Autumn Fruit Tart

Begin by combining the cold butter and cream cheese in a bowl, then use a knife or pastry blender to mix them with the flour until the mixture has a rough, uneven texture. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to achieve this - simply pulse the cold butter into the flour until it resembles coarse, grainy material; then add the cream cheese and pulse again until the mixture is roughly the size of small peas. When you squeeze a handful of this mixture, it should hold its shape and form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow it to firm up.

Next, toss the sliced apples and pear with some orange juice - don't worry too much about getting them evenly coated, just aim for a general distribution of the juice. In another bowl, whisk together some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and cornstarch to create a sweet-spice mixture. Then toss the fruit with this sugar-spice mixture and set it aside for now.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). If you're planning to make a free-form tart, lightly grease an 8-inch baking sheet instead of using a tart pan. Roll out the chilled pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to form a 10-inch circle, then transfer it to the prepared baking sheet or tart pan.

Arrange the fruit decoratively in the center of the pastry, leaving a little room around the edges. If you're baking on a sheet, don't worry about covering the entire surface - just leave a 2-inch border of dough around the fruit, and then fold it up over the edge to create a crust.

Bake the tart in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Remove it from the oven and brush it with some apricot jam - this will add a sweet, sticky glaze to the finished tart.