Tips for Paris-Brest:

* Use a large flat baking sheet (the back of a cookie sheet works well). * When you add the eggs individually to the dough, crack each egg separately into a measuring glass before pouring it into the dough; this way you can scoop out any wayward shell peices.

* A speedy method to bring refrigerated eggs to room temperature is to place them in warm water while you're preparing other parts of the dessert.

* If you have no fresh ripe apricots available for this particular version, a sweetened puree of canned or rehydrated dried apricots substitutes with no problem.

* Another way to pipe the pastry is to squeeze the paste in two plain circles tou ching each other and then a third circle on top of the two.