Naked Berry Chiffon Cake Recipe

naked berry cake adorned martha bakes strawberries blueberries — Credit: Mike Krautter

Servings:

Yield:

Makes one 6-inch layer cake and one 9-inch layer cake

This showstopping 8-layer naked cake is proof you don’t need frosting to create a spectacular dessert. It’s a tiered delight of chiffon cake sandwiched with whipped cream and garnished with fresh berries, edible flowers, and confectioners’ sugar. It’s the ultimate ending for a summer celebration. Chiffon cake is made with whipped egg whites, egg yolks, and oil, not butter, so it’s airy and has a tender crumb. While it’s frosting-free, this lavish cake does take some time to put together, but the result is oh-so worth it.

This cake is best served straight after it is assembled but it can be held in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Directions

Preheat oven and prep cake pans:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and two 6-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment; butter parchment.
Whisk dry ingredients in one bowl and oil, yolks, zest, and vanilla in another; mix egg-yolk mixture into dry ingredients:

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together oil, egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, and vanilla seeds. Whisk egg-yolk mixture into flour mixture.
Beat egg whites:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Add egg white mixture to batter gradually; transfer to prepared pans:

Whisk one-third of egg white mixture into batter. Gently but thoroughly fold in remaining egg-white mixture with a rubber spatula. Transfer batter to prepared pans: 2 cups batter in each 6-inch pan and 4 cups batter in each 9-inch pan.
Bake and cool:

Bake until golden and tops spring back when lightly touched, about 25 minutes for 6-inch cakes and 30 minutes for 9-inch cakes. Let cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; remove parchment. Let cool completely, upside-down.
Make whipped cream:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together cream and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Trim cakes and spilt each horizontally; start to assemble cake:

Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes flat. Split each cake horizontally into two equal layers. Place a 9-inch cake layer, bottom-side down, on a serving platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups whipped cream evenly over top.

Using an ice-cream scoop makes it easy to transfer the whipped cream to the layers before you spread them with an offset spatula.
Repeat layers:

Repeat process with remaining 9-inch cake layers, spreading 1 1/2 cups whipped cream between each layer and leaving top layer (bottom-side up) uncovered. Refrigerate while you work on the second tier. Repeat process with 6-inch cake layers, spreading 1 cup whipped cream between each layer.
Use dowels to support tiers:

Insert a wooden dowel or skewer into 9-inch tier; trim dowel so that it?s 1/4 inch taller than height of tier. Trim 2 more dowels to same height. Arrange dowels in a circular pattern, about 3 inches from edge of cake. Center 6-inch tier over 9-inch tier, pressing gently to secure. Insert a dowel into 6-inch tier; trim dowel to height of tier.
Garnish with berries and flowers; sift with confectioners' sugar:

Garnish cake with berries and flowers, scattering on top of each tier and around perimeter of serving platter. Using a small, fine sieve, sift confectioners' sugar over berries. Serve immediately.