The Great Canadian Butter Tart

There are fewer things more truly Canadian than a butter tart. For those of you who have not ventured to the ‘great white north’ and have not experienced the greatness that is a butter tart, they are sweet, gooey and delicious! They most closely resemble pecan pie, only softer and without the nut topping.

Personally I find it difficult to resist any butter tart that comes my way, but that is not to say that they are all created equal. Often they are too runny, not runny enough, or just simply sweet without the nuanced flavour profile.

There is also great debate surrounding many aspects of the butter tart. The ‘runniness’ of the filling is the most common variable as is the choice of whether or not to include raisins and/or pecans. As far as I’m concerned- the more the merrier!

After many unsuccessful attempts to make the perfect tart at home, I finally stumbled upon a recipe in Chatelaine, a ‘quintessential’ (and therefore fitting) Canadian magazine. This recipe uses maple syrup in addition to the usual brown sugar and corn syrup, which gives the tart a more complex flavour. The consistency of the filling is just right- not too runny but still deliciously gooey.  The original recipe does not call for raisins or pecans but I added both.  I simply added them to the chilled tart before adding the filling.

Try one for yourself and make sure you have people over to help eat them otherwise you may guiltily find that you demolished an entire dozen yourself.

Classic Butter Tarts
Adapted from Chatelaine

Yields 12 tarts

1 single crust pastry dough (I recommend an All Butter Pie Dough)

Filling:

¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup white corn syrup
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 eggs
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp white vinegar
⅛ tsp salt

Option add-ins:

Chopped pecans
Raisons

Preheat the oven to 450° F.

Roll out the pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to ⅛ inch thickness. Using a 4 ½ inch biscuit or round cookie cutter, cut 12 rounds into the dough. This will require you to re-roll the scraps. Gently press the rounds into a 12 cup muffin pan, pressing on the sides to adhere them to the pan. Refrigerate the pan for 20 minutes.

While the dough is cooling, whisk the filling ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

If using the add-ins, place a few in the bottom of each pastry shell. Spoon 2 tbsp of filling into each pastry shell.

Bake for 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400°F and open the oven slightly for 10 seconds. Bake until the filling is puffed and the pastry is golden, about 7 minutes more. Let stand on a rack to cool for 3 minutes. Run a small knife around the edges of the tarts and transfer to a rack to cool completely.