One of this month's Cake Slice Bakers choices is Suzy's Cake (Gâteau Suzy). It was a no-brainer choice for me, since my name is Susan and my nickname growing up was Suzy Belle. Cute, huh?
Besides that, this cake is super, super chocolaty. OK, that was the main reason for choosing it!
Aleksandra Crapanzano's cake book - Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes - has been so much fun baking through this year. She touts the recipes as simple and they definitely are. Some of the ingredients are different and I had to order or look around for them, but the cakes have totally been worth it.
We're winding down this year of baking through her cake book, and although I look forward to seeing what next year's bakes will be, I'll be sad to move on from this one.
Luckily, I own the book and can bake whatever I want when the urge comes up. I recommend this book if you're looking for unusual, delicious, easy-to-make cake recipes. Not a lot of recipes with frosting, but they're so delicious.
Such simple ingredients for outstanding results. Oh, and make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature before starting.
But let's talk about this recipe - Suzy's Cake. Basically you will melt the chocolate, blend all of the other ingredients together, then add in the melted chocolate and flour.
The important thing to remember is not to overbake this. I did overbake it by a few minutes because I kept waiting for it to pull away from the sides, as instructed in the recipe. The edges got a little crumbly, but the inside was seriously chocolate heaven!
A couple of things about this recipe. It calls for 70% cacao chocolate, but I went with Ghirardelli's 60% and that was plenty rich and dark for us. Any darker chocolate would have been a bit bitter to me.
You'll want very lightly sweetened whipped cream to top this rich cake, or a big glass of cold milk.
There are a couple of variations Aleksandra brings up - adding candied orange or crystallized ginger, or spicing it up with cardamom, cinnamon, or chipotle chiles. A pinch of cayenne would be a nice addition, too.
If you're looking for more different very chocolaty recipes, try Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake (gooey and amazing) or another simple cake - Chocolate Jack Cake.
Don't forget to check out the other Cake Slice Baker's cakes (listed below the recipe)!
Suzy's Cake (Gâteau Suzy)
Deliciously simple, rich and dense cake. Fudgy inside, so cut into fairly small pieces and don't forget the lightly sweetened whipped cream on top!
Ingredients
- 250 grams dark chocolate (60% to 70%)
- 1 Cup plus 2 tablespoons (255 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ Cup plus 1 tablespoon (68 g) cake flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and dust with cocoa. Lay a round of parchment on the bottom and butter it, also.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool while putting together the rest of the cake.
- In a stand mixer (or using handheld), cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high, until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one-by-one, and mix, then add the salt.
- Reduce the speed to low and add the cooled melted chocolate. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cake flour just until no streaks of white remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 up to 28 (but no longer) minutes. You will be underbaking the cake, so the edges will be matte, but the center will look slightly underdone and maybe still a bit wiggly.
- Move the cake pan to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. Cover the cake and pan loosely with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least an hour. Invert the cake onto a cake plate and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream or creme fraiche.
- If not eating immediately, wrap the cake in plastic wrap when it is cooled down, and keep refrigerated for up to 72 hours. Make sure and return it to room temperature before serving.
Notes
It is VERY important that the ingredients be at room temperature so they will blend together to create the right texture for baking.
I used 60% Ghirardelli chocolate (sweetened, not baking chocolate). She recommends 70% Valrhona Guanaja chocolate.
To make whipping cream, but 1 cup of heavy whipping cream into a cold bowl and whip for 30-45 seconds to soft peak. Add about a tablespoon of powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla and whip for about 10 more seconds.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 146Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 66mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 3g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
It is a new year and a new book - Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes - and our choices for October 2023 were ~
Suzy's Cake
Rum Baba
Walnut, Pear and Roquefort Madeleines
Just looking at that fudgy slice of chocolate heaven has me craving this cake. I agree with you about the book.
This one's a keeper, Karen.
I am going to miss this book too but, as you said, we own it so we just need to keep it out where we see it and remember to use it LOL.
You're right, Wendy!