Chantilly Cream

Why you’ll love this chantilly cream 

• It uses only 3 ingredients (plus a little salt) that you probably already have at home.
• It takes less than 5 minutes to make. 
• It can be served on just about anything – used to frost a cake, top a pie, make an icebox cake, in coffee, etc. 

I used this gorgeous cream in my Lemon Curd Cake, White Forest Cake and Chantilly cake.

What is chantilly cream 

Over the years I was always under the impression that chantilly cream was a sweetened whipped cream with vanilla. Turns out people have used the name chantilly cream for several other types of creams, some that include cream cheese, mascarpone, a mousseline buttercream base (like pastry cream), etc. 

Chantilly cream is thought to originate in France at the Château de Chantilly. This type of cream was originally heavy whipping cream whipped with sugar and vanilla. Nowadays it is also common to add mascarpone to it, however I’m going to let that be called mascarpone cream and you can find it in my Tiramisu Cake recipe. 

Difference between chantilly cream and whipped cream

Technically chantilly cream is a sweetened whipped cream but it does imply that it was flavored with vanilla as well…which most people do with whipped cream anyway.

The main difference I found between whipped cream and chantilly cream is that chantilly cream uses about double the amount of sugar than traditional whipped cream recipes. 

Flavor wise the amount of sugar didn’t make a huge difference since it’s just going from 2 Tbsp to 4 Tbsp of sugar however I found that when you use more sugar (chantilly cream), the texture of the whipped cream feels more “full”. 

It’s difficult to describe but basically it feels more like a full bodied cream and less like sweet air LOL. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sift the sugar into the bowl with the salt.

Step 2: Add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla bean paste and whip until it’s thick and fluffy and just when it reaches a stiff peak. Don’t over-beat or it won’t be smooth anymore (and can turn to butter lol).

*If you over-beat slightly, add a touch more cream and fold just until it’s combined. 

Step 3: Use a rubber spatula to fold it back and forth a little to smooth out the cream and make it look silky.

How to use chantilly cream in a cake

When I frost a cake with chantilly cream, I like to keep it simple and rustic like I did for Lemon Curd Cake, White Forest Cake and Chantilly cake just because it’s easy and I love how it looks.

If you want to use chantilly cream to frost the outside of a cake too, you can but it will just be a little less sturdy than using buttercream. To stabilize it you can dissolve 1 tsp of gelatin powder into 1 Tbsp of water and add it in with the whipping cream.

Doing this will not make it easier while you’re frosting the cake but instead of deflating over time, it will set once it’s in the fridge and hold the cake together longer. To be honest, the only time I do this is for ice cream cakes like my moose tracks cake.

NOTE: if you add gelatin to chantilly cream, do not refrigerate it until after you’ve used it as desired. Once it sets, there’s no going back.

If you want to use chantilly cream as a filling and use buttercream to decorate the outside of a cake you’ll have to pipe a border of buttercream around the edge of the first layer of cake and then use the chantilly cream in the center. You can see how I did that for my cranberry orange cake. 

I recommend a Swiss Meringue buttercream for decorating but American buttercream also works fine. 

Make sure to check out my cookbook Frosted for a million frosting options and how to use them! I also have an ebook, Frosted 2.0, that shows step-by-step photos of all the types of frostings in the cookbook. You can download that below. 

How to flavor chantilly cream

This is exciting because there are endless possibilities. Technically “chantilly cream” is a sweetened vanilla whipped cream…but who’s to say we have to stop there? Why can’t chocolate chantilly cream be a thing? Don’t worry I’m on it. Here are some options:

• Add 1-2 Tbsp (5-10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp almond extract, or any other extract flavors
• zest and juice of 1 lemon, lime or orange
• 1/4-1/2 ground freeze dried strawberries, raspberries, etc.
• 1-2 Tbsp rum, amaretto, baileys, etc.
• Steep the cream with different flavored teas or cereals to flavor the cream (you’ll need excess since you lose some cream that soaks into the cereal).

Making ahead of time

Chantilly cream is best consumed fresh. If you’re frosting a cake with it, I recommend making it fresh right before frosting. If you’re making it as a topping or to serve along side something, you can make it a day before and store it covered in the refrigerator.

How to store chantilly cream

Chantilly cream is best used fresh but if you have any left over you can cover it and store it in the fridge for 1-2 days. It won’t be as fluffy but you can certainly use it to dip fruit or garnish coffee, etc. 

You can try re-whipping it a little, that will give it a little more volume again but don’t over-whip.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. Make sure to leave it in the comment section because I can’t answer in the rating section.

If you make this chantilly cream, I’d love it if you left a star rating for me. If it’s less than five stars, please leave a comment with the rating so I know why! 🙂

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B