Berry chantilly cake
 The cake is composed of yellow sponge layers with berries and sweetened whipped cream. | |
| Type | Cake |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | South |
Chantilly cake is a layer cake filled with berries and chantilly cream (a type of sweetened whipped cream).[1] It is popular in the Southern United States.[1]
One well-known version of berry Chantilly cake was designed by baker Chaya Conrad while working at a Whole Foods in New Orleans in 2002[2] or 2005.[3][4] Her original inspiration was a recipe from her grandmother.[2] Over the years, and while working for different bakeries, Conrad has changed the recipe many times.[3] At Whole Foods, she used a yellow cake, and at the bakery she opened later, she uses a white cake.[2] She includes mascarpone cheese in the whipped cream.[3] The cake has been described as a cult favorite.[2] In 2024, Whole Foods attempted to standardize the cake across all of its stores.[2] The standardized design used berries on top of the cake and jam between the layers at all stores, and resulted in complaints from customers who were accustomed to fresh berries in the filling.[2] According to Conrad, the varying prices, seasonal availability, and perishability of the berries can make the original cake design complicated to manage from a business perspective.[2]
Probably the best known Berry Chantilly cake which brought it into the public eye was a little known bakery in 1988 called "Sweet Lady Jane's" located in West Hollywood, CA. This small establishment by Jane Lockhart on Melrose Avenue was the "go-to" location for Hollywood types to pick up the cake and many other original favorites for Hollywood's elite beginning in the late 1980's thru the 2000's and now. Jane's signature of the Berry Chantilly (triple berry cake) featured the usual topping of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc., on top of the whipped cream cake, but added panache with ivy. Salutations were usually written in Gold icing. This could have very well been the inspiration of so many others that came after.
A 19th-century variation used a cake made with rice flour, filled it with jam and custard instead of fresh berries, and topped it with chantilly cream.[5] This version was also called trifle cake, after trifle.[5]
See also
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References
[edit]- ^ a b Maloney, Ann (March 27, 2018). "How to make Whole Foods' Berry Chantilly Cake at home: See recipe, steps, tips and more". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Whole Foods Tried to Change This Cake Recipe. Customers Lost It".
- ^ a b c Massov, Olga. (18 September 2023). The making of a berry big hit. The Washington Post,
- ^ "We Figured Out How to Make the Famous Chantilly Cake". Taste of Home. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ a b Boermans, Mary-Anne (2013-11-07). Great British Bakes: Forgotten treasures for modern bakers. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4481-5501-9.
