Elegant Mini Lemon Chantilly Cakes – Makes Three Cakes

Sweet, Zesty, and Simply Elegant – Mini Lemon Chantilly Cakes with a Raspberry Twist 🍋✨

These Mini Lemon Chantilly Cakes are like sunshine on a plate—soft, citrusy layers of lemon cake filled with a ribbon of tart raspberry preserve and crowned with a swirl of fluffy Chantilly cream. They’re the perfect individual-sized treat for tea parties, bridal showers, or an afternoon pick-me-up with a cup of something warm. Delicate, light, and bursting with flavor, they strike that perfect balance between tangy and sweet. Beautiful to serve, even better to eat!

What is a Chantilly Cake?

The “Chantilly” in Chantilly Cake refers to Chantilly Crème—a sweetened whipped cream that originated in 17th-century France. Named after the town of Chantilly, it became widely known in the U.S. thanks to Whole Foods’ viral Berry Chantilly Cake, which features sponge layers, whipped cream frosting, and fresh berries.

My Take on the Classic Chantilly Cake

Why Mini?

This recipe is a mini version of the classic Chantilly cake—perfectly portioned for one or two people. But don’t worry, the batter also works beautifully in two 9-inch round pans if you’re baking for a crowd.

The Lemon Cake Base

Instead of sponge cake, this recipe uses a moist lemon cake to better support the layers. The fresh lemon juice and zest bring a bright, zesty flavor that pairs beautifully with the rich Chantilly cream.

The Filling-Raspberry Preserve

Rather than layering with fresh berries, we use raspberry preserves. Why?

• Stronger flavor payoff in a mini cake
• Smooth layering in small 3-inch cakes
• Richer, more complex taste than fresh berries

The Frosting-Stabilized Chantilly Cream

This version of Chantilly cream is stabilized with mascarpone cheese, which helps it hold its shape and prevents weeping. It’s subtly enhanced with lemon juice, lemon zest, and almond extract for depth. Almond extract pairs beautifully with citrus, avoiding that “creamsicle” flavor vanilla sometimes brings.

Techniques-Tips for a Foolproof Mini Lemon Chantilly Cake

Folding in Ingredients

Helps with:

• Dense, tough cake
• Cake falling after baking

Folding in ingredients is an essential step in achieving a light and tender cake. This is the moment where you gently incorporate your dry ingredients into the wet mixture. It might be tempting to use a hand mixer throughout, but resist the urge here.

Why? Because of gluten development. When flour meets liquid, gluten proteins start forming a network that provides elasticity and structure. That’s great for bread—but in cakes, too much gluten means a dense, chewy crumb. You want your cake to rise and stay fluffy, not collapse under its own weight or turn rubbery.

To prevent this, use a spatula and fold gently. It might take a little longer, but the payoff is a beautifully soft and airy cake.

Chilling Cake Layers

Helps with:

• Crumbs lifting during frosting
• Lopsided cakes
• Layers breaking during assembly

Chilling your cake layers might feel like an optional step—but it’s one of the most important if you want a polished, professional finish.

When cake layers are warm or even just room temperature, they’re more fragile and prone to crumbling when you spread on the frosting. If you’ve ever tried to frost a soft cake and ended up with a mess of crumbs sticking to your spatula, this is why.

By chilling the layers (even just for 30 minutes), the cake firms up and becomes easier to work with. You’ll get cleaner edges, better structure, and a smoother surface. It also prevents the cake from leaning or breaking as you stack and decorate.

Stabilizing Whipped Cream

Helps with:

• Weeping or watery frosting

Whipped cream frosting is dreamy—but also delicate. Over time, the air whipped into the cream starts to escape, and you’re left with a weepy mess. That’s where stabilizers come in.

This recipe uses mascarpone cheese to stabilize the Chantilly cream. Mascarpone adds structure and creaminess without affecting the light texture of whipped cream. It also allows the frosting to hold up better in the fridge and keeps it pipeable for longer periods.

Other stabilizers can be used (like gelatin, cream cheese, cornstarch, or Greek yogurt), but mascarpone is my go-to. It blends in seamlessly and holds its shape beautifully, even on a warm day.

Firm Peaks

Helps with:

• Runny frosting
• Frosting that won’t pipe
• Chunky or over-whipped texture

“Firm peaks” is a term you’ll hear often when making whipped cream or meringue—but what does it actually mean?

There are four stages when beating cream or egg whites:

1. No peaks (liquid)
2. Soft peaks
3. Firm peaks ← this is what we want
4. Stiff peaks (often too far for this frosting)

At the firm peak stage, your frosting should look glossy and hold its shape when you lift the beaters. The peaks should form and gently curl at the tips, rather than standing stiff or collapsing entirely.

If your frosting is too runny or won’t hold its shape in the piping bag, it likely needs to be whipped longer. If it’s starting to look grainy or chunky, you’ve gone too far and may need to start over.

Firm peaks are the sweet spot for a light, stable frosting that pipes beautifully and stays fluffy.

What you’ll Need

Tools:

• Hand mixer
• Piping bag
• Zester or microplane
• 13×9-inch cake pan
• 3-inch circular cookie cutter or small bowl

Ingredients:

• Lemons (at least 2 large)
• Almond extract
• Raspberry preserves (or jam if needed)
• Flour
• Sugar (granulated & powdered)
• Butter
• Eggs
• Salt
• Baking Soda
• Heavy cream
• Mascarpone cheese

Storage Tips

tore these cakes in the fridge, as the frosting and raspberry preserve are not shelf-stable. They’ll keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. Serve chilled or let sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes for a softer bite.