How delicious and scenic the Susanna Cake is, consisting of a shortcrust pastry shell filled with ricotta cream and topped with chocolate ganache. One of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten.

It is a delicious cake with triple consistency: a shortcrust shell, a white cream, and a dark cover cream that make the Susanna Cake extremely tasty and perfect for any occasion, whether for a snack or breakfast.

It is a perfect dessert both for a snack, perhaps accompanied by a cup of tea, and as a dessert at the end of a meal to beautifully conclude a dinner with friends.

If you love cakes with a ricotta heart, this is definitely the right recipe.

It is a very simple dessert to make, even if it requires some time and a touch of patience.

The preparation, filling, and finishing do not require particular culinary skills, but between one and the other, refrigeration breaks are necessary, so you need to organize the timing.

Compared to the variants widespread online, I have made some simple modifications.
For the shortcrust pastry, I have based it on the recipe I have been reproducing for years.

And for the ganache, I used the indispensable dark chocolate with 55% cocoa, which for me has become irreplaceable. Delicate, it does not leave a bitter or burnt aftertaste compared to higher percentages.

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Very economical
Rest time: 3 Hours
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 8/10
Cooking methods: Electric oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for Susanna Cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1 packet vanillin
2/3 cup butter (cold from the fridge or 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
2 1/4 cups ricotta
1 packet vanillin
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup potato starch
4 oz dark chocolate 55%
1 knob butter
1/2 cup fresh liquid cream
1 tbsp multi-flower honey (leveled)

Tools

Bowl
Baking Pan
Pastry Board
Saucepan
Kitchen Scale
Plastic Wrap

Steps for Susanna Cake

Place the flour and baking powder in a bowl along with the cold butter cut into pieces and a packet of vanillin.
(Cold butter from the fridge).
Begin to create fine crumbs with your hands, then add the sugar, continuing to work the mixture.
Break the eggs and also add the salt.
(Eggs at room temperature).
At this point, transfer the dough onto the work surface and handle it briefly just to compact it.
A small but important tip: once compacted, do not handle it further as it should not warm up.
At this point, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to firm up for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, as the pastry rests in the fridge, prepare the ricotta cream.
In a bowl, sift the ricotta, then add the sugar, vanillin, and potato starch. Mix very well.
Add the egg yolks.
Work the ingredients until you get a homogeneous and creamy mixture.
After the resting time, take the pastry out of the fridge.
Lightly flour the work surface and roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
Butter the base and walls of a springform pan with a diameter of 9 inches and line it with the pastry. Trim the edges to have the same height, then prick the base with a fork.
Pour the ricotta cream.
Do not fill it too much, only up to 3/4.
Please ensure to stay at least 1/2 inch below the surface, otherwise, during cooking, the cream will puff up and there will be no space for the ganache. Therefore, you may not need all the cream.
Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 340°F for about 35/40 minutes.
The shortcrust should be golden, and the filling should be firm.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Then place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
With a sharp knife, cut the dark chocolate into flakes and place it in a glass or ceramic bowl.
Put the cream in a saucepan, add the butter and honey, transfer to the stove, and bring to a boil.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it rest for a couple of minutes, then mix carefully, creating a smooth and velvety cream.
Let it cool slightly and pour over the cake, gently rotating it to allow the glaze to naturally spread to the edges.
Place the Susanna Cake in the refrigerator for 3 hours before serving.
Enjoy your meal.

Tips

A delicate and crispy shortcrust shell, made with butter, precisely to give it that extreme friability combined with crunchiness.

This is what you need to pay attention to: preferably use white type 00 flour.

The butter must be cold from the fridge to prevent it from melting during the dough preparation.

Eggs should be kept at room temperature for a couple of hours; if too cold, they do not blend well with the rest of the dough.

Watch the amount of sugar, if it’s too much, the shortcrust tends to crumble and turns dark when baking.

If you want to get a softer shortcrust, also add 1 teaspoon of sifted baking powder.

Finally, timing is crucial: work the dough quickly, otherwise it becomes elastic and shrinks during cooking; it is then important to let it rest in the refrigerator (in the less cold part) for at least 30 minutes.

This helps to prevent it from breaking when you roll it out with the rolling pin.

If your shortcrust does not compact but tends to crumble instead, it means it’s gone crazy!

No worries: you can remedy by adding one or two tablespoons of cold egg white or ice water and kneading again.

Since all the ingredients are cooked, you can store the Susanna Cake for 3-4 days at room temperature.

It is advisable not to freeze it to avoid the separation of fat components, ruining its texture.

If you enjoyed this recipe, click on many stars, thank you so much.

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