Ms. Button's Profile

"The other key to making pâte à choux is making to pipe out all the pastries on a given sheet to roughly the same size and shape so they bake at the same rate, and then cook them at three different temperatures."

This is especially true with the croquembouche, as it helps with building structure. I skip the piping for this project and use a very small OXO scoop (2 tsp, I think). That way each puff is exactly the same size.

Another tip for building the big ol 'bouche: have everything ready to go (cream puffs filled, base set up, ice bath for hot sugar burns) before you start your caramel.