping it. If the cream is over whipped it will become grainy. If this happens, stir in some unwhipped cream until smooth.
- Put the butter into the mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add the mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, and powdered sugar and beat until very smooth.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately or chill until you are ready to use it.
For the filling, decoration and assembly
- Set aside a few strawberries for decoration. Hull the remainder and cut them in half or into quarters if they are quite large.
- To create four even cake layers, first trim the tops off the cakes with a cake leveler or large serrated knife so that they are 1½ inch thick. Next, cut each cake in half so that you have four ¾ inch layers.
- Spread a little frosting onto your serving plate or cake stand and attach the first cake layer onto it.
- Brush the berry syrup over the cake layer.
- Fit a piping bag with a large round tip, and half fill with frosting. Pipe a layer of frosting onto the cake (approximately 1 1/3 cups). If you don’t have a piping bag, spread a ¼ inch layer of frosting onto the layer with an offset spatula.
- Arrange a mixture of the berries (approximately 2/3 cup) over the frosting layer.
- Place the second cake layer on top. Brush the second layer with syrup and repeat the process from the first layer of adding the frosting and berries.
- Add the third layer of cake, brush with syrup, spread with frosting and arrange more berries on top.
- Place the final layer on top and crumb coat the whole cake by covering it in a very thin layer of frosting. Chill for 15 minutes.
- Spread the remaining frosting over the cake with an offset spatula. To create a swirl finish, place the cake on a turntable and hold the offset spatula against the side of the cake. Turn the cake continuously as you slowly run the knife up the side of the cake. Repeat on the top starting in the middle and work out towards the edges.
- Arrange the remaining berries and mint sprigs on top of the cake. The cake can be refrigerated for one day. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Baking at a low temperature and using baking strips will help to prevent the cakes from doming so you will be able to cut two even layers from each cake.
- Overmixing the batter can cause the cake to have a tough texture. To create a light airy cake, only mix until just combined.
- Weigh your cake pans before adding the batter, then weigh again once the batter has been added to ensure each pan contains the same amount of batter.
Made this for a coworker who was retiring. The office loved it so much. I didn’t do the jam but it still turned out great. I also used a cup less of powdered sugar in the frosting, almost could have even used less as with the cake, everything was so sweet. Will probably used more fruit next time as well as that cut down on the sweetness too. But still so delicious.
Hi. I followed this recipe exactly but no way can I get four layers. I used two pans and each only yielded about a 1 inch cake! Any idea what I did wrong? I just double checked the recipe and I got all ingredients, including the baking powder.
It sounds like you did everything properly, the layers are not supposed to be super thick. I use one of these cake cutters to make life easier when I cut my layers: https://www.amazon.com/Leveler-Different-Stainless-Adjustable-Dishwasher/dp/B07C7PM77V/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=cake+cutting+wire&qid=1564323739&s=home-garden&sr=1-9
Would like to make these into cupcakes for a bridal shower, how do you recommend I do the filling.
Should I should skip the filling and maybe put berries on the bottom of the liners before putting the batter?
I’ve never tried to bake the berries into the cake, so I’m not sure how that would work out. You could use the round end of a piping tip to cut a piece out of the top of the baked cupcakes, and fill the hole with berries. Or else just pile fresh berries on top!
i made this cake exactly as written for the 4th of July. It was more dense than Whole foods cake but My family LOVED it. Out of the 3 cakes i made this was the first one to be eaten. I will definitely make it again.
Have you ever froze this cake for a few days? I’m curious how the mascarpone cream cheese frosting would do.
I wouldn’t recommend it because the fresh berries will get watery when thawed.
The icing is only cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, mascarpone and almond flavor. Use the paddle to fully soften the cream cheese and mascarpone. Then scrape sides of bowl add heavy cream and almond whisk on low until mixture thicken then mix on medium until perfered thickness.
I made this for a birthday dinner and it was really a hit!
What about cupcakes? Will this recipe translate well or are there variations to it?
You could try making cupcakes I just don’t exactly know how you’d do the filled layers with berries and jam like the cake version. Unless you stuffed the cupcakes with filling?
Hello! Do you think I could use gluten free flour in this recipe instead of regular flour?
I’ve never tried it with gluten free flour, that being said I wouldn’t forsee there being any major issues with using it.
Thank you for your quick response! I’m excited to try it out!
This cake tastes the very same as Whole Foods if you use almond flavoring. My cakes didn’t rise and were more like pound cake which was disappointing. Everyone said they liked it though!
Yes the frosting is suppose to have almond extract instead of vanilla and cake should be a chiffon
I’m making this right now.I plan on using it for a small 2 tier wedding cake,so hoping it turns out well,this is the experimental one.
Just made this for the Fourth of July, and it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I’m going to make this cake for the 4th and I live in Utah so I’m at a high elevation. Is there any changes I should make to the recipe because of this? Can’t wait to make it, it looks AMAZING!
I’ve never tried this at a higher altitude, so unfortunately I can’t exactly tell you what to change! Here’s a general guide for making conversions for high altitude baking – http://dish.allrecipes.com/high-altitude-cake-baking/
Holy cow, this cake is AMAZING. I am not even exaggerating. I made it for Easter this past week, and everyone raved about it, even my very picky father-in-law and nephew. The cake itself is delicious, but the icing. Oh, the icing. It’s divine. Bottom line, this cake takes a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it.
Review is for icing only (I prefer a white cake recipe for the cake). I went with almond extract because I know that is what Whole Foods uses….otherwise I followed the recipe to a T. The taste was wonderful, but the icing was more like a rich whipped cream in texture. It never firmed up enough to spread and adhere to the cake; it was more like a large dollop of cream that slid around. Reminiscent of topping on a strawberry short cake. It wa delicious, but not something that would display or hold together well.
Can you bake this cake in a 9 x13 inch rectangular pan and only cut 2 layers? Then only have to fill inside layer?
I think that would work fine although I’ve never personally tried it!
Sounds and looks like a tasty cake! Frosting sounds rich and all of the berries would give a nice freshness
Wow that looks amazing! I love cake full stop but this is so pretty too! Love the idea of adding berries, it always makes me think it;’s a little healthier!
I love this cake, it’s simple and it’s easy to make. Also, because I love adding berries to cakes and other desserts! Thanks for the lovely recipe, it looks so good!
What a lovely looking cake! I love the plain white frosting and all those berries made this cake deliciously perfect! I will save and download the recipe. This would be a nice Welcome Home treat for my cousin who will be coming home next week after living abroad for 16 years.