Chantilly Cake

A quintessential spring dessert. The BSM Test Kitchen Chantilly cake recipe uses our organic Sonora 00 flour for a delicious chiffon cake that is full of fresh berries, and coated in a light and creamy mascarpone whipped cream.  

 Download a printable version of the recipe here.

Chantilly Cake

Yield: 2 8-inch cakes, about 16-20 servings 

Ingredients:

Chiffon sponge:

120g BSM Sonora 00 flour

150g cane sugar (divided)

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp fine sea salt

¼ tsp cream of tartar

4 large eggs (separated, room temp)

50g grapeseed oil

85g whole milk (room temp)

2 small lemons (zested, reserve juice)

6g vanilla extract or extract of preference

Crème Chantilly:

360g heavy whipping cream

100g confectioner’s sugar

3g fine sea salt

113g (4oz) mascarpone cheese or cream cheese (softened)

6g vanilla extract

Fruit filling:

4oz raspberries

4oz blueberries

4oz strawberries (quartered)

25g cane sugar

juice of two small lemons (reserved from above)

Method:

Preheat an oven to 325°F.

Separate the eggs. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, add the egg whites and cream of tartar.

Divide 50g of the total sugar weight. Mix the zest with the remaining 100g of sugar and set aside. Whip the egg whites at high speed while adding the 50g of sugar a little at a time. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Scrape the whipped egg whites into a separate bowl and set aside.

Combine the remaining 100g of sugar/zest mixture, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Combine the yolks, grapeseed oil, and vanilla extract. Measure out the milk in a separate container, and heat it in the microwave for 30 sec to bring to room temperature if necessary.

Add the yolk and oil mixture to the stand-up mixer, and whisk on medium high until emulsified, about 2 min. Add the dry mixture half at a time, followed by half the milk, and whisk on low speed. Repeat with the remaining half of dry ingredients and milk. Whisk on low, scraping the sides of the bowl until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, and gently fold about a cup’s worth of the reserved whipped egg whites into the batter. Repeat this process until the whites are fully incorporated into the batter. Be sure to fold gently, but enough so the batter no longer shows lines running through it. Be sure to also not over fold, which will deflate the batter!

Pour the batter equally into two ungreased 8-inch cake pans, about 300g each. Tap the cake pans to release any large air bubbles before putting the pans into the oven. Bake for about 30 min or until the tops feel firm. Do not use a cake tester as this can deflate the cakes a little!

 **Do not grease or line the cake pans, as this type of sponge cake needs to stick to the sides of the pan in order to rise properly. The cakes will release once cooled if you run a knife around the edges.

Quickly remove from the oven, and reverse the pans onto a cooling rack. It is important to do this quickly to keep the cake sponges from sinking. Allow the cakes to cool completely before running a knife around the edges to remove from the pans.

Chantilly:

Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, and set aside. Whip the mascarpone on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and continue to whip on medium-high until the sugar is incorporated. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and whip until it just forms stiff peaks.

Fruit filling:

Combine the berries together in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and reserved lemon juice. Fold to incorporate and set aside until the berries are macerated.

Assembly:

Slightly trim the tops of the cake sponge so they are flat and level on top.  Spread about a cup of the Chantilly on the bottom cake layer, making a slight well shape with the edges higher to help contain the fruit filling. Add half the fruit mixture to the cake. Add another cup of Chantilly on top of the fruit filling, then place the second cake layer on top. Frost the cake with the remaining Chantilly, and add the remaining fruit filling on top. Get creative and pipe around the edge of the top cake layer for a decorative look as well as to contain the fruit filling.

Store this cake in the fridge until ready to serve. Store any leftovers back in the fridge for up to one week. This cake does not freeze well as the cream will separate, and the berries will cause the cake to become soggy.