Puff vs. Standard Pastry Doughs

• Standard pastry doughs follow a similar pattern: A fat such as butter is cut into the flour, and then water, eggs or other liquids added to make a stiff dough. Such pastry dough has a delicately crumbly texture, perfect for melting in your mouth but lacking in strength. Puff pastry is sturdier because of how it's made. An elastic, bread-like dough is wrapped around a sheet of butter, then the entire parcel is rolled and folded until it contains hundreds of paper-thin layers of dough and butter. The stretchy dough itself is more resistant to moisture than conventional pastry, and the hundreds of layers of butter each act as a moisture barrier.

Making Your Shell

• Puff pastry must always be used very cold, because of its high butter content. If it's permitted to get warm the butter softens, and when you roll or cut the pastry its layers will begin to slide or stick together. Keep it in the fridge until it's needed, then only take out as much as you'll need right away. Cut a piece of puff large enough to overlap your tart pan, and gently press it into place from the middle outwards. Don't stretch the pastry into place, or it will shrink when you bake it. Instead, use your other hand to hold up the pastry sheet and let it fall into place through gravity.

Filling Your Tart

• Puff pastry naturally rises exuberantly in the oven's heat, which is fine in some cases but not when it's at the bottom of your tart. Pierce, or "dock," the pastry thoroughly with a fork, which crimps the layers together and impedes its rise. To moisture-proof the shell further, brush it with melted butter and chill it before adding your filling. The drier your filling, the better a result you'll see. Dry fruits such as apples can be tossed with a small amount of flour or cornstarch to absorb stray juices. With peaches, cherries and other juice-heavy fruits and berries, cook the filling first and let it cool. The thickened juices won't be as likely to soak into the crust.

Keeping Your Tart

• Once it's made up and filled, cover your tart and refrigerate it in a little-used corner of your fridge where it won't be jostled. It can be kept overnight, if your filling is well chosen and properly prepared, though six hours or less is better. If you want to make up your tarts days or weeks ahead of time, it's better to freeze them. Puff pastry bakes beautifully straight from the freezer, and this also helps ensure that your filling won't penetrate the crust. Freeze the tarts uncovered, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and over-wrap with a heavy-duty freezer bag. When you're ready to bake, simply unwrap the tarts, place them on a sheet pan, and slide them into your oven.