Liliha Bakery, the largest retail bakery in Hawaii, made Chantilly cake famous in the early 1950s. Traditionally it is a layered chocolate cake topped with Chantilly frosting and macadamia nuts. Unlike crème Chantilly, which is simply a sweetened whipped cream, the frosting for this cake is like that of a German chocolate cake except without coconut. The layers of cake are separated by a sweet cream filling. Macadamia nuts have been produced in Hawaii since 1931 when the first processing plant opened in Kakaako, Hawaii. Macadamia nuts quickly became popular due to their sweet, rich flavor. Known for their hard-to-crack nuts, the macadamia tree is indigenous to Australia; however, today’s commercial production is mainly in Hawaii with 90 percent of all macadamia nuts harvested there.
Recipe Servings: 10
+ 3 hours 30 minutes resting
Ingredients
Cake:
- Nonstick cooking spray, as needed to grease pans
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1½ cups sugar, divided
- 1⅔ cups cake flour, sifted
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 oz square unsweetened chocolate, melted
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk, divided
Filling:
- ¼ cup sugar
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 1 can (3 oz) evaporated milk
- 1½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup butter
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease two 9-inch round cake pans using nonstick cooking spray.
- Beat egg whites until frothy and then gradually beat in a ½ cup sugar until soft peaks form.
- Whisk together the remaining 1 cup sugar, cake flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Stir in the melted chocolate, oil, and ½ cup milk.
- Beat the mixture using an electric mixer for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add egg yolks and the remaining ½ cup milk. Beat for 1 minute until smooth.
- Fold in the egg white mixture.
- Divide batter equally, pouring it into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes.
- Transfer cakes from oven to wire racks and let them cool for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cakes from their pans and use a sharp knife to split each cake in half horizontally to make four cake layers.
- Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium-size saucepan.
- Add the egg and mix well.
- Stir in the milk slowly.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Cover and chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Spread the chilled filling evenly over the top of three of the cake layers, using all of it, and stack them on top of each other.
- Place the remaining fourth layer of cake on the top of the stack.
- Stir together the evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla in a medium-size saucepan set over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring constantly, for 10–12 minutes until mixture thickens. Make sure it’s thick, or it will slide right off your cake.
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Cover the frosting with plastic wrap pressed directly over it and chill it in the refrigerator for 60.
- Frost cake and sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts.
- Chill cake in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
For Cake:
For Filling (make while cake is baking):
For Frosting:
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