Chantilly Lady - A cool cake for a Leo from Leo

My lovely and talented friend Gretchen celebrated a birthday a few days ago, her 35^th according to the chart below. 

Obviously, an August birthday celebration for an individual as energetic and creative as Gretchen calls for a special treat, so I asked about her favorite kind of cake.

“I tend to like light desserts, like trifles and shortcakes,” she said. “I love a Chantilly Cake or cake with fruit like strawberries or blueberries.”

Assignment understood.

The Chantilly Cake – a light layer cake filled with a sweet-but-not-too-sweet creamy frosting and fresh berries -- is very popular in Louisiana, having been introduced in NOLA by Chaya Conrad, owner of Bywater Bakery, when she was bakery manager at Whole Foods on Magazine Street.  According to research, it was originally a yellow cake based on Conrad's grandmother's recipe but after she moved over to Rouse’s Market, it evolved into a white almond cake, a favorite flavor in south Louisiana. It’s often ordered for showers and dressy parties, the ladylike centerpiece of the dessert table.  It’s also a chilled cake, cool and refreshing in our subtropical climate, which necessitates some planning when it’s a swampy 103 degrees outside.

I found a few versions of Conrad’s recipe online and watched a Youtube video of her and Where Nola Eats reporter Anne Maloney making the cake in 2018.   After some consideration, I selected the NYT Cooking recipe, which was adapted by Alexa Weibel.  There is also a recipe on the Rouse’s website where it’s called a Gentilly Lace Cake and uses a white cake mix. 

There are a lot of steps to this cake, and I read over the recipe several times, making sure I had parchment paper, 8-inch cake pans, a 10-inch round cardboard cake pad and a 12-inch cake box that would fit inside a large ice chest for transport.  Simple syrup and butter were set out. Space in the fridge was cleared for all the bowls and ingredients that would need to stay cold. Then I put on Greatest Hits of The Big Bopper Part 1 and got started.

A project like this called for some gris gris, so out came the vintage 1970s harvest gold Sunbeam Mixmaster, a standing appliance that could survive a nuclear bomb. It belonged to Clay’s grandmother Ma Mac, Maxine Wilson Sledge, a home economics teacher and legendary cook. Channeling the spirit of Ma Mac and some encouraging energy from my sister Karla, the true pâtissier in the family, the undertaking began about 1 p.m. on a Friday. There were prescribed breaks for chilling time - happy hour with my neighbors Lisa and Jim and later for dinner. By 10 p.m. the cake was assembled and put to bed in the refrigerator for her beauty rest.

The recipe was followed to the letter. The Mixmaster worked like a dream.  The layers baked perfectly.  The Chantilly cream came together like a gorgeous pillowy mousse.  I won’t reiterate every step, but here are a few takeaways. 

• For brushing the simple syrup, Karla said some bakers let the syrup dry a bit to form a crust on the layer before adding the frosting. I was too impatient for that. 

• The frosting recipe really does make enough to use 1-1/2 cups between layers, so don’t be skimpy. After the full frosting, there were about 2 cups leftover, which went into the freezer and will be used on something else soon.

• About an hour before the party, the top of the cake was garnished with berries, mint and rosemary. Dressed for her debut, Ms. Chantilly was too tall for the box lid so she was covered with plastic wrap, placed inside a waterproof Nichols bag and dropped into a large ice chest with a bag of ice on each side for stability.   

• This was fun. I would do it again.

Gretchen’s party had a hot tropical vibe with fresh palm leaves, greenery, bright citrus fruit and accents in gold and fuchsia; our other lovely and talented friend Jamie pulled it together with her special touch. Gretchen’s kids created a playlist of 80s and 90s classics. Friends brought charcuterie and nibbles and the host served a wonderful dinner before the dessert course: Chantilly Cake and champagne.  

The best part of the whole event was Gretchen’s eclectic mix of friends "from 1996, 2006, 2016 and 2026.” As she said, “Collecting friends is like collecting shells, pebbles and driftwood…only the most interesting ones get picked up and treasured.”

Xoxo, Gretchen.  I hope your next 35 years are as fabulous as you are. I will definitely make you another cake!