Berry Chantilly Cake

Instructions

Line 2 round (10 inch) cake pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs with the whisk attachment on high speed until foamy. Then slowly add the sugar as you continue to beat it on high speed.

Once the egg and sugar mixture becomes fluffy and airy (about 6 minutes), beat in the vanilla extract. Then gently fold it into the batter using a large whisk. Don't mix it around too vigorously... You want to retain as much air in the batter as possible.

Split the cake batter between the two prepared cake pans and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely. It's actually best to leave it overnight (this helps reduce the "eggy" smell). Once it's cooled, slice each cake in half using a serrated knife.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the softened cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, almond extract, and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl beat the heavy cream using an electric mixer. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Using a spatula, fold the heavy cream into the cream cheese mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan whisk together 2 cups of water with 3/4 cup sugar. Bring the sugar to a boil and drop the heat to low. Let it sit over the stove top for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. This will be the syrup.

Spray 1 side of each cake layer with the syrup.

Begin assembling the cake by spreading the cooled cream cheese filling on top of the first cake layer. Then add a little of each berry. (Put as much as you like).

Stack another cake layer on top and repeat the previous steps. Continue this until you stack the 4th cake layer. Then cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream. Top with extra berries for a beautiful pop of color. Tip: to create the swirl pattern on the top and sides of the cake, I used an offset decorating spatula while spinning the cake turner.

Dessert