Chantilly Sheet Cake
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If you love the Publix Chantilly Cake as much as I do, you need this Chantilly Sheet Cake recipe in your life. The rich and finely crumbed baker-style cake is topped with a slathering of preserves, a fluffy whipped Neufchatel icing, and garnished with fresh berries.
I developed this Chantilly Sheet Cake recipe out of my undying love for the Publix Chantilly Cake found at my local supermarket in our area. My sources tell me there’s also a similar Whole . My husband and I have birthdays just two weeks apart so a few months ago we decided to head over there and pick out a birthday cake for ourselves. Chantilly Cake immediately caught our eye, so we took it home and immediately fell in love. When we found ourselves buying another one a few weeks later, I knew it was time to come up with my own Chantilly Sheet Cake recipe.
This starts with a boxed cake mix to keep it simple. But we incorporate a few tricks to spruce the soft and tender sponge cake up a bit. A light layer of berry jam sets it off and a fluffy whipped Neufchâtel icing completes the magic and practically melts in your mouth. Garnish with fresh berries for the final touch to what may very well be one of the best cakes you’ve ever tasted. Seriously.
Recipe Ingredients
Cake
- Duncan Hines White Cake Mix
- Large eggs
- Whole milk
- Butter that’s been melted and cooled slightly
Cake Topping
- Strawberry preserves
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Neufchâtel cheese (it’s right next to the cream cheese and says 1/3 the fat on the package)
- Vanilla extract
- Fresh berries for garnish
How to Make Chantilly Sheet Cake
Place all the cake ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined and smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down sides as needed.
Pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes or until the center springs back when pressed lighting with your finger.
While the cake is still hot, place preserves in a microwave-safe cup and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and pourable. Pour over the top of the cake and spread to cover if need be.
You don’t have to poke holes in it, just spread this over.
Allow the cake to cool completely.
To Make The Icing
Place the heavy cream and confectioner’s sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add the softened cheese and beat until stiff peaks form – this will happen kinda quickly.
Spread the icing onto the fully cooled cake.
Garnish with berries of your choice, cover, and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Oh my goodness, I am so excited about the thought of y’all trying this!
Because it really, really, really is THAT GOOD!
And you NEED it in your life!
In fact, I do believe I need another piece…
You are going to love this.
Please make it soon.
Storage
Store Berry Chantilly Cake leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
- You can use any brand of cake mix in this Chantilly Cake recipe, including vanilla cake or white cake mix. I just used Duncan Hines when developing this and it turned out so great that I’m recommending that.
- Use whichever fresh berries you like, whether that’s just one type or an assortment of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
- The same goes for the preserves. You can use your favorite, which might be strawberry or .
- For something different from the Publix , try another and jam combination like peach jam with fresh peach slices on top.
Recipe FAQs
What is Neufchatel cheese?
Neufchatel cheese is a soft unripened cheese that comes from France. Our version in the US, which is similar to cream cheese, is made from pasteurized milk and cream. Neufchatel from the US is slightly lower in calories than cream cheese and has slightly more moisture. Many Berry Chantilly Cake recipes opt for mascarpone cheese and cream cheese, but I prefer using this instead.
What is the difference between Chantilly Cake and Gentilly Cake?
The main difference between Chantilly Cake and Gentilly Cake is that Gentilly Cake uses buttermilk rather than regular milk in the cake batter. Its topping is also usually a fluffy combination of mascarpone and cream cheese too.
What is ?
Contrary to what you probably think, it’s nothing to do with the icing on top of this . Instead, it’s sweetened that originated in the French town of Chantilly in the 17th century. It’s made when you combine 1/2 , 1 cup of , 2 tablespoons of , and 1/2 teaspoon of .
Check out these other scrumptious cake recipes:
Aunt Sue’s Easy Pound Cake Recipe
Cheesecake Toppings & An Easy Cheesecake Recipe
Old-Fashioned Hummingbird Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 Duncan Hines White Cake Mix
- 3 large whole eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup butter melted and cooled slightly
Topping
- 1 cup strawberry preserves
Chantilly Icing
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 package Neufchâtel Cheese 8 ounces, at room temperature (must be at room temp)*
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the cake mix in a large bowl. Add the whole eggs, milk, and melted butter. Beat with an electric mixer until blended and smooth, about two minutes, scraping down sides as needed.1 Duncan Hines White Cake Mix, 3 large whole eggs, 1 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup butter
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the cake batter evenly into the pan. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Just before removing the cake from the oven, place the strawberry preserves in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until preserves become runny. Spread preserves evenly over hot cake. Allow cake to cool completely.1 cup strawberry preserves
- Place the heavy cream and confectioner's sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add softened cheese and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form, this will happen kinda quickly. Spread onto the fully cooled cake.2 cups heavy cream, 1.5 cups powdered sugar, 1 package Neufchâtel Cheese, 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Garnish with fresh berries, cover, and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe is a part of Meal Plan Monday and the Weekend Potluck!
Cakes are special. Every birthday, every celebration ends with something sweet, a cake, and people remember. It’s all about the memories.
~Buddy Valastro
My nephew and his wife had this cake at their wedding reception for their wedding cake. It was such a hit with everyone, there was not one crumb left!!!
🙂 Oh WOW, I am so glad it was a hit!!! Congratulations and best wishes to your nephew and his bride!!
I’m going to make this recipe for a birthday party of about 20 + friends. I want to make it in a larger sheet pan (checking them out now online), then I plan on slicing the cooled cake in half to add one layer. Do you recommend that I add the strawberry jam on that cut layer before adding the frosting and some sliced berries instead of the jam on top right out of the oven? I just think a cake with jam over the top will be very hard to cut and separate (not to mention messy). Any thoughts? Also, if I do add jam to the inside layer (Pouring the jam on as first item, then frosting, then sliced fruit, then the top layer), should I still pour more of the jam on the top of the cake before frosting it and the sides? I will let you know how this turns out. I’m making a “sample” cake for practice, before the “real” deal. So changes can be made.
So I’d love to make this for my dads bday this weekend, but he doesn’t eat wheat…have you ever used a gluten free cake mix when making this, or in other recipes?? Wondering if I’d need to tweak any ingredients or if I can just swap out the Duncan Hines mix for a gluten free one? I’m not very experienced in gluten free baking. Either way I can’t wait to try this one looks delish!
Sorry Brittany, I have never used any of the gluten free products so I am afraid I am not much help here. It is probably going to be a trial by error unless one of the readers here has given it a go and chimes in.
This looks so good. We LOVE the Publix version….I bet this will be better when I make it for our Easter dessert this weekend. Question: I have cream cheese in the fridge. Would it mess things up to use that instead of Neufchatel? Thank you and have a blessed Easter.
Not at all, it will work just as good!
Thank you for this recipe. I have made it several times this past year. I am wondering how far in advance I can make this.
I bought my sister one of your cookbooks for her birthday. I can’t wait to give it her.
This has become a favorite at our house. I have one question though. The first time, I didn’t have any trouble with the frosting, but the other times I’ve made it, I’ve had trouble avoiding small chunks of cheese in the frosting. I’ve let it sit out for a long time and it still is chunky. Any suggestions? Do you soften the cheese in the microwave? Thanks!
Hey Rene! Sometimes I put my cheese out on the counter the night before to make sure it’s creamy. From there it’s just a matter of beating it into submission 🙂 However, you could certainly soften it a bit in the microwave, just make sure you do it on a low setting (not fully power) so it softens more evenly and doesn’t get to the point of melting. That would be a great shortcut!
Thanks! My son is requesting this for his April birthday, so I’ll try one of these tips.
Christy:
I made this today, and it is one fine cake. I couldn’t find the Duncan Hines Classic White Cake mix so I used their French Vanilla, as I tend to dislike white cake. I used my kitchen scale to divide the mix and the egg in half and baked it in an 8×8 pan.
I made strawberry jam in my bread machine, and somehow, even with careful measuring, and using the same recipe before, I came out with just 1 cup of jam, instead of 3, but it tastes fine. I accidentally forgot the vanilla in the frosting and didn’t realize it until I had the cake frosted. It’s fine without it and that is good frosting, too. and even half of it makes a lot to properly frost it.
My mother would have loved this, as she loved extra buttercream, and always had her birthday cakes decorated with extra roses, and big, fat ones, too to preserve the proper frosting to cake ratio. She considered cake to be dry and hard to swallow, unless it had gravy on it, or the proper amount of buttercream. I certainly did not pick up that habit from her!
I will check out your white cake recipe. Thanks for the Chantilly Cake recipe. No wonder you and Ricky love it so much.
I am so glad you liked it Kathy!! Now you have me wondering what happened to the other 2 cups of your jam.
You and me both, Christy! I’ve used that recipe before, and I checked the recipe, and I used the right amount of ingredients. Maybe in the past, I’ve doubled it? I have also found that the jam splashes less if you mix everything before you put it in the bread pan. I will have to try it again with fresh strawberries and see if that makes a difference. I used frozen. Sometimes I do use fresh, as our town has a lot of strawberry fields, although some of them have turned into apartment buildings, and we don’t have the number of strawberry stands that we used to. We also have a Strawberry Festival every Spring, so they are readily available.