Peekaboo cheese tart in simple puff pastry

Stir the oil into the bread flour, holding back two ounces of the flour.

Mix in two teaspoons of salt.

Work in the iced water a little at a time with a spatula and then by hand, until the dough is pliable but not damp or sticky. Do not add all the water at once.

Shape into a cushion, sprinkle lightly with flour, wrap and refrigerate 40 minutes to an hour.

Beat the chilled butter with a rolling pin to soften it, then smear it with the heel of the hand, working in the reserved flour until it is perfectly smooth, spreadable and still cool.

Flour the dough and your hands and pat it out to a rectangle about eight inches wide and sixteen inches long, pushing rather than rolling so the gluten is activated as little as possible.

Spread the softened butter over the upper two thirds of the dough, leaving the lower third unbuttered.

Fold the unbuttered third up to the middle and fold the top flap down over it — a letter fold, two layers of butter and three of dough. Rotate a quarter turn counterclockwise so the top flap is to the right.

Starting an inch from the near edge, roll rapidly to within an inch of the far end until the rectangle is 16 inches long and 8 inches wide, evening the sides with the pin and flouring any breaks.

Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet at the centre, then fold them together like closing a book: eight layers of butter between nine of dough. Press two depressions in the top with the ball ends of two fingers.

Wrap and refrigerate another 40 to 60 minutes.

For turns three and four, flour sparingly, beat the cold dough evenly and firmly lengthwise and crosswise, roll out to a rectangle 16 to 18 inches long, fold in three, rotate so the flap is to the right, and fold again. That is 72 layers of butter.

Refrigerate overnight.

For the cheese fondue filling, work the milk into the flour a little at a time until smooth.

Add an ounce of butter over medium heat and incorporate it, bringing the mixture towards a boil until it goes lumpy.

Off the heat, beat in the two eggs vigorously with a whisk, then return to the heat and bring back to a boil until it becomes a thick paste.

Add salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, a large pinch of cayenne and three drops of Tabasco.

Fold in the grated Parmesan and the coarsely grated Gruyere while the sauce is still hot.

Soften it with three to four tablespoons of heavy cream; the sauce must hold its shape when mounded in a spoon.

Give the chilled pastry one more roll and fold, patching any spots where the butter has broken through, then divide it into four equal pieces and keep them cold.

Roll half the pastry out on parchment paper to an 8 by 18 inch rectangle, one eighth of an inch thick.

Spread the fondue filling over it, leaving a three quarter inch border. Turn the border edges up over the filling, wet the corners with water and turn the ends over.

Roll the second piece to 15 by four and a half inches, fold it in half lengthwise, and cut slits three eighths of an inch apart.

Wet the edges of the filled bottom layer with a brush and lay the slit top over it.

Press a decorative vertical edging all around the sides with the back of a fork.

Chill at least half an hour before baking.

Beat one egg with about a teaspoon of water and paint the surface of the chilled tart, keeping the glaze off the filling. Wait a moment and give it a second coat.

Bake at 450F for 20 minutes, then turn down to 400F for a further 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the trays halfway. The sides should be firm and crusty.