Hawaiian Style Chantilly Cake

Jump to Recipe

Quick Bite

Hawaiian-style Chantilly Cake is usually a chocolate layer cake filled and frosted with a rich, buttery, custard-like chantilly frosting. It is sweet, soft, nutty, and very different from the whipped-cream “chantilly” cakes found elsewhere.

History

Hawaiian Chantilly Cake is closely tied to Oahu bakery culture, especially Liliha Bakery in Honolulu. The Hawaii version is not simply whipped cream on cake. It is usually a chocolate cake with a thick, buttery, golden frosting made with evaporated milk, egg yolks, butter, and sugar.

The cake reflects Hawaii’s local baking style, where immigrant food traditions, island ingredients, and practical pantry items all mixed together. Evaporated milk became a common baking ingredient in Hawaii, partly because it was shelf-stable and easy to keep on hand.

Liliha Bakery helped make Chantilly Cake a local classic. Their version became one of those special-occasion cakes people remember from birthdays, office parties, graduations, and family gatherings.

A proper Hawaiian Chantilly Cake is rich without being fancy in a mainland bakery way. The frosting is more like a soft caramel-custard buttercream, often finished with chopped macadamia nuts. It is chocolate cake wearing its best island outfit.

Fun Facts

• Hawaiian Chantilly frosting is usually cooked, not whipped.
• The cake is commonly chocolate, even though “chantilly” elsewhere often means vanilla cake with whipped cream.
• Macadamia nuts are a classic finishing touch.

Where to Try

Liliha Bakery Oahu, Hawaii
The essential stop for Hawaiian Chantilly Cake, with multiple locations and a long local reputation.

Diamond Head Market & Grill Honolulu, Hawaii
Their bakery menu includes a Chantilly Cake with chocolate cake, chantilly filling, chocolate butter frosting, and macadamia nuts.

Pipeline Bakeshop & Creamery Honolulu, Hawaii
A local bakery worth checking for island-style cake and pastry flavors. Availability can rotate, so call ahead for Chantilly-style options.

Recipe

Print Recipe Cook Mode: OFF

Hawaiian Style Chantilly Cake Servings: 8–10 Prep: 30 minutes Bake: according to cake recipe Difficulty: Medium Style: Hawaiian Local Bakery Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients listed on the box
• Or 2 baked 8-inch homemade chocolate cake layers

For the chantilly frosting

• 1 can evaporated milk, 12 ounces
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts

Instructions

1. Bake the cake: Bake the chocolate cake in two 8-inch round pans.
2. Cool completely.
3. Start the frosting: In a saucepan, whisk together evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter, vanilla, and salt.
4. Cook the frosting: Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the mixture begins to thicken.
5. Thicken: Stir in the cornstarch slurry and continue cooking until the frosting is thick and glossy.
6. Cool: Remove from heat and cool until spreadable.
7. Layer the cake: Place one cake layer on a plate.
8. Spread chantilly frosting over the top.
9. Frost: Add the second layer and frost the top and sides.
10. Finish: Press chopped macadamia nuts around the outside or sprinkle them over the top.
11. Chill and serve: Chill briefly before slicing.

Traditional note: To make it more traditional, use a homemade chocolate chiffon-style cake and a cooked evaporated-milk chantilly frosting. Finish with macadamia nuts and keep the frosting thick, buttery, and custard-like.

www.vanlifechallenge
© 2026 Gray Dog Games