Contrary to what you may think, “chantilly” is a term for two different pastry components. The classic French version is just a sweetened whipped cream. However, in Hawaii, it means something a bit different. I was surprised a few years ago when I was in Oahu with my friend Lauren that she introduced me to Hawaiian chantilly cake. Chantilly over there is a lightly chocolate-infused cake with this dense, milk-based frosting. The frosting itself, unlike French chantilly, was more like a spreadable pudding or custard. It was rich, decadent, and almost fudge-like in consistency, compared to the French variation, which is light as a cloud from having so much air whipped into it. I would say that the only real similarities between the two is that they are both sweetened dairy-based toppings for desserts. Now that being said, I wanted to do a take on the Hawaiian chantilly cake, but using another beloved Hawaiian ingredient: lilikoi, also called passionfruit. Passionfruit is a fruit that consists of an inedible, usually purple, sometimes yellow shell, which contains tart, sweet, usually yellow pulp and seeds. The seeds are crunchy while the pulp is really tangy. I love pairing passionfruit with either seafood or dessert, because the acidity works so well with both kinds of ingredients! In this case, the idea was to take the passionfruit and combine it by way of a curd with a lightly chocolate-scented chiffon cake, and a buttercream reminiscent of Hawaiian chantilly. I garnished my cake with fresh lilikoi, some gold rice paper butterflies, and some chocolate-covered passionfruit pulp to finish. Now you don’t have to use those specific garnishes, but I chose to use those garnishes as the cake in question was for my friend Kalei(who is from Oahu) to celebrate her birthday!

For the components, we have a lightly cocoa-infused chiffon cake, a lilikoi curd, a Chantilly-inspired ermine buttercream, and a vanilla soak for the cake itself. The chiffon cake is a very technical batter, since it involves whipping a ton of egg whites until they are light as air, and then folding that in with other ingredients to form the batter. I used roughly half the amount of cocoa powder to my regular chocolate chiffon cake recipe, since I wanted to make sure that the chocolate did not overpower the lilikoi. Traditional Chantilly is made with evaporated milk, reduced down with sugar and then whipped into butter. In my cake, I made an ermine buttercream, which is a flour and milk roux-based buttercream, using the evaporated milk in lieu of normal milk to capture that milky, creamy Chantilly flavor. The key with that buttercream is moderating temperatures just to make sure that the butter can incorporate into that roux, while also making sure that the entire thing is chilled down enough so that it can be whipped into a spreadable cake topping. With the lilikoi curd, I am mildly cheating here by making an orange curd, and then folding reduced lilikoi pulp into that. The reason for this being that I am using egg yolks in the curd, and I did not want to risk scrambling the eggs, and then having to strain out the egg lumps and lilikoi pulp if I started the curd with the pulp already in it. This way, I can guarantee that the curd itself is silky, while you get the pops of lilikoi pulp running throughout! All in all, this was a very fun cake to make, and one that I hope Kalei enjoyed!

For the cocoa chiffon cake:
4 egg whites
1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp cocoa powder
3oz canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
2/3 cups all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whip the egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with cocoa powder, canola oil, vanilla, and milk. Sift into the egg yolks the flour and salt. Then fold everything together with the whipped egg whites to form your batter. Pour and spread the batter on a lined quarter sheet tray into an even layer. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes. Allow the cake to fully cool before cutting out 2 6-inch rounds and press the scraps into a 6-inch ring mold. Freeze the layers solid before assembly.

For the lilikoi curd:
2oz orange juice
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pulp and seeds from 3 passionfruit

In a pot, heat up the orange juice. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Pour half of the orange juice over the egg yolks while whisking. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot with the orange juice and whisk on medium heat until the mixture thickens and clings to the sides of your whisk. Pass this through a sieve to remove any lumps. In another pot, heat up the passionfruit pulp until it is reduced by half and fold that through the strained orange curd to form your lilikoi curd. Transfer the curd into a bowl, pressing cling wrap on top of it, and refrigerate it until cool to the touch.

For the Chantilly ermine buttercream:
12oz evaporated milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

In a pot, whisk the milk, flour, sugar, and salt on medium-low heat until a thick paste forms – it should register around 200 degrees F. Allow the paste to fully cool before whipping in vanilla extract and softened butter until everything is combined together into a smooth, spreadable buttercream.

For the soak:
1/3 cup milk
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix everything together. Keep refrigerated until time to assemble.

For assembly:
1 fresh lilikoi, cut in half
Edible gold butterflies
Chocolate-covered lilikoi pulp*

Start by adding 1/3 of your soak onto the scrap layer of the cake. Spread 2oz of buttercream onto the round as well as 1/3 of the lilikoi curd. Repeat this with the next round of cake. For the last round, place that on top and add in the rest of your soak. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes first. Then spread roughly 1oz of the buttercream around the cake as a crumb coat. Freeze the cake for another 20 minutes. Then spread the rest of the buttercream around the cake to fully cover it, scraping off any excess to form clean edges around it. With any remaining buttercream, pipe that in a border around the cake. Pour into the top of the cake the remaining lilikoi curd. Garnish the top with the other garnishes to finish.