It is the many layers of puff pastry that give it its desirable flaky quality, and these are built up during the unique rolling-and-folding process. The pastry is equally suited to sweet or savoury dishes, so is a useful skill to master; take a look at our how to make puff pastry guide before you begin for advice on achieving perfect buttery pastry every time.

With a good puff pastry, there’s nothing at all humble about pie; Shaun Rankin’s chicken pie recipe showcases puff pastry's gorgeous golden colour when baked, while Paul Heathcote’s beef with mushroom pie is hard to beat for sheer culinary comfort.

It is often forgotten that puff pastry has a more refined side - it is, for example, one of the staple ingredients of the endlessly elegant mille feuille. Frances Atkins fills his with caramel and mango, while Paul A. Young’s dark chocolate and mushroom mille feuille recipe makes an innovative savoury alternative.