Does anyone else feel like the only way to learn is by learning the hard way. For me it just doesn't sink in until I have really fudged it up. This happens in almost every aspect of my life. I run full fledged into something i'm excited about. My visions of grandeur, and optimistic attitude always tend to glaze over the fact that i'm not doing something correctly. Quality checks are really important in my studio and kitchen, because sometimes I don't realize that it's not working until I slice it open.

It took me about five tries to get this right. Thank goodness it was a pretty quick bake, so I was able to keep making one batch right after the other until I got it correct. My first few attempts were actually quite fluffy, but it wasn't until I opened one that I realized that there was no hollow center. I do the same thing with ceramics, every once in a while you need to slice a piece open to make sure things are the correct thickness. In baking it is called checking your crumb, but in the end it's all the same. Quality is always going to top quantity. It didn't matter how many profiteroles I made. If they weren't hollow, they didn't make the cut. And please trust me when I say, that a Croquembouche calls for a lot of profiteroles.

Honestly I think a bit of delusion is required for this bake, because if you don't have any visions of grandeur of that final creation, you are going to stop the second you accidentally dip your fingers in that molten caramel along with a cream puff. Because it burns, and it doesn't stop burning until it cools down. And you can't stop stacking because there is a strict cooling caramel timeline that needs to be kept. Yeah, a bit of crazy is definitely needed to push through the pain. However, the pride you feel when it is all finished, and you have a towering stack of cream puffs encased in spun sugar is completely wonderful. It is like a baker's high! I mean I don't really enjoy big groups of people, but in that moment I wanted people to walk through my home to just look at the magnificence that is a Croquembouche.

I’m curious folks, what is your favorite bake? What have you made that has made you glow with pride?