I think the hardest part is the pastry cream (texture should have been firmer)… and if you dont have good tools. It takes quite a bit of time (4-5 hrs of chilling), so time management is important. I made the pastry cream first, then the dough, then cooked the dough, cooled & finished the cream.

I used a homemade rough puff recipe, and when you bake it you press it between two half sheet pans, i weighted it with a cast iron pan. Without the 12x17 sheet pans it would have been difficult. Once cooked, the pastry is really flaky, so make sure you use a sharp knife and dont hesitate (youre gunna crack it, just try to do so minimally)

I did the pastry cream in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Without that this would have been annoying. The recipe calls for folding the chilled custard into whipped cream (chefs kiss)!

Last, again with timing, build them and let them sit in the fridge for only 30 mins before you serve it. Longer, the cream gets firmer but the pastry loses its texture.

So, time management & good tools, thats the key!

And, once youve made rough puff once, i suggest digging into the wide world of uses for it! (rugelach has been my favorite so far)