Ingredients
Pastry
- 300 gplain flour
- 1 tspfine salt
- 1 tbspcaster sugar
- 225 gcold unsalted butter, in 1 cm cubes
- 90 mlice water
- 1 tspcider vinegar
Filling
- 150 gsoft dark brown sugar
- 100 ggolden corn syrup or maple syrup
- 85 gunsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 1 tspcider vinegar
- ¼ tspfine salt
Optional
- 80 graisins, soaked 10 min in hot water and drained
- or 80 g pecan halves
Directions
- Rub or pulse the cold butter into the flour, salt and sugar until you have a mix of pea-sized and flat, flaky pieces — visible butter is what gives the shell its layers.
- Sprinkle over the ice water and vinegar and bring the dough together with as few strokes as possible. Flatten into two discs, wrap, and chill at least 1 hour.
- Roll the pastry to 3 mm, cut 12 rounds of about 11 cm, and press them into a muffin tin so the pastry comes right up the sides. Chill the lined tin 20 minutes and heat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Whisk the brown sugar, syrup, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, vinegar and salt together until just combined. Whisk gently — beating air in makes the filling soufflé up and then collapse into a crater.
- Drop a teaspoon of raisins or a few pecans into each shell if using, then pour the filling in to two thirds full. They will bubble up and overflow if you fill them higher.
- Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 12 minutes, until the pastry edges are set and pale gold, then drop the oven to 180°C (350°F) for a further 10 to 13 minutes.
- Pull them when the filling is puffed at the edges and still has a distinct wobble in the middle the size of a coin — it sets as it cools. Baked until firm in the oven, they turn to caramel candy.
- Cool in the tin 10 minutes, then run a knife around each and lift them onto a rack. Eat warm or at room temperature, ideally the same day.
Technique
- Runny versus firm is a genuine Canadian argument, and there is no correct answer. The filling ratio here leans runny; adding a third egg or baking five minutes longer gives the firm, sliceable style.
- The pastry must be well chilled and the filling poured cold, or the butter melts before the shell sets and the filling leaks underneath.
- The tart is documented in Canadian cookbooks from the early 1900s, with the Ontario version in the Royal Victoria Cookbook of 1900 usually cited as the earliest printed recipe. The claim that it descends from Quebec sugar pie is plausible but not settled.
Substitutions
- No corn syrup: use golden syrup or, better, pure maple syrup, which is entirely traditional and makes a darker, more fragrant tart.
- For an all-butter shortcut, shop-bought all-butter shortcrust rolled thin works, though it shrinks more in the tin.
Variations
- Raisin, plain and pecan are the three orthodox versions; walnut appears in eastern Ontario.
- Adding a spoonful of maple butter to each shell before the filling is a Quebec touch.
History
An early printed recipe appeared in a 1900 cookbook from Barrie, Ontario; the tart grew out of pioneer baking with imported sugar and syrup.
Frequently asked questions
What is Butter tart?
Butter tart is a dessert from Canada: gooey butter-sugar filling in flaky pastry, sometimes with raisins. An early printed recipe appeared in a 1900 cookbook from Barrie, Ontario; the tart grew out of pioneer baking with imported sugar and syrup.
How long does Butter tart take to make?
Butter tart takes 35 min plus 1 hr chilling of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes 12 tarts. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Butter tart?
Yes, within limits. No corn syrup: use golden syrup or, better, pure maple syrup, which is entirely traditional and makes a darker, more fragrant tart. For an all-butter shortcut, shop-bought all-butter shortcrust rolled thin works, though it shrinks more in the tin.
What is the most important thing to get right in Butter tart?
The pastry must be well chilled and the filling poured cold, or the butter melts before the shell sets and the filling leaks underneath.
