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Home » Recipes » Layer Cakes

How to Make Chantilly Cake with Fresh Strawberries

Published: May 8, 2023 by Marye

Chantilly cake is an easy vanilla cake recipe with cream cheese frosting and strawberries. It's the perfect dessert for Mother's Day or any spring celebration.
Total time for the recipe to be finished.Total Time 55 minutes minutes
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A slice of cake on a plate.
A cake with a slice removed showing the layers and filling.

Don't want to scroll through the page to get to the recipe? Use the table of contents to click on the section you want to go to.

Italian Cream Cake has a cream cheese frosting and filling plus fresh strawberries.
Table of Contents
  • ❤️ Why you'll love it
  • How to fold in egg whites
  • Assembly
  • 🥫 Storage
  • 📖 Variations
  • 💭 Things to know
  • 👩‍🍳 FAQs
  • 📚 Related recipes
  • 🍽️ Serve with...
  • 📞 The last word
  • 📖 Recipe
  • ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
  • 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love it

  • Easy decorating (you don't even need a piping bag!)
  • The perfect dessert to use up your fresh berries all summer long
  • Pretty enough for a special occasion, but easy enough to make for no occasion at all

This strawberry chantilly cake recipe is simple to make but tastes like you spent all day on it.

The layers of delicate vanilla cake are filled with sweet, fresh fruit and finished off with a rich cream cheese frosting. It's lick-the-plate good!

How to fold in egg whites

It isn't difficult to fold egg whites into a batter but you  have to be gentle. Put about a third of the egg whites on the batter and then gently pull the batter over the egg white.

Continue to do this until the first third is mixed in.

Now, do the same thing with the rest of the egg whites. This will help keep them from deflating and it will keep your cake lighter and higher. Just remember to be gentle!

Assembly

You will need to slice the berries so that they lie flat on the filling.

Spread the bottom layer with frosting. Lay the berries on evenly and then add the next layer. Repeat.

Collage showing how to assemble the cake.

Once you have the Italian cream cake layers put together poke a few straws or wooden skewers down through the layers to stabilize the cake while you frost it.

You will be taking these out before you serve the cake but it is a real help when you want to keep your cake from sliding around.

🥫 Storage

Cream cheese frosting and strawberries require refrigeration, so you'll have to store this delicious cake in the fridge. It'll last for about three days.

Once you've cut into your chantilly cake, you can portion the leftovers into airtight containers. Alternatively, press a piece of plastic against the exposed section of the cut cake to prevent it from drying out as quickly.

If you want to bake one day and assemble the next, I recommend covering each of your cake layers with plastic wrap and keeping them at room temperature. (It's only the frosting and fruit that require refrigeration, after all.)

📖 Variations

  • Feel free to use whatever fresh berries you prefer, or a combination! Sweet raspberries and juicy blueberries would also taste great.
  • If you're out of vanilla extract, the best substitute is vanilla bean paste.
  • Make it taste a little wedding cake-like by subbing almond extract for the vanilla. You could also use lemon to lean into the summer flavors.
  • The cream cheese frosting in this recipe is thick, creamy, and luscious—it stands up to flavorful berries very well. However, if you want something a little lighter, use stabilized, whipped cream cheese frosting or a classic chantilly frosting (also known as whipped cream frosting).
  • You can use 3, 8-inch cake pans if they're the only size you've got. However, they'll fill up a bit more, so watch bake time carefully.
  • Make chantilly cake cupcakes by portioning the batter between three standard (dozen-count) cupcake tins. Again, watch the bake time—start checking for doneness around 20 minutes.
  • If you like more zing, add a pinch of fresh lemon zest to the frosting.
  • Used up the last of your buttermilk in the cake batter? You can thin the frosting with heavy whipping cream, instead.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Use a gentle touch when adding egg whites to batter. It's best to plop about ⅓ of the egg whites on top of the batter. Then, carefully pull the batter up from the bottom of the bowl, moving around the whites. Keep going until it's all combined.

  • Pull all of the wet ingredients out of the fridge about an hour ahead of time so they can come to room temperature. This makes the cake lighter and prevents it from tasting gummy.
  • Eggs are easier to separate when they're cold, so do so straight out of the fridge. Then, let them warm up with the rest of the ingredients.
  • Before whipping egg whites, wipe the whisk attachment(s) and the bowl of a stand mixer with vinegar or lemon juice. Residual fat prevents the whites from whipping into stiff peaks.
  • Don't start adding the sugar to the egg whites until they have come to soft peaks. Otherwise, they can deflate. (Soft peaks will hold their shape, but just barely.)
  • Perfectly beaten egg whites cling to the beaters and the bowl. You should be able to turn it upside-down over someone's head without anything falling out—it's a fun test to do with your kids!
  • After adding the egg yolks, beat well! The consistency should resemble whipped cream. You really need to get a lot of air in it.
  • Cake flour and all-purpose flour have different amounts of protein, so I don't recommend swapping them. This chantilly cake needs AP.
  • For best results, use a rubber spatula to fold in the egg whites—not a stand or hand mixer.
  • Don't open the oven until you think the cakes are close to done. Letting out hot air can deflate the sponge before it has time to set.
  • Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or cake tester in the center of each cake. You should see no wet batter, but moist crumbs are okay.
  • Let the layers cool completely before assembling the chantilly cake. Otherwise, the cream cheese frosting will melt into a puddle!
  • This cake recipe is even better if you let it chill overnight. During that time, the berries get a little juicy and the filling soaks up their flavor.
  • Chantilly cake tastes best at room temperature—it's scientifically proven! (Well, almost. It is a well-tested theory, though!) Pull it out of the fridge an hour or so before you want to enjoy it.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

Can I use frozen berries instead of fresh?

I don't recommend it. They tend to get really mushy after thawing, and the presentation won't look as pretty, either. If you really want to use frozen berries, turn them into a yummy jam, instead! Strawberry and raspberry jams make a great cake-filling alternative.

Can I freeze chantilly cake?

No, the cream cheese frosting and strawberries won't thaw well. However, you can freeze the undecorated cake layers. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in another airtight container. Freeze for up to three months, thawing at room temperature.

Where does the name "chantilly" come from?

Fluffy chantilly cream is made with heavy cream and vanilla—it's basically a sweetened whipped cream. Whole Foods makes a popular berry chantilly cake, which is similar to this one. However, I like to use whipped cream cheese frosting—it's based on a family recipe we used to call "Italian cream cake" growing up!

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🍽️ Serve with...

  • Leftover strawberries? Here are 10 delicious ways to use 'em up.
  • Make it a berry party with mouthwatering Vodka Strawberry Lemonade!
  • Chantilly cake is a great ending to celebratory brunch, especially when it started with Tex-Mex Eggs Benedict. (A good idea for Mother's Day!)

📞 The last word

This chantilly cake recipe is three layers of moist, vanilla cake with plump, juicy strawberries and ultra-rich cream cheese buttercream in between. Then the whole thing is covered in the same buttercream. I grew up calling it Italian cream cake!

No time to bake? Try this amazing no bake strawberry angel food cake!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

A slice of cake on a plate.

Chantilly Cake with Strawberries (Italian Cream Cake)

4.56 from 61 votes
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Chantilly cake is an easy vanilla cake recipe with cream cheese frosting and strawberries. It's the perfect dessert for Mother's Day or any spring celebration.
Course Dessert - Cake
Cuisine Amercian Heritage
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Servings:12 servings
Calories:867
Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

Cake

  • 6 Eggs, separated, room temp
  • 2 cups Sugar, divided
  • 1 cup Butter
  • ½ teaspoon Salt, kosher salt was used, if you use regular salt cut the amount by ¼
  • 1 tablespoon Vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1 cup Buttermilk
  • 2 cups All purpose flour

Filling

  • 2 quarts Strawberries, washed, stemmed, and sliced

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • ¾ cup Butter, softened
  • 16 ounces Cream cheese, softened
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 ½ pounds Powdered sugar, you may need a little more
  • A little buttermilk to thin if needed

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 325F.
  • Grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans.
  • Separate eggs.
  • Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
  • Add ½ cup sugar gradually, beating until egg whites form stiff peaks.
  • Set egg whites aside.
  • Cream butter, remaining sugar (1 ½ cup), vanilla, and salt together.
  • Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each.
  • Beat until the mixture resembles whipped cream.
  • Stir baking soda into buttermilk.
  • Stir flour and baking powder together.
  • Add to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
  • Fold in the egg whites carefully. Fold in ⅓ of the whites to lighten the batter then fold in the rest.
  • Spoon the batter into the baking pans evenly.
  • Bake for 40 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and cool in pans for 5-10 minutes.
  • Turn out and cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Beat the cream cheese and the butter together.
  • Add the vanilla.
  • Add the powdered sugar until you have a creamy consistency.
  • Add a tablespoon of buttermilk if necessary to thin it down.

Assembly

  • Place one cooled layer on a cake plate.
  • Spread with cream cheese frosting.
  • Place a layer of sliced strawberries on the cream cheese and top with another cake layer.
  • Repeat.
  • Stabilize layers with straws or wood skewers and frost with remaining cream cheese frosting.
  • Place halved berries around the edge of cake and chill for three hours.
  • Bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

Storage:
Cream cheese frosting and strawberries require refrigeration, so you'll have to store this delicious cake in the fridge. It'll last for about three days.
Once you've cut into your chantilly cake, you can portion the leftovers into airtight containers. Alternatively, press a piece of plastic against the exposed section of the cut cake to prevent it from drying out as quickly.
If you want to bake one day and assemble the next, I recommend covering each of your cake layers with plastic wrap and keeping them at room temperature. (It's only the frosting and fruit that require refrigeration, after all.)
How to Fold In Egg Whites
  1. It isn't difficult to fold egg whites into a batter but you  have to be gentle.
  2. Put about a third of the egg whites on the batter and then gently pull the batter over the egg white.
  3. Continue to do this until the first third is mixed in.
  4. Now, do the same thing with the rest of the egg whites. This will help keep them from deflating and it will keep your cake lighter and higher.
Just remember to be gentle!
You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 867kcal | Carbohydrates: 121g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 496mg | Potassium: 384mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 99g | Vitamin A: 1387IU | Vitamin C: 93mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.

✍🏻 A note from Marye...

I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.

I don't know why but I associate strawberry desserts with Mother's Day. Maybe it is the white-pink-red theme that just looks feminine?

Maybe it is the fact that the berries come into season about the same time as Mother's Day hits?

girl licking the frosting bowl.
Can you believe she is almost 20 now?

I don't know. It is one of those things that I think about in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.

When I was growing up this recipe was always called Italian cream cake. It was lovingly pulled out from a pocket in the back of her Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, smoothed out carefully, and followed down the the last detail.

When I became an adult I ordered an Italian Cream Cake in a restaurant and image my surprise to find coconut!

After many arguments with many people I finally came to the conclusion that this must be a Chantilly Cake.

Call it what you want - just make it!

This chantilly cake recipe is... FABULOUS. Perfect for Mother's Day or any other celebration, including the fact that you got through the day without harming your teenager.

If you don't have a teenager that might sound appalling but if you do - well you certainly understand.

I've raised 8 teenagers. The fact that I can put two words together in a clearly written sentence is nothing short of miraculous.

First published 2011. Last updated May 8, 2023 for readability and editorial changes.

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About Marye

Meet Marye Audet, a wizard in the kitchen and a storyteller at heart. Marye is like your eccentric but fun aunt who knows all the secret recipes and isn't afraid to spill them.

Comments

    4.56 from 61 votes (60 ratings without comment)

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    Love it? Give it 5 stars!




  1. Cindy Lopez says

    January 01, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    I would like to make this for a large event 100. Can you tell me if I can make it into a few sheet cakes in layer it? Or a 9 x 13 panswould like to make this for a large event 100. Can you tell me if I can make it into a sheet cakes pans and layer it Or a 9 x 13 pans

    Reply
    • Marye says

      January 03, 2023 at 3:36 pm

      I haven't made it that way so I am not sure. I imagine you could make it in sheet cake pans - just watch the time.

      Reply
  2. Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says

    August 28, 2015 at 2:21 am

    This cake is ridiculous in its deliciousness.

    Reply
  3. allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says

    August 27, 2015 at 7:59 am

    5 stars
    Vinegar on the mixing bowl and whips, huh? Never would have guessed it in million years. Great tip Marye. I would do that and anything else you recommended to get a cake this gorgeous and beautiful There's something about strawberries and cream that is fabulous.

    Reply
    • Marye Audet says

      August 28, 2015 at 8:00 am

      Yes, the acid cuts any fat that might be lingering plus created a more acidic environment which makes the egg whites whip better. 🙂

      Reply
  4. heather @french press says

    January 28, 2015 at 11:00 am

    first, the cake looks absolutely delicious, but I also love your skewer trick for holding it still while you frost - that is genius!!

    Reply
  5. Heather | girlichef says

    January 28, 2015 at 10:40 am

    I feel the same about strawberries and Mother's Day...must be the season! This cake is so stunning, I love the layers.

    Reply
  6. fadwa says

    December 29, 2013 at 11:24 am

    Hi I have one question do I have to cover the cake before 'i put it into refrigerator

    Reply
    • Marye Audet says

      December 29, 2013 at 11:29 am

      yes. You can poke straws into it so that the wrap rests on the straws and not the cake but it should be covered. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Ken Topham says

    March 13, 2012 at 5:40 pm

    I made this last night for the office and brought it in today. WOW!!!!!!!! Even the non-sweet eaters ate it and went back for seconds!! It is amazing and a beautiful presentation as well.

    Reply
    • marye says

      March 13, 2012 at 10:53 pm

      Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  8. bellini says

    May 04, 2011 at 7:40 pm

    Happy Mothers Day Marye!!!! I think you have achieved Sainthood with 3 teens still at home:D

    Reply
    • marye says

      May 05, 2011 at 1:38 pm

      LOL! Sainthood? maybe not.

      Reply
  9. Katie @ This Chick Cooks says

    April 30, 2011 at 12:55 pm

    This looks like a perfect spring dessert. I know my mom would love to have a cake like this for mother's day! Thanks for sharing your recipe and have a great weekend.

    Reply
  10. Kim McCallie says

    April 29, 2011 at 1:25 pm

    Wow! This looks really delicious. It may be on my list of things to make soon. I love strawberry season! Thanks for linking up to A Well-Seasoned Life's Sweet Indulgences Sunday! Kim

    Reply
  11. Regina says

    April 28, 2011 at 7:14 pm

    Yummilisious!!
    That's my new word and the only one I could come up with to describe this cake..I thin I must give Jessa a heads up on this one for Mother's Day!! 🙂

    Reply
    • marye says

      April 28, 2011 at 7:31 pm

      You should.. I have seen her work and this is certainly in her comfort zone. It was really really REALLY good..until I checked the carbs/calories.... :/

      Reply
Marye Audet-White, founder of Restless Chipotle Media

Hey Y'all, I'm Marye

Welcome to my kitchen! ☕

NY Times bestselling author. 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Addicted to Hallmark Christmas Movies. Collector of old cookbooks.

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