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 ...

To prepare the croquembouche, start by making the choux pastry. Cut the butter into cubes and place it in a saucepan, then ...

A croquembouche is a traditional French dessert that’s usually served at special occasions. With Christmas right around the corner, we thought this would be the perfect time to make a holiday version ...

There was one other major problem, which I can blame only on myself. The way Pepin makes his croquembouche, he dips the top of each puff in caramel (others leave out this step). It is much easier to ...