Southern US cake
Berry chantilly cake![]() The cake is composed of yellow sponge layers with berries and sweetened whipped cream. |
| Type | Cake |
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| Place of origin | United States |
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| Region or state | South |
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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, 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]
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]
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