This berry chantilly cake recipe is made with moist vanilla cake, fresh fruit, and layered with a luscious chantilly cream frosting made of lightly sweetened whipped cream and mascarpone filling. This cake is not too sweet and is the perfect refreshing dessert for weddings, birthdays, bridal showers, or any special occasion that needs a dessert everyone will love.
The first time I tasted a berry chantilly cake, it was from Whole Foods Market which has actually trademarked the name "berry chantilly cake" because of it's popularity. I can see why. After my first bite, I was hooked. The layer cake is so light. The chantilly cream is not too sweet and the seasonal berries are so delicious! I had to try recreating it at home.
What's in this blog post
- Chantilly cake ingredients
- What is a Chantilly cake?
- Chantilly cake instructions
- Berry filling instructions
- Chantilly frosting instructions
- Cake Assembly
- FAQ
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5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Chantilly cake ingredients
- Cake Flour - This is the best option for the most delicate and delicious cake crumb. You can make your own cake flour using all purpose flour and cornstarch but the texture will be a bit more like cornbread. You can find cake flour in most grocery stores.
- Cream Cheese - Make sure this is cut into small cubes and either microwaved for 15 minutes to soften it or left out room temperature while you bake your cake layers. Cold cream cheese is very hard to make into frosting without having lumps.
- Mascarpone cheese - Similar to cream cheese but less tangy. Slightly sweet and incredibly creamy. This will make the texture of your Chantilly cream extra extra creamy.
- Heavy whipping cream - This is the basis for your Chantilly cream. Sometimes referred to as double cream or whipping cream. Half and half will not whip up due to its low fat content.
- Berries - You'll need some berries for the berry filling as well as for adding in between the layers and the top of the cake.
What is a Chantilly cake?
Sweetened whipped cream frosting is sometimes referred to as “Chantilly cream,” which came from its place of origination, Hameau de Chantilly (English translation: “hamlet of Chantilly” or settlement within the town of Chantilly). This was thought to originate around the 1800s.
Chantilly frosting is just heavy whipping cream that has been sweetened and vanilla extract added but my version I also add in mascarpone cheese and cream cheese frosting for texture and flavor which is very similar to the Whole Foods berry chantilly cake recipe.
So I guess my Berry Chantilly Cake version is a cross between a classic Chantilly cake and a Gentilly cake because I like the fluffy vanilla cake with berries but prefer the cream cheese/mascarpone frosting over basic whipped cream.
But this is where it gets weird.
On our last trip to Hawaii, we made a stop at the famous Ted's Bakery and had a slice of their famous Chantilly cake. Guess what the flavor was? Chocolate cake frosted with a rich kind of frosting that was similar to coconut pecan frosting but without the coconuts and pecans. So Chantilly cake can also be Chocolate cake depending on who you ask.
Chantilly cake instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350º F and prepare two 8"cake pans with cake goop or your preferred form of pan release.
- Measure out all your ingredients and make sure they are room temperature or even slightly warm. This allows them to mix together properly.
- Pour 4oz of the milk into a separate measuring cup and add in the oil. Set it aside.
- Add the eggs and vanilla to the remaining milk, whisk together to combine and set it aside.
- Place the dry ingredients (cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment attached.
- While mixing on low, add in the softened unsalted butter in small pieces to the flour mixture.
- Continue mixing until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Add the oil/milk mixture to the sandy mixture and increase the speed to medium (speed 3 on a kitchenaid, speed 2 on a bosch).
- Mix on medium speed for two full minutes. Don't worry, this won't overmix your batter. It's an important step to developing the cakes delicate and tender crumb.
- Reduce the mixer to low again and slowly pour in the milk/egg mixture. Keep mixing on low until everything is combined.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between your cake pans.
- Bake the cake layers in the oven for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out from the center cleanly.
- While the cakes are baking, prepare your berry filling.
- Place the cakes on a cooling rack.
- After the cakes have cooled for about 20 minutes or the pans are cool enough to touch, flip the cakes over and remove the cakes from the pans onto the wire rack to cool. Place the cake layers into the freezer for about an hour before frosting.
Berry filling instructions
- Place the berries and sugar into a saucepan on medium heat.
- Cook for 5 minutes or until the berries start to break down.
- Combine the cornstarch and water together and add it to the hot berry mixture.
- Add in the lemon juice.
- Stir constantly until the mixture has thickened.
- Remove the berry filling from the heat, transfer it to a heat proof container, and place it into the fridge to cool down.
Chantilly frosting instructions
- Place the softened butter into the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Add in the softened cream cheese and mix on medium speed until smooth.
- Add in the mascarpone cheese and mix until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar to the mixture and mix until smooth. Set the mixture aside.
- Place the heavy whipping cream into a separate bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment attached.
- Whip on medium speed until firm but soft peaks form. They should hold their shape when you lift the whisk out of the bowl.
- Add in the vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined.
- Fold the whipped cream carefully into the mascarpone mixture with a spatula until smooth. Do not overmix.
Cake Assembly
- Trim the domes off your cooled vanilla cake layers to make them flat and if desired, you can trim off the brown edges and bottom of the cake as well.
- Place your first cake layer onto your cake board and spread a thin layer of raspberry or berry jam on top.
- Now spread a nice thick layer of your chantilly frosting and layer in some fresh berries. I don't slice them so that they don't drip into my frosting unless the strawberries are really big then I slice them in half.
- Repeat process with the other layers of cake, frosting and berries.
- Finish frosting the cake with the rest of the mascarpone frosting and top with more fresh berries.
FAQ
Sometimes a Chantilly cake is referred to as a Gentilly cake. The main difference between a Gentilly cake and a Chantilly is the Gentilly cake typically has buttermilk rather than regular milk in the cake recipe. The frosting usually contains cream cheese and mascarpone frosting.
If you would like to use a buttermilk based cake rather than my vanilla cake, check out my white velvet buttermilk cake recipe.
The history of Chantilly cream is actually pretty interesting if you want to read more about the inventor but I won't bore you with all that here. I fully understand not everyone is a freakish food nerd like I am.
Because this berry Chantilly cake contains fresh fruits and whipped cream, it must be kept refrigerated. The whipped cream is stabilized by the cream cheese so it the frosting is stable for 1-2 days with no problems.
Berry Chantilly cake can be brought to room temperature before eating (1-2 hours) with no problems and actually tastes better when a little warm.
I know this might sound crazy but don't keep this cake in the sun. It will melt.
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
Select an option below to calculate how much batter or frosting you need. Adjust the servings slider on the recipe card to change the amounts the recipe makes.
Choose a pan type
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Cupcake Tin Size
Choose number of pans
Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
Select an option below to calculate how much batter or frosting you need. Adjust the servings slider on the recipe card to change the amounts the recipe makes.
Choose a pan type
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Cupcake Tin Size
Choose number of pans
Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Round Piping Tip and Piping Bag
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake Recipe
- 13 oz bleached cake flour
- 13 oz granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz butter unsalted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 10 oz whole milk room temperature
- 3 oz vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature
Chantilly Cream Ingredients
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 8 oz unsalted butter softened
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese softened
- 22 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 16 oz heavy whipping cream
Berry Cake Filling
- 2 cups fresh or frozen berries
- 2.5 oz sugar
- 1 oz water
- 1 oz cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
Decoration
- 2 cups fresh berries for decoration
Instructions
Vanilla Cake Instructions
- Note: It's VERY important that your cold ingredients are at room temperature or slightly warmed. See video for tips. Heat oven to 350º F/177º C.
- Place 4oz of the milk and oil in a separate bowl or cup and set aside
- Combine remaining milk, vanilla extract, almond extract and room temp eggs in a separate measuring cup and set aside
- Measure out dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and place them into the stand mixer bowl.
- Attach the paddle to the mixer, and turn on the slowest speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers). Slowly add chunks of your softened butter until it is all added. Let mix until batter resembles coarse sand.
- Add milk/oil mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed (speed 4 on my KitchenAid) and mix for 2 full minutes. Do not skip this step or your cake will not rise.
- Add in ⅓ of your milk/egg mixture. Repeat 2 more times until batter is just combined. Don't forget to scrape your bowl.
- Divide your cake batter into your cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes from the center of the cake cleanly.
- Prepare your berry filling while the cakes are baking.
- Remove the cake pan from the oven and "tap" it lightly on the counter once to remove air from the cake and keep it from shrinking un-evenly.
- Place cakes on a cooling rack and let them cool for about 20 minutes. Then flip them out onto a cooling rack.
- Place the cakes in the freezer for one hour to cool down before decorating.
Chantilly Cream Instructions
- Cream together the softened butter, cream cheese and mascarpone cheese together until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and continue creaming until combined
- Whip the whipped cream to soft peaks. Add in the vanilla and almond extract. Peaks should be firm but not curdled. This happens quickly so watch your cream closely!
- Fold your cream cheese mixture and whipped cream together to make your frosting.
Berry Cake Filling
- Place the berries in a medium saucepan with the sugar and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
- Combine the cornstarch with the cold water to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the bubbling berries. Add in the lemon juice.
- Cook a few minutes until the mixture is thick (1-2 minutes). Remove the berries from the heat.
- Cool berry filling before using.
Video
Notes
Cake flour sources: UK - Shipton Mills Cake & Pastry Flour
Pa says
Hi do we need to use bleached cake flour or can we use regular cake flour?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Bleached is best if you can find it in your area 🙂 It has the lowest protein content which results in the softest cake
Kat says
Hi! I want to try out this cake recipe and it calls for almond extract however I can't seem to find where I'm supposed to add in the almond extract in the recipe. If you could help with this, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Almond goes in with the vanilla, it's usually found in the spice aisle with all the other extracts 🙂
Leslie says
I'd like to make a small cake, one layer. can you just cut everything in half?
The Sugar Geek Show says
You sure can 🙂
Riley says
Hello,
I love the Whole Foods Berry Chantilly Cake, so I was thrilled to see a recipe for it! Simply based on taste, it seems to me like the Whole Foods version has a hefty almond component perhaps in the cake, the frosting, or both. I also feel like the cake itself has been moistened or soaked in something (a form of diluted almond extract? maybe?) almost tres leches style.
I guess my question is, does this cake replicate both the prominent almond flavor and somewhat soaked texture of the WF cake? It might just be the Chantilly cream layers that give it that super moist texture. Also, do you have any idea where that almond flavor is coming from? I notice that you include some almond extract in your frosting, but how forwards is the almond in this Chantilly frosting? Would subbing in some almond flour or soaking the cake in maybe a condensed milk/almond extract mixture be a viable option?
Thank you so much!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I got this recipe from someone who worked at Whole Foods so I feel pretty confident about the taste 🙂 The almond flavor is in the frosting and the cake. As far as moisture goes, its most likely from the filling which is very moist.
Abigail G. says
I’ve made this cake 3 times using Cup4Cup gluten free flour and it’s outstanding! Love love love this cake. Minor changes to the process, I don’t tap the cake In the pan after I take it out of the oven, it fell.
The taste of this cake is amazing, the frosting is so delicious, it’s hard to resist having a spoonful while frosting the cake.
Thank you so so much Liz for sharing your work!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
That makes sense to omit that step with the gluten free flour since there wouldn't be as much structure developed. I'm so glad this recipe is working for you 🙂
Guadalupe Quaranta says
Hi Liz! Big fan of your desserts, thank you for sharing your skills! I made this recipe and the lemon blueberry cake as well, but I feel my cakes were a little dry after being two days in the fridge.
Can I make a light syrup and soak it a little bit in my cakes to prevent dryness? Thanks in advance!!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
The fridge is always going to dry out your cake. The cake is best served at room temperature so that the cake tastes fresher. Just like cold butter tastes dry and crumbly, soft (room temperature) butter tastes better. So you should slice your cake and let it sit at room temperature until its soft again before eating it. Syrup will not make a dry/cold cake taste any moister
Nikia Shahid Ullah says
I want to make berry chantilly cake and your recipe is interesting thank you and I never tried berry chantilly cake
Kate Lajeras says
Hello I haven't tried this recipe, But I love Berry Chantilly Cake from Wholefoods they are the best, It is so moist, how can I make this cake moist using your recipe would like to try this recipe so bad. Do I add or removes some recipe please help thank you
The Sugar Geek Show says
perhaps try the recipe to see if it's moist enough for you before asking how to make it more moist 🙂
Skyler Wright says
What can I do to convert this to a chocolate, berry Chantilly cake?
Thanks in advance!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would replace the white cake with chocolate cake 🙂
Vicki says
Can this cake be covered in fondant? Or will the filling cause bulging?
Elizabeth Marek says
I would not cover this frosting in fondant, I think it would melt the fondant
Susan says
Hi Liz! I want to try this recipe but cannot find bleached cake flour, can I sub with beached all purpose flour instead?
Elizabeth Marek says
Most cake flour is bleached so if you can find cake flour, that is what you should use. All-purpose flour cannot be used in place of cake flour for this recipe but you can replace the cake recipe with my white cake recipe which uses All-purpose flour. https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/white-cake-recipe/
Summer says
Hi Liz, thanks so much for this recipe. How can I adapt this recipe to make a 6” cake? In terms of amounts of ingredients and cooking time and temperature.
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can adjust the servings on the recipe card and it will adjust the ingredients for you. 🙂
Whitney says
Hi! Can I make the berry filling ahead of time and refrigerate for a few days then bring to room temp to apply to cake?
Elizabeth Marek says
I wouldn't make it more than 48 hours in advance, berries don't last very long.
Jess Cromwell says
Hi! I plan to make this but my brother is allergic to almonds if they are not cooked. As far as the extract in the frosting goes, could I replace it with the vanilla extract?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can leave out the almond extract and replace it with vanilla
Lauren says
Hi I am really interested in making this cake for Mother's Day but I only have 9in cake pans, how should I cook them then?
Elizabeth Marek says
You can bake the batter in 9" pans, the layers will just be a little thinner.
Susan says
Hi Liz,
This is a silly question but preciously you mention adjusting the serving size on the recipe card to adjust the ingredients. I would like to do that but am not sure where the recipe card is?
Elizabeth Marek says
the recipe card is at the bottom of the blog post, right above the comments
Shells says
I need your cake stand/turntable! So pretty!
jessica says
hello is this cake dense enough to make as a two tier cake 10 inch and 8 inch cake, with the proper support ? thank you
Elizabeth Marek says
I think it would be ok if supported well and chilled well
Ridona Carson (first name sounds like MaDonna’s name) says
I’ve never heard of these before. I love red velvet, am excited to make them. I have two questions? What makes the cake so red and velvety? I cannot seem to get the cake so red. I have tried extra food coloring but that of course just makes it more pink. I know I’m doing something wrong?
Why do some cakes taste like play dough. Yuck 🤢!!
Elizabeth Marek says
The red color comes from a little super red food coloring and cocoa powder which gives it the rich, dark red color. The velvet texture comes from the buttermilk
Kiki says
Your comment about using gelatin instead of instant pudding mix - 1 tsp of gelatin mixed in 1 tablespoon heavy cream, do we need need to mix the gelatin with water first? Thanks for clarifying!
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes, I dissolve the gelatin in 1 Tablespoon of water and then add 1/2 tsp of heavy cream to help it mix into the whipped cream easier.
Lindsay says
Hi, so this is going to be my first cake - I’m making it for my son’s 1st birthday. Side note, both my 1 and almost 3 year old are IVF babies too - fun times, but we made it!
Anyway, I am making the vanilla cake with the berry mascarpone filling, the stabilized whipped cream as the icing and I may attempt a chocolate drip. I want to start today - his birthday is tomorrow. WHAT CAN I PREP AHEAD OF TIME!? WHAT CAN GO IN THE FRIDGE AND FOR HOW LONG!?! I’m known in my fam for biting off more than I can chew (but I always get it done). We’re all together in the same house quarantining, so they’re going to watch the whole messy process. Help!
Elizabeth Marek says
You can do all of it today and serve it tomorrow 🙂 Use the freezer to chill the cakes, chill the crumb coat etc and speed things up. Here is a video on how to make your first cake as a guide. Also, congratulations!! I can relate to that long journey as well. My guy just turned 8 months old <3 https://sugargeekshow.com/news/how-to-make-a-cake/
Hannah says
Excited to make this cake! Could I use pastry flour in place of the bleached cake flour to a similar effect?
Elizabeth Marek says
It might not be quite as tender but should be ok.
Daisy says
Hi Liz!
Once we mix in the oil and milk at speed 4, do we lower the speed to mix the rest of the wet ingredients? (Eggs, extracts, rest of milk)
Don't want to over mix and ruin the consistency and texture of the cake by leaving it at speed 4 if I'm not supposed to 🙂
Thanks so much!
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes, reduce the speed to low, more because it will make a mess if you don't haha
Vanessa says
Do you grease the pans for this cake?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yep, with cake goop https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/cake-goop-recipe/
Anna Starnes says
How far in advance can I make the berry filling??
Elizabeth Marek says
A few days unless you want to freeze it and defrost it again before you use it