French pastry school diary, day 74! AllisonChen tackles the challenge of nougatine, a caramel and almond component for the Croquembouche. It's hot, sets quickly, and requires some serious skill!

Bake Off Creme de la Creme, Series 2, Episode 5. The Croquembouche challenge draws to an end and the relief amongst the chefs is obvious.

Twenty-five years ago, or so, I found the magic. I was paging through a cookbook, the seminal “La Methode,” Jacques Pepin’s sequel to his even more seminal “La Technique.” As I was grazing through the ...