If you've ever wanted a stunning, bakery-worthy cake without even turning on your oven, this Easy No Bake Berry Chantilly Cake is perfect for you! Instead of baked cake layers, it is made with ladyfingers soaked in a berry simple syrup so they become soft and moist like a genoise. They are layered with a light and creamy Chantilly whipped cream stabilized with cream cheese and mascarpone, and loaded with fresh berries. The result is a beautiful dessert that looks and slices like a proper celebration cake, and tastes light, fresh, and just sweet enough to let the berries shine. In fact, after making this and my baked Berry Chantilly Cake many times? I'd say this no bake version is softer, more flavorful, and more impressive, despite taking a fraction of the effort!
I'm a BIG fan of using ladyfingers for easy no bake desserts - they're basically cake, just dried out! Some of my favorites include my popular No Bake Tres Leches Cake, my No Bake Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake, and my new Triple Chocolate Tiramisu.
Video tutorial
Here's a video tutorial in which you can see this recipe in action:
4 simple components
This cake is made with 4 simple components:
- Ladyfingers: This is the real star of the show, and what makes this no-bake cake just like a baked one! They are also called Savoiardi biscuits, and available at many grocery stores. I typically get them on Amazon here
- Berry simple syrup: To soften the ladyfingers and add flavor, we dip them in a syrup made with water, sugar, berry jam and lemon juice
- Chantilly whipped cream: A incredibly luscious and silky frosting made with heavy cream, cream cheese and mascarpone cheese brings the cake together, and coats it to give it the look of a baked cake
- Berries: Of course, the cake isn't complete without fresh berries! You can use any that you like, but I love adding all four (blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries)
Tips for assembly
Because we're working with individual ladyfingers instead of cake layers, you can't transfer this cake from one stand to another without it falling apart! Therefore, you have to assemble it directly on your serving stand.
Good news is, the assembly is VERY flexible because you can adjust the shape, size, number of layers and height of the cake based on your liking. Here are a few examples:
- Make a square cake like mine - this is the easiest thing to do because the ladyfingers naturally make a square shape, and you don't need to trim or waste them. You can still change the size and height, though
- Make a round cake - use a cake ring or acetate collar to guide the shape, and trim the ladyfingers to fit in the circle as you layer. I don't love this as it does waste ladyfingers
- Assemble in a dish - you can also assemble this cake in a dish and serve from it, just like tiramisu
- Make individual dessert cups
Step by step photos
Let's quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize this easy, no-fuss recipe:
Start by making the berry syrup. Add the water, sugar, jam, and lemon juice to a saucepan.
Cook and stir on low heat for 3-5 minutes, until the sugar and jam have dissolved. Let it cool down.
For the Chantilly whipped cream, add the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer.
Whisk for 2-3 minutes until creamy and combined.
Add the cold heavy cream and scrape the bowl.
Whisk for another few minutes until a smooth, thick and spreadable frosting forms. This happens quick! Don't overmix - that will cause the cream to split and become grainy
To assemble, dip the ladyfingers into the berry syrup and arrange them in a neat layer on your serving stand as pictured.
Spread the frosting on top, and pipe a border of the frosting around the edge. Cover with chopped berries, and gently press them in.
Repeat the process for the second layer of the cake. Then cover the entire thing in frosting (you can even pipe some to decorate!), and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. When ready to serve, decorate with fresh berries, slice and enjoy!
Chilling is important!
I know it's tempting to dive right in, but you have to chill this cake for at least 6 hours! This allows the ladyfingers to absorb moisture and flavor, and develop a cake like texture.
Easy No Bake Berry Chantilly Cake Recipe
- Total Time: 35 minutes + cooling
- Yield: 12-14 servings
Description
An incredibly easy No Bake Berry Chantilly Cake made with ladyfingers instead of cake, layered with Chantilly whipped cream and fresh berries
Ingredients
Berry simple syrup:
- ½ cup water (120g)
- ½ cup sugar (100g)
- ¼ cup berry jam of choice - I used Smucker's strawberry jam
- Squeeze of lemon juice
Chantilly whipped cream:
- 6 oz cream cheese (170g), room temp
- 6 oz mascarpone cheese (170g), cold from the fridge - I highly recommend Galbani
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups heavy whipped cream, chilled (720g)
Assembly:
- 40-45 ladyfingers - the exact quantity will depend on the size you choose to make your cake , but this range will provide the best ratio of ladyfingers to frosting
- 6oz each of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries - exact quantity depends on your preference.
Instructions
- Start by making the berry simple syrup. Add the water, sugar, jam and lemon juice to a saucepan. Place on the stove on medium-low heat, and cook and stir until the sugar and jam have fully dissolved. Set aside to cool down
- For the Chantilly whipped cream, add the room temperature cream cheese, cold mascarpone cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla to the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to whisk on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl along the way, until smooth and creamy. Add the cold heavy cream, and use the balloon whisk attachment to whisk on low speed for about 2-3 more minutes, until a thick, fluffy and spreadable frosting forms. Please take care not to overmix, as that can cause the frosting to split or become grainy. Give the frosting a good stir to ensure it is well combined and not runny. Transfer a quarter of the frosting to a piping bag
- Save some of the prettiest berries for decoration, and roughly chop the rest
- Once the syrup has cooled down, it is time to assemble! You must assemble the cake directly on your serving stand or cake board as it cannot be transferred. Dip the ladyfingers one by one in the berry syrup (just a quick dip on both sides, don't hold) and arrange them in a neat 2x7 rectangle (see image in blog post above). Make sure they are tightly packed with no gaps between, as we are trying to form a cake layer.
- Add a generous layer of the frosting on top, and carefully and gently spread it out evenly. I recommend using light pressure so you don't move the ladyfingers. Then pipe a border of the frosting around the edge of the cake, and spread a generous amount of the chopped berries in the middle. Lightly press them down
- Now repeat steps 4 and 5 to add a second layer on the cake. Cover with a third layer of the ladyfingers dipped in the syrup. This is the structure of your cake
- Cover the entire cake with the rest of your frosting, using an offset spatula and being as careful and gentle as you can to give the cake a neat look. If you wish, you can pipe some frosting on top for decoration
- Once the cake is fully frosted, transfer to the fridge and chill for ~6 hours. This step allows the ladyfingers to soak moisture and flavor, and makes the cake layers gel together better
- When you are ready to serve, decorate the cake with the berries reserved in step 3
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Shape and size of the cake: This is a free standing cake and you can adjust the shape and size to your liking! The instructions will help you make the exact shape and size of my cake pictured above, but you can play around with what works best for you. For example, you could make a larger sheet cake with just 2 layers of ladyfingers instead of 3
- Make ahead and storage: Because this cake uses fresh berries, I don't recommend making it more than 1 day in advance. Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: American
N says
Hi
I wanna do a round cheesecake shape and demould it. Should I dip the outer layer biscuits or should I leave them dry so that they hold a round cake shape when I remove them from the cheesecake cake mould ?
Virginia says
I am wondering if it would work to replace some of the liquid for the lady fingers with Gran Marnier or Chambord? Similar to Tiramisu
Beenish Dar says
A simple recipe which taste heavenly. A beautiful treat for the taste buds 😋.
thank you zoha for sharing ❤️
Mon says
Made this with frozen berries and was delicious the next day 🙂
Also it’s hard to maintain the shape and we ended up with a dome.
Taste is just 🫶🏼
Z. B. says
Tried this recipe yesterday: everyone at home loved it! I used only strawberries.
It’s very delicious l!
Thank you!
Siulin says
I was drawn to this cake as I absolutely loved the wholefoods version. Decided it would be a great Easter dessert. It was absolutely delicious, not so sweet, overall a winner, everyone wanted seconds! My 4 year old daughter couldn’t stop eating the chantilly cream haha. I’m actually sad there’s nothing left, I was thinking of having a slice for breakfast! Thank you for this amazing recipe Zoha! Can’t wait to make it again x
Rahima Naveed says
I made this today for my family and they loved it! I loved it! My mom is picky when it comes to sweets and she said it was light, refreshing and not too sweet. My husband and 4 year old loved the whipping cream frosting. Highly recommend making this.