Growing up, Susan Sarich used to bake with both of her grandmothers on a daily basis.

When she grew up and moved to the West Coast, the Chicago transplant took her recipes and memories with her. Those recipes became the basis for SusieCakes bakeries, where founder Sarich has been able to share her love of baking with others.

“Everything we serve is very classic and 1950’s inspired,” said SusieCakes’ Houston General Manager Christina Athanasopoulos. “People love to come in and buy our cakes, because they taste like the homemade treats they grew up with.”

SusieCakes prides themselves on using only the best and freshest ingredients. “Many of the ingredients we use were formulated just for our bakery, so a lot of time was spent on the flavors,” said Athanasopoulos. “We use real Madagascar vanilla and European butter. There are no preservatives or anything artificial in what we serve.”

Guests have the best of both worlds at SusieCakes, where the menu has its classic mainstays, but also cake and cupcake specials that rotate monthly.

“We definitely have our regulars that come in and order the same thing every time, but we also have guests that drive in from all over to try the monthly special,” said Athanasopoulos.

During my visit the monthly special was the Banana Chocolate Chip cake which had a great banana flavor and just the right amount of chocolate chips. Although cakes and cupcakes are menu favorites, SusieCakes also serves up delicious cookies. It just so happens that the classic chocolate chip cookie, which is more than twice the size of a normal cookie and full of chocolatey goodness is also a best seller in the bakery.

The six-layer cakes at SusieCakes are something to behold. The Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake and the Vanilla Celebration Cake are towers of moist cake layered with their signature frosting – they may be classic, but their taste is anything but retro. I must admit that I am partial to chocolate, so the Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake won over my taste buds. It had just the right amount of cake to frosting ratio in every layer and the icing was chocolatey without being overly sweet. The Vanilla Celebration cake has a nice bold vanilla taste with fun multi-colored sprinkles throughout, and the frosting is a blue vanilla buttercream.

“Our number one selling cake is hands down the Vanilla Celebration Cake,” said Athanasopoulos. “People just love it for birthdays or other celebrations, because it is truly a classic.”

A SusieCakes bakery store is cute, filled with natural light, and has a retro feel that will make you feel right at home before you even taste one of their decadent desserts. Houstonians can enjoy them in Rice Village and the Dallas/Fort Worth crowd can enjoy several locations with more on the way.

Plan your next celebration around SusieCakes or just stop in for a tasty dessert. Either way, a classic treat will make your day a little sweeter.

Cover photo: SusieBakes’ Cherry Pie. Courtesy photo

Gabi De la Rosa lives in Houston with her husband and three children. You can usually find her at a great local restaurant or out exploring HTX with her family. Visit her on Instagram @gabioftheroses_htx