Berry Chantilly Cake

with blueberries, blackberries, and a mixed berry preserve

A berries and cream cake will probably always be my favorite type of cake, besides a princess cake, of course. When I was working on this recipe, I was inspired by the one we make at Midsummer in Sweden, which is classically a strawberry cake filled with vanilla custard. This one is pretty different and more similar to the berry chantilly cake you can get at Whole Foods, but a few of the main elements are the same–a light, moist sponge filled with some type of whipped cream and covered with berries. It’s the ideal summer cake imo!!

The one thing that can be tricky about cream cakes is that decorating with only whipped cream can lead to a grainy look, since it gets overworked pretty easily. That’s why the cream for chantilly cakes is so much easier to work with and holds up better–it’s stabilized with a combination of cream cheese, mascarpone, and in this case, a little butter.

In this recipe, I also decided to stud the cake layers with blueberries before baking, then top them with mixed berry preserves and a milk soak for extra moisture when assembling the cake. It’s such a delicious and fairly simple cake, and I can’t wait to hear what you think if you make it!!

If you decide to cover the cake in berries as I did, you’ll need a little patience–they stay on pretty well, but you may have to press a few back on as you go.

Tips

• You can make the stabilized cream ahead and store it in the fridge until ready to use. It may separate slightly as it sits, so just transfer it to a bowl and rewhip briefly before using.

• Make the cake layers the day before. Let them cool completely in the pans, then wrap each pan in plastic wrap and leave on the counter until ready to assemble.