Susie Cakes in the Marina

The weather was beautiful this weekend, so I headed over to the Marina and caught a few moments of thunderous action by the Blue Angels. Then I headed over to Chestnut Street for a treat, and found it at Susie Cakes.


This home-style bakery started out in Southern California, and opened its first Northern California store in San Francisco earlier this year. The tiny shop is not one of those bakeries with precious macarons or boutique-like cupcakes. This is the kind of baked goods that looked like Betty Crocker made them.


Of course, the highlights are the layered cakes, which are sold whole or by the slice. The top counter shows the cakes like Southern Red Velvet, Carrot, German Chocolate, Tropical Coconut and something called Vanilla Celebration. In the counter you'll also find puddings and individual-sized cheesecakes.

There are also cupcakes, but like I said, they don't look fancy and more home-spun, decorated like your 6-year-old niece helped out.

Now, Susie Cakes is also famous for bringing back the popularity of the Whoopie Pie, but I have to say I forgot about this and didn't see this in the counter because I would have definitely tried one. Instead, I got a slice of traditional German Chocolate. The slice at Susie Cakes is about 1/8th of the cake, so it's a darn good serving (costing $5.50). I got a glass of iced tea and enjoyed my slice sitting outside (there's really no seating inside).

The cake was crumbly and moist, pulled altogether by the chocolate frosting. I enjoyed it although there might have been too much of the coconut in the frosting for me. Still, it's really the kind of cake that goes down well with a glass of milk (although the iced tea worked great for me too).

You won't find unusual ingredients or odd flavors at Susie Cakes. What you will find is childhood memories and homey favorites guaranteed to bring a smile.

Susie Cakes, 2109 Chestnut St., San Francisco. 415.474.2253. Open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. www.susiecakesbakery.com