I don’t normally post two days in a row. But yesterday, instead of making Sunday dinner, I was writing a blog post about a pressed-crust pear and plum tart that I’d recently made and loved. By the time I got downstairs to start making dinner I was in a big rush and all I could think of was the tart.

So as soon as I’d put the main course into the oven, I abandoned my plans for making oatmeal date squares and decided to make the tart again – this time version 2.0 since I didn’t have enough plums or pears for the first version.

The thing I love about this, besides the fact that it’s delicious, kind-of-sophisticated and healthy, is that it is so simple. There’s no rolling involved. You simply press the dough into the pan with floured hands. And then you cover it with fruit and pop it in the oven. It’s not overly doughy or overly sweet. Tart. Like the name. It takes ten minutes from the time you start to the time you put it in the oven. Then for the next half hour while it cooks – you can have a glass of wine in front of the fire. At least, that’s what I did.

I liked this version even better than the first. And I liked the first one a lot.

This would be nice for Thanksgiving or Christmas. You can vary the fruit you use – according to what’s in season and what you have on hand. And it’s equally good for dessert at dinner or brunch, or eat the leftovers for breakfast with coffee – I can vouch for how good that is.

Pressed-Crust Cranberry, Pear and Plum Tart 

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 cup flour
pinch of salt
2 large ripe pears, washed and sliced, skins on
1 large plum, washed and sliced, skin on
1 cup frozen cranberries
2-3 tbsp Demerara or turbinado sugar (or substitute regular brown sugar)
whipped cream and or Greek yoghurt to garnish

Heat oven to 350 deg F. Butter a large tart tin, a spring-form pan, or a large glass pie plate.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat until well mixed. Gradually add the flour and salt, stirring to combine. The dough will be somewhat soft. Press the dough into the buttered tart tin with floured hands.

Arrange the pear and plum slices in concentric circles on top of the dough. Scatter the cranberries over all. Press gently into the dough but don’t submerge the fruit. Sprinkle with the raw sugar.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden. Let cool at least slightly before serving.

Serve with whipped cream and or thick Greek yoghurt.