It’s birthday season here—like many families, our birthdays cluster in certain months, mostly January and October. This weekend marked the end of January celebrations as B turned ten. He couldn’t choose between cream puffs and cake (he takes after his aunt), so I baked sunken chocolate cakes whose hollow centers were perfect for a pile of cream puffs.
Before I get to the sticky business of spun sugar and drizzled chocolate, I want to introduce a new series my friend Jan and I have been planning. There are countless recipes online, but what we love most about food is how it brings people together—not just immediate family at the dinner table, but extended family, friends and even strangers connecting over a meal. Food is social and comforting; it nourishes and creates common ground. The idea of “entertaining” can feel intimidating, conjuring up images of elaborate menus and perfection. While there’s nothing wrong with formal dinners, that pressure can stop people from hosting at all.
This year Jan and I are bringing back casual gatherings and removing the stress around entertaining. We plan to host as many simple dinner parties and get-togethers as we can and share them with readers. On the last Wednesday of each month we’ll post ideas here to kick off our new blog project, Gatherings, where we’ll share simple recipes, approachable techniques and practical tips to help anyone host without anxiety. Jan used to be a professional party planner, so she brings expertise about quantities, catering tricks and plenty of useful advice. Gatherings is slated to launch in April, and we’ve even talked about turning the concept into a book, but for now we’re starting here.
January featured a string of family birthdays, from age seven to sixty-something. The first was a milestone celebration for my brother-in-law with friends, family and lots of cheese. Charcuterie boards and cheeses filled the house, with enough leftover to make gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches for days.
Cheese and charcuterie boards are easy and impressive. Arrange cheeses of varying shapes, sizes and textures on wooden boards or slate tiles, and fill gaps with crackers, pickles, chutneys, dried fruit and nuts. It will look abundant and inviting.
Add small spoons and knives—matching sets aren’t necessary. Little identification signs for the cheeses are nice but optional. The more rustic, the better.
My sister is especially talented at baking. She made several stylish cheesecakes and picked up a gigantic chocolate cake from the Purple Perk.
We definitely ended up with an abundance of cake.
A few days later, for my sister’s and my mom’s birthdays, we ordered Indian food. That absolutely counts as entertaining—there’s no rule that says you must always cook when hosting.
For B’s birthday meal he requested saucy cocktail meatballs made with grape jelly and chili sauce, pan-fried sole, and the ultimate comfort food—Kraft Dinner. Dessert was two dense flourless chocolate cakes crowned with cream puffs. W and I made one cake in the traditional croquembouche style, wrapped in spun sugar, and a second cake drizzled with chocolate and sprinkles. There were five boys aged ten and under at the party, so simplicity and fun were essential.
The sunken chocolate cake recipe I used is fudgy and straightforward to mix. I prefer stacking the cream puffs without hard caramel glue; it keeps them easy to remove and enjoyable to eat. For the chocolate-drizzled version we melted chocolate chips in a zip-top bag set in warm water, snipped a corner and piped the chocolate over the puffs, then added sprinkles while the chocolate was still wet so they would adhere.
Spun sugar takes a bit more practice but is simple in principle. Combine sugar with a splash of water and a drop of lemon juice if you like; heat in a small saucepan until it melts and reaches a deep golden color. Let the caramel cool slightly—down to a molasses-like viscosity—so it forms fine strands instead of droplets. Hold two forks back-to-back, dip them into the caramel, and flick or wave them over the cream puff tower to create delicate threads.
Expect a glorious, sticky mess and embrace it. The spun sugar hardens into brittle threads that brush away easily from plates, and the pot dissolves cleanly in hot water—no scrubbing required.
In the end it looked spectacular: a playful, crowd-pleasing centerpiece that combined the appeal of cake and cream puffs with a touch of showmanship. Casual gatherings like this are exactly what we want to encourage—simple, joyful food with friends and family, without the pressure of perfection.