Suzy's Cake
Today I baked a Suzy's Cake from Pierre Hermé. I really wanted to bake something from Pierre Hermé again and I was also craving for a rich chocolate cake. I came across this easy chocolate cake recipe from Pierre's book 'Chocolate Desserts' (two birds, one stone). I don't think there's ever been an easier Pierre Hermé recipe than this one. It has only 5 ingredients, and you don't have to start the day before preparing. This cake was made for Pierre's close friend Suzy Palatin, a runway model and cookbook author. I have to be honest; this might be the easiest recipe from Pierre Hermé I've tried so far, but it's also the least spectular in taste. It looks sensational though, the kind of cake some people would spend big bucks on. But maybe it's just me. I'll post another review about the cake tomorrow, when the cake has been tasted by other mouths than just mine, and a lot of the times chocolate cakes are tastier the next day.Update: Yeah it must be me. Everyone else likes it! Also, it tastes better the next day.
Suzy's Cake recipe: Pierre Hermé - Chocolate Desserts.
Ingredients:
- 8 3/4 ounces (250 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (preferably Valrhona Guanaja)
- 9 ounces (250 grams or 2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70 grams) all-purpose flour
Instructions:
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Butter a 9-inch (24-cm) round cake pan that is at least 2 inches (5 cm) high, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, and dust the inside of the pan with flour; tap out the excess and set the pan aside. (I just buttered the cake, and it was fine)
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over - not touching - simmering water and heat until the chocolate is melted; or melt the chocolate in a microwave oven.
- Set the chocolate aside to cool; it should feel only just want to the touch when you mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Pour the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently, until the butter is creamy and the sugar well blended into it.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, pour in the cooled chocolate, and mix until it is incorporated.
- With the mixer still on low, add the flour and mix only until it disappears into the batter. Alternatively, you can fold in the last of the flour with a rubber spatula. You'll have a thick, smooth, satiny batter that look like an old-fashioned chocolate frosting.
- Scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and slide the pan into the oven.
- Bake for 26-29 minutes, or until cake rises slightly and the top has lost its sheen. The top may crack a bit and the cake may not look entirely set in the center; when you test a cake by inserting a slender knife into the center, the knife will come out slightly streaked with batter, which is what you want.
- Transfer the cake to a rack to cool.
- When the cake has cooled, chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or two to make it easy to unmold. (I was too impatient to do this, I let the cake cool for 30 minutes and then turend it upside down)
- Turn the cake out, remove the parchment, and invert the cake onto a serving platter so it is right side up. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before slicing and serving.
- The cake can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to a month.
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