Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle Cake Featured on Panning the Globe

Originally posted on Panning the Globe

With Love and Quiches is a new book – a business memoir – written by an extremely successful businesswoman and someone I’ve know for a long time – Susan Axelrod.  Susan was a good friend of my mom’s from the time they were in grade school.

Today Susan’s company, Love and Quiches, is one of the nation’s leading gourmet dessert and quiche manufacturers. Their baked goods can be found in some of the finest restaurants and retail stores around the world. But years ago, when Susan was just starting out, I can still remember my mother one day excitedly announcing: “Susie is moving into a factory and she bought a truck!”

As I grew up, it was always thrilling to hear about the ever-growing success of Susan’s business.  And just last week I had the thrill of reading Susan’s new book that chronicles her amazing journey from suburban housewife to seasoned entrepreneur and founder of a multi-million dollar global brand.  It’s an incredible success story and a really fun read!

Forty years ago Susan began baking quiches in her small family kitchen and peddling them to nearby restaurants and gourmet shops.  She’d make all the deliveries herself, out of the trunk of her Chevy.  She had no knowledge of the business world, but her quiches were scrumptious and she had an uncanny knack for sales.  As she got more and more orders for her amazing baked goods, Susan would scramble to find some way to get the orders filled.  She often employed her kids, her friends, and her neighbors to crack eggs and roll dough. Then she would have have to ask friends and neighbors for space in their refrigerators so she’d have room to store everything.

In her book, Susan describes the chaos and hilarity of the early days in which she admits she was “utterly clueless.”  It’s fascinating and inspiring to learn how Susan built her business and the lessons she learned along the way.

By the way, at the end of the book With Love and Quiches Susan shares some of her incredible recipes for the first time ever.  This Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle Cake was one of Love and Quiches’ first desserts and has remained one of their most popular items 40 years later. I hope you enjoy the cake as much as my dinner guest and I did!