Big holiday parties call for big desserts.

And there aren't too many sweet treats bigger than that classic mountain of French pastry known as the croquembouche. It translates as "crunch in the mouth" but could just as easily be called "spectacular Christmas confection."

The concept is relatively simple: Create a whole bunch of small cream puffs and pile them up in a conical tower and then encase them in spun sugar.

The effect is stunning. But it's also delicious. That's a combination most people find irresistible at any time of the year.

It may appear a bit daunting as well. Most people limit their tower building to the children's Tinkertoys. Is it too difficult for amateurs?

The answer is no -- if you have the time and patience.

To demonstrate the techniques involved, The Sun recruited Jan Bandula, certified master pastry chef and instructor at the Baltimore International College. He put his croquembouche together in a morning -- at a speed that would intimidate most amateurs.

Nevertheless, Bandula insists the only challenging part is working with melted sugar. First-timers need to avoid rushing any step, have a little fun and practice a bit.

"It's very easy to do," he says.

Alas, there is one more complication. Once assembled, the croquembouche is only good for 12 hours or so -- any longer and the sugar will melt, so the day you make it has to be the day you eat it.

But if it were too easy, it wouldn't really impress your guests, now, would it?

One cream puff is good; a mountain of them, held together by swirls of spun sugar, is croquembouche, the French holiday dessert to end all holiday desserts. Here's how to make one yourself.

Croquembouche

Makes one foot-tall pastry serving 12 to 24

FOR THE CREAM PUFF SHELLS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups water or milk or a combination of both

2 / 3 cup butter

10 eggs

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Assemble dry ingredients. Heat liquid and butter to a boil and add the flour mixture all at once. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon until it becomes smooth and no longer clings to the side of the pan. Be careful not to overcook or overstir. Let cool for two minutes. Stir in eggs one at a time. Beat until the eggs are incorporated. Should be stiff enough to hold its shape.

Spoon or use a pastry bag with a Number 10 tip to create 1-inch round shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Dab the top of each with a finger dipped in egg white to help round. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 and then about 25 minutes longer (depending on the size of your puffs) at 350 degrees. Let cool. You will need about 150 cream puffs.

FOR THE FILLING:

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped of seeds

2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

5 or 6 well-beaten egg yolks or 3 eggs and 3 yolks

Place the scraped vanilla bean in the milk and scald (bring to a boil). Mix the sugar, flour and eggs in a double-boiler over boiling water until light. Remove vanilla bean and add scalded milk gradually. Stir until all is well-blended. Cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and cover with plastic immediately to prevent skin from forming. The mixture must cool completely before loading into pastry bag and piping into shells. Note: The cream puffs can be completed and then frozen weeks in advance. Thaw when ready for assembly.

FOR THE ASSEMBLY:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup corn syrup

Heat together in heavy pan over low heat until sugar is melted and has turned the color of straw. If you are using a thermometer, the ideal temperature is about 318 degrees. Remove from heat.

Dip completed cream puffs into sugar syrup and place on a greased pie pan or cake tray. Tongs will probably be useful, since the sugar is quite hot. The melted sugar will serve as a kind of epoxy for the outside walls. The creams puffs in the interior of the structure need not be dipped in sugar.

Now build the walls higher, filling in the interior with loose cream puffs, until a tower has formed. If the sugar begins to harden, return to stove to melt.

When completed dip a fork (or any other multipronged kitchen tool) into the melted sugar. Swirl the fork around the tower, letting the sugar drip and form spidery strands. If the sugar runs out in globs, it's probably too hot and you'll have to let it cool a bit before trying again.

-- Recipe adapted from "The Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker (Simon & Schuster 1997, $35)