Croquembouche Cake
You may have figured out by now that it’s birthday season around here – as in most families, our birthdays come in clusters, most of them in January and October, with two double birthdays included in this month. This weekend was the end of the January run, as B turned 10. He couldn’t decide between cream puffs and cake (takes after his aunt, he does) and so I made sunken chocolate cakes, their concavity perfect for a pile of cream puffs.
Let me pause here before getting into the sticky details of spinning sugar and dribbling chocolate to use this as a segue way to introduce a fun new series my friend Jan and I have been scheming. Although there is no shortage of recipes on this world-wide interweb, what we love most about food is its ability to bring people together; not just families at mealtimes, but extended families – relatives and friends and strangers connecting around food, whether it’s a celebration or an impromptu gathering. Food is social, it’s comforting, it nourishes and connects us in ways we can all relate to. It’s a common ground. The concept of “entertaining”, though, makes gathering friends around your dinner table seem daunting. People say to me all the time, “you must entertain a lot,” which conjures images of beef Wellington and crème brûlée and me in the kitchen sipping wine in a stylish apron with a 29 inch waist. Which isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with beef Wellington and crème brûlée, but the notion of entertaining in that Martha-meets-the-Stepford-Wives style puts so much pressure on the host that most often we’re dissuaded from doing anything.
So. This year Jan and I are bringing back the casual gathering – and taking the pressure off of those fancy events we so often approach from a standpoint of damage control – and having as many dinner parties and other gatherings as possible. On the last Wednesday of each month we’ll post about one or more of them here, which will allow us to get a running start on a new blog – called Gatherings – where we’ll share recipes, ideas, techniques and tools that we hope will inspire (and help!) anyone putting together a party, or just looking for new ways to bring friends together around the table. (Jan used to be a professional party planner, you know! she knows all about quantities and catering secrets and tons of helpful stuff!) Gatherings will (hopefully!) launch April 1, and we’re even talking about turning it into a book… although those details haven’t been figured out yet. For now, we’ll start here.
As I mentioned, we had a huge handful of birthdays this month, with family members turning the clock from 7 to sixtysomething. The first was a milestone birthday for my brother-in-law, with a party full of friends and relatives, and loads of cheese – there were charcuterie boards loaded with fromage all over the house, and enough left over at the end of the night that they’re going to be set for gourmet grilled cheeses until spring break.
Cheese and charcuterie boards are easy. Pile cheeses of varying shapes/sizes/textures onto wooden cutting boards or big slate tiles (you can pick them up for a dollar-ish at Home Depot) and fill in the gaps with crackers, pickles, chutneys, dried fruit and nuts – no matter what, it will look awesome.
Add little spoons and knives – they don’t have to match. If you want to add little signs for the cheese, people like that. Otherwise, the rustic-er the better.
My (not across the street) sister is particularly adept at baking cakes – she made no fewer than 4 stylish cheesecakes, and picked up a monster of a chocolate cake from the Purple Perk.
We were the kids with the most cake.
Later that week, for hers and my mom’s birthday, we all got together and ordered Indian food. Which totally counts. No rule says that when everyone comes over for dinner you have to actually cook.
For B’s birthday, he chose those saucy cocktail meatballs made with grape jelly and chili sauce, pan-fried sole, and Kraft Dinner. Dessert was two dense flourless chocolate cakes, piled with cream puffs. W and I decided to make one in the traditional croquembouche style, covered in spun sugar, and another drizzled with chocolate and sprinkles. There would be 5 boys 10 and under in attendance.
This isn’t the most dramatically sunken cake, but it’s one of the best I know. Deeply fudgy and easy to stir together. The cream puffs were piled, not glued – I dislike having to chip away at a fragile cream puff that has been glued to its tower with hard caramel. On one, we melted chocolate chips in a zip-lock baggie in warm water, snipped off a corner, and drizzled it over. Sprinkles were quickly sprinkled, so that they would stick before the chocolate set.
Spun sugar is a little trickier. All you need is sugar – and if you like, a spoonful of water and drop of lemon juice, which helps convince caramel to stay in its liquid state. Heat it in a small saucepan until it melts and turns deep golden. The trick, now, is to let it cool a bit – rather than work quickly, which will result in drops of caramel rather than spiderweby strands, it needs to cool to the texture of molasses. At that point, get two forks and hold them back to back, dip them in the caramel, and wave them back and forth over your cream puff tower.
You will make a glorious mess. Forget about it. The benefit of hard candy is that once cool, it brushes right off – your cake plate will come instantly clean – it seems like it should be the opposite, but it’s not. And because it’s just sugar, it will dissolve off your pot in hot water – no scrubbing required.
And as you can see, it looks brilliant.
Croquembouche Cake
AuthorJuliePreheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with a round of waxed paper and butter the paper, too.
In a small saucepan melt the chocolate with the butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the sugar, then the eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over the chocolate mixture (to get rid of lumps) and whisk until just combined.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25 minutes, until it's crusty on top and set around the edges. Cool your cake in the pan, then gently invert it onto a plate, or your hand, and then invert it onto whatever you'd like to serve it on. Pile cream puffs on top and drizzle with melted chocolate or caramelized sugar (see above for instructions). Serves 6-8.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with a round of waxed paper and butter the paper, too.
In a small saucepan melt the chocolate with the butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the sugar, then the eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over the chocolate mixture (to get rid of lumps) and whisk until just combined.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25 minutes, until it's crusty on top and set around the edges. Cool your cake in the pan, then gently invert it onto a plate, or your hand, and then invert it onto whatever you'd like to serve it on. Pile cream puffs on top and drizzle with melted chocolate or caramelized sugar (see above for instructions). Serves 6-8.
Oh my gosh, Gatherings sounds like such a stellar idea. I can’t wait!
what a wonderful way to celebrate birthdays!
I’m so excited for our project, and completely in awe of how perfect this cake is. Amazing, as always.
We move every couple of years for my husband’s work, and so I always feel pressured to put on my best game face in order to invite new friends over. So gatherings are few and far between in the beginning, and just when I feel I get it down in one location it’s time to move on. I would LOVE new ideas and tips on how to make it easier and less intimidating!
Wow, Julie! What a gorgeous cake. Would it be wrong to just make it now? Just… you know, for myself? Yum.
that’s a Cake-asm (cake + orgasm) I’m all flustered just looking at it. WOW! A climax of carnage(pun intended). Totally my kinda mess!!!
You have to be the BEST Aunt ever!
I love the idea of Gatherings. Good luck with it.
I made one of these a few years back for my daughter’s “I love Paris” birthday party. It was 4 feet tall – I made a paper cone, stuck the (pre-made/frozen) cream puffs on it with caramel syrup, covered the whole thing in strings of glistening sugar, voila! The girls loved it.
The cakes came out SO beautiful! Congrats on the new blog (and book!) – Gatherings is such a nice premise to build from.
Thanks Kathy!!
I love your Gathering concept and look forward to reading! The cakes are stunning!
Happy birthday to W! I LOVE that he wanted fish at his birthday party! I wonder how many 7 year olds can say that?
Sorry, B’s birthday! Happy birthday to B!
Wow. Beautiful!
Awesone cakes! Looking forward to the new blog; you’re right we talk ourselves out of having friends & family over more often because we make it daunting.
Beautiful cakes. I have to get my courage up to try the spun sugar. I’ve heard that cutting the tines of a whisk is a great way to get long wispy threads. I hope you still maintain this blog. Not everyone has a large or small group of friends or family that they would bring together for a get-together. The wonderful everydayness of DwJ is fantastic for those of us who usually only feed those living under our roof.
Happy Birthday to those celebrating this month! Gatherings sounds like an excellent idea-you’re so right, getting together around the table doesn’t have to be a production- can’t wait for the first installment. 🙂
Congrats, Julie and Jan! You can bet I’ll be reading and sharing. Can’t wait for the launch!
Yum! I love the idea of Gatherings. Can’t wait!
Thanks for the info on the Croquembouche – I will be making it for sure.
That spun sugar is amazing and my daughter’s bday is…tomorrow! Thankfully she has just requested a strawberry cake, no spun sugar required. Happy bday to everyone in your world!
I love croquembouche! And I agree about the chipping and ripping away…I hate what it does to the cream puffs, delicious nonetheless.
And I find it funny because I just had the same conversation with my mom about entertaining. We both love doing it, me cooking and my mom Martha Stewart-ing up some table decorations, but we end up not having any party because we put so much pressure on ourselves. Thanks for the pep talk!
I am so excited about the Gatherings blog! What a great idea. I would love to throw dinner parties, but am too intimidated at this point. Can’t wait to see the kind of inspiration the two of you cook up!
This looks SO FUN! Pinning now!
Wow! Beautiful Croquembouche!
I worked in a little French patisserie years ago and saw many of these go out the door on their way to weddings and birthday parties. Making a Croquembouche has made it to my food bucket list for 2013…and I think you’ve given me the motivation I need to do it! Thanks!
I am sooooo behind. But wanted to say the Gatherings idea is brilliant. A couple of decades ago I “entertained” a lot. Schmancy dinners. And now I can’t bear the thought of all that but also hate that I no longer gather friends around my table. So I can’t wait to use your ideas. Bring them on!
I totally agree.. let’s lose the beef Wellington and good china but keep on gathering around the table!