Chantilly Cake
Hey guys! Happy Easter weekend!!
In the spirit of spring, I’ve got a Chantilly Cake for you guys today, filled with lots of beautiful berries, sweetened whipped cream, and a fluffy vanilla cake. It’s simple, beautiful, and really tasty.
You guys may have heard claims about the Whole Foods Chantilly Cake, or maybe you’re even one of the die-hard followers of this beauty. I have a confession- I’ve never actually had it. I know, if you love them you’ll be gasping right now.
So that being said, I can’t exactly promise that this cake is like that cake. But I CAN promise that this cake is super delicious. I mean, and what’s not to like?
Here’s the one thing you’ll want to be careful about here- Chantilly Cakes are frosted with whipped cream, and while I’ve added cream cheese to provide some stabilization, it’s still not the strongest standing cake ever, so be aware of that as you go. Gentle is key!
For the cakes, this is a classic vanilla cake, but we’re whipping up the egg whites and folding them to add a bit of that light, fluffiness that you’ll typically see in a cake like this.
By the way, Chantilly, as far as I’ve ever known, just means sweetened whipped cream. The addition of cream cheese here is optional, but HIGHLY recommended. Not only does it taste amazing, but it also adds a touch of stability and thickness to the whipped cream, and it really helps when it comes to stacking and frosting the cake.
I’m using strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries here, but you can use any berries you like. For the strawberries, I actually use most of them in a cooked-down, jammy, sauce thing that goes between the layers, and this also will work with any type of berry really really well, or even a mix of berries.
Alright guys, go make this cake for your friends, I think they will all truly be impressed by the homemade version, it’s a killer cake. Enjoy!
Chantilly Cake
Ingredients
For the cakes:
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 tbs. canola oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cups flour
- 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 4 egg whites
- 2 tbs. sugar
For the strawberry sauce:
- 3/4 pint of strawberries (this doesn't need to be exact)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbs. cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp. salt
For the Chantilly cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 8 ounces room temperature cream cheese
- 1 pint assorted berries
Instructions
For the cakes:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease three 6-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. This recipe also works with two 8-inch round pans.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, and sugar until fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract, sour cream, and egg yolks, and beat until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt, and beat until combined, then beat in the milk. The batter will be fairly thick.
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In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they just start to become fluffy, and then add in the remaining sugar VERY slowly as you continue to whip the egg whites. Beat until you reach stiff peaks.
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Stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lightly the base of the batter. Then fold in the remaining egg whites. This will take a bit of time, but keep folding until the whites are fully incorporated.
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Divide the batter evenly between your pans, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.
For the strawberry sauce:
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In a food processor or blender, blend the hulled strawberries until they are mostly mashed. Pour into a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat with the sugar, cornstarch, and salt, until the mixture is thick. Cool completely.
For the Chantilly cream:
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In a large bowl or stand mixer, using a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla together until stiff peaks form.
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In a separate small bowl, beat the cream cheese for several minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add the cream cheese to the beaten heavy cream mixture, and whip for several minutes to incorporate fully.
To assemble the cake:
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Once the cake layers have cooled completely, you can trim off the tops to make even layers. Using a piping bag filled with the Chantilly cream, make a thick ring around the edge of the first layer as a dam. Add about half of the strawberry sauce to the middle, and spread evenly. Cover the strawberry sauce with more cream, and spread evenly. Top with raspberries and blackberries.
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Repeat this process until all three layers are build. Then, use remaining Chantilly cream to frost the outside of the cake. Top with any remaining berries, and remaining strawberries. Keep this cake chilled until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Banana Cake
Hey guys! We’re on cake again, it’s a good ‘un. Like most banana recipes, this one came out of finding that I had some over-ripe, toasty-colored bananas sitting on my counter that needed some love.
Today I’m making a layer cake from a loaf pan cake, and it’s a revelation. I’m not going to completely take credit for this- I got the idea from a bakery in Denver called Sugar Bakeshop. I recently visited and it’s BEAUTIFUL, but also they have these amazing little loaf layer cakes on display. So here we are.
Here’s what I really love about doing a layer cake this way. One- the shape is unique, and it kind of makes the whole cake feel a bit fancier. Two- it’s small. Layer cakes often end up being this huge thing that you have tons of leftovers with, and it’s kind of a hassle all said and done. But you get everything you want out of a layer cake here, with only two layers to stack, one pan to bake in, and reasonable portions.
So, I love a good banana cake, and this is no exception. The cake bakes in a loaf pan, so it takes a bit longer to cook than normal cake layers. But, and this is a huge benefit, there’s only one cake pan to wash at the end of the day. Speaking of the pan, I’m using a loaf pan that has straight sides, but it’s not necessary. You may just need to compensate with frosting, and that’s REALLY not a problem.
We’re just slicing this bad boy in half for our layers.
Speaking of layers, we’re using a fluffy, peanut buttery buttercream here, and piling some roughly chopped peanuts in the middle as well for that added crunch and saltiness. This is an American buttercream, which means there’s a good deal of powdered sugar in it. However, we’re swapping out half of the butter for peanut butter, and adding a generous splash of heavy cream to fluff things up.
I love this recipe, I think you guys will too. And expect more loaf layer cakes from me, it’s THE BEST.
Peanut Butter Banana Cake
Ingredients
For the banana cake:
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup almond or oat flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 over-ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
For the peanut butter frosting:
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural here)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts
Instructions
For the banana cake:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan, preferably with straight sides. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until combined and fluffy. Add in the egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
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Add in the flour mixture and the buttermilk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture, and beat until completely incorporated. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
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Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, and then turn out onto plastic wrap. It's okay if the cake is still pretty warm. Wrap the cake tightly, and freeze for at least an hour before slicing and frosting.
For the peanut butter frosting:
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar and salt, scraping the bowl when needed. The mixture will be thick. Add in the heavy cream, and beat until fluffy.
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To build your cake, unwrap the frozen cake, and slice it in half with a sharp knife. On the bottom half, spread a generous portion of frosting, and sprinkle on the chopped peanuts. Top with the second half, and frost and decorate as desired. Enjoy!
Banana Bread
Hey guys! Today I’m jumping back into one of my favs- my Grandma’s Banana Bread recipe. You’ve seen me make a version of this before, Banana Crumb Cake, which you can also find in my book, Sugar High. This time around, we’re adding chopped pistachios and baking it up classic, in a loaf.
I’ve got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. I wanted to make this cake a little more moist. Don’t get me wrong, the original is a great recipe, and it’s a perfect coffee cake. But I wanted to make things a bit more cake-like for the loaf version. So I added some extra mashed banana to give it a little extra.
Okay and also, this is my new favorite trick ever guys. You know I bake a lot of loaf cakes, it’s kind of my current favorite. I really love a cake that stands on its own without the need for frosting, and I love the ease of loaf recipes. PLUS, I love that sugary, crisp top that you get on many of those cakes, including this one. I’ve seen a lot of info online recently about dusting your cake pans with things other than flour, including just using regular granulated sugar and guys. It’s everything.
Instead of just getting that sugary top, you can have it all over the edges of your loaf cake. It’s sheer perfection. So ya know, look out for me using this like, idk, all the time from here on out.
So anyways, sugary crust, we got it. I know the classic option for banana bread is walnuts, but I had some extra pistachios from this recipe last week, and it’s just a nice little twist. Honestly, throw any nuts you’ve got on hand in here, or even a handful of chocolate chips alongside ’em. You know what you like, you got this. But for the record, pistachios are a great choice.
Today we’re all snowed in, it’s been a pjs-all-day type of Saturday, and you can find me curled up on the couch with a slice of this pretty thing. Enjoy!
Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
- 6 tbs. softened butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbs. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas, over-ripe about 3 large bananas
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 3/4 cup roughly chopped pistachios
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and generously spray an 8 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle the bottom and all sides with granulated sugar, and shake out any excess. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and mashed banana and mix until combined.
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In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients into the wet in three additions, mixing well between each addition, and reserve about 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture. Toss the chopped pistachios in the reserved flour, and fold into the batter.
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Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a tooth-pick comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!
Pistachio Chocolate Layer Cake
Hey guys! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and that you’re lucky enough to have this President’s Day off work, just in time to make this cake!
It’s my mom’s birthday, and normally I do some kind of chocolate marshmallow situation for her, but this year I’m switching it up.
This cake is pure you guys. The ground pistachios give the cake texture and a wonderful flavor, and the fudgey chocolate frosting is too good to be true. Here’s what I know to be amazing about the cake; it’s super easy to whip up, and it actually bakes up without a dome on top- no need to trim before stacking!
We’re using the reverse creaming method for the batter today, which is not my norm, but I actually really love the results in this cake. Just be sure to beat for a few extra minutes at the end to reach a light, fluffy batter.
And so this frosting. I don’t normally like American buttercream, as most bakers these days seem to agree, but I think it actually works really well for chocolate.
By using dutch cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate, as well as a pinch of salt, you don’t end up with something so terribly sweet as a vanilla option. In this recipe, I’ve also added cream cheese for a little tang, and for a super silky beautiful texture.
I’ve garnished the cake with whole shelled pistachios, but you can also use ground pistachios or even some pretty sprinkles! But honestly, the frosting carries this cake to the finish line, don’t even garnish if you don’t feel like it.
Pistachio Chocolate Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups pistachios, shelled, and ground to a fine crumb
- 2 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 tbs. canola oil
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
For the frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 3 tbs. dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the cake:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the ground pistachios, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Beat in the softened butter until completely combined, several minutes. The mixture should be crumbly and slightly yellow in color from the butter.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Add the wet mixture into the dry in three parts, mixing well between each addition. Beat for several minutes after all the liquid has been added until the batter is well mixed, and slightly lighter in color.
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Spread evenly in your prepared pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from pans and frosting.
For the frosting:
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In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until combined. Add in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt, and beat until completely combined and smooth. Add in the melted chocolate, beating until combined. Then add in the heavy cream, and whip for several minutes until fluffy. Frost the cake as desired!
Valentine’s Day Chocolate Cake
Hey everyone! I know I’ve been making a lot of bundt cakes lately, sorry not sorry, but this one. This is the one you guys.
This isn’t just chocolate cake. It’s not even just chocolate chip cake. It’s chocolate cake, spotted with chocolate chips and crushed Oreos, and topped with chocolate sauce. And if that’s not giving you enough motivation to bake for v-day, I don’t know what will.
I’m using this pretty heart shaped bundt pan today, but you can use any bundt you’ve got, as long as it’s at least 10 cups. It’s gonna be just as fantastic, I promise.
Another note on baking in bundt pans- I used to spend a good amount of time greasing every little pocket with butter and then flour, and often even then they would stick some. But I recently switched to using Pam Baking Spray, and I love it! It’s easy and fast, and I haven’t an issue with a cake sticking since.
So anyways, this cake recipe has kind of a long ingredient list, but it’s all pretty normal stuff, and it all builds up a very strongly chocolate flavor that you’ll love. Of course, you can also skip the Oreos or chocolate chips if you want, but together, it’s a really indulgent combo that I think you’ll love.
Also though, you could add in chopped pecans or walnuts, or even chopped up chocolate chip cookies! Whatever you decide, this cake is best served up warm, when the chocolate chips are melty and the sauce is hot.
No matter what you’re doing for Valentine’s Day this year, this is the dessert you want to be eating, I promise. Enjoy!
Cookies & Cream Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 2 cups roughly crushed Oreos
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
For the chocolate sauce:
- 3 tbs. whole milk
- 1 tbs. butter
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 oz. chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
Instructions
For the cake:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sour cream, and sugar until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
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Add in about 1/3 of the flour mixture, and beat until combined. Then add in about 1/2 of the buttermilk, beating until combined. Repeat the process with the dry and wet until completely mixed in, reserving about 1-2 tablespoons of the dry mixture roughly.
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Slowly beat in the hot water, and beat until the batter is smooth. Toss the crushed Oreos and the chocolate chips in the reserved flour mixture to coat, and then fold into the batter.
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Pour into your prepared pan, and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a serving platter.
For the sauce:
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In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the milk, butter, salt, and vanilla until just boiling. Whisk in the chocolate until completely melted and smooth. Pour over the cake while still hot, and serve warm.
