“This dessert sounds like something Ashley would make.”
This was the quote, the challenge, the utterance that made my day a few weeks ago.
Dear friends of mine dined on delicious dessert at a fine, fine restaurant in town.
Without me.
But I was there in spirit.
And they shared and spilled the beans on the devoured delicacies.
I had to interveen.
I had to add my two cents.
I had to create my own take on the sweet treat.
Grapefruit Sage Vanilla Cake & Pistachio Chantilly.

Just in case you’re not yet versed in the French pastry vocabulary:

A good chantilly cream recipe is essential to every French kitchen. This rich whipped cream infused with vanilla extract is a classic embellishment to French pastry, génoise cakes (sponge cakes), and tarts.

I chose to infuse my creme chantilly not only with a little sweet, but the salty, crunchy goodness of pistachios as well.

Grapefruit Sage Vanilla Cake & Pistachio Chantilly

Grapefruit Sage Vanilla Cake:
8 Tbs. butter, room temperature + for the pans
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs. fresh sage leaf, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter three 6-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Whisk 3 cups flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a bowl until combined. Beat  butter and sugar in a separate large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.  Beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the grapefruit juice and cream, until smooth. Fold in the sage.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Trim the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level, if desired.

Pistachio Chantilly:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped

Whip together the cream and sugar until rather stiff, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped nuts and whip again to fully combine.

Frost the top of one cake layer with the whipped cream, top with another layer, frost again, and top with the final layer. Frost the top and sides with the remaining cream.

Garnish with additional pistachios and a grapefruit slice, if desired.