Butter Tarts

About This Recipe

Butter tarts are arguably Canada's greatest culinary contribution to the world — small, individually portioned pastry tarts filled with a filling of brown sugar, butter, egg, and syrup that bakes into a gloriously gooey, caramelised, slightly runny centre inside a crisp, flaky shell. Every Canadian family has a position on the great debate: runny or firm filling, and raisins or no raisins. The tarts appear in church bake sales, fall fairs, and Christmas boxes across the country.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 250 gplain flour
• 150 gcold butter(cubed)
• 1 tspsalt
• 60 mlice cold water
• 200 gbrown sugar(packed)
• 100 gbutter(melted, for filling)
• 2eggs
• 60 mlcorn syrup or golden syrup
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 1 tbspwhite wine vinegar(secret ingredient — adds brightness)
• 100 graisins(optional — the great Canadian debate)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make pastry

   Rub cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add ice water tablespoon by tablespoon until dough just comes together. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Line tins

   Roll pastry thin. Cut circles and press into a 12-cup muffin tin. Refrigerate lined tins while making filling.

3. 3

   Make filling

   Whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, syrup, vanilla and vinegar until smooth. If using raisins, divide among tart shells first.

4. 4

   Fill

   Pour filling into each pastry shell, filling 2/3 full — the filling puffs up during baking.

5. 5

   Bake

   Bake at 200°C for 15–18 minutes until filling is set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the centre. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing — filling firms as it cools.

Variations

• •

  Add pecans or walnuts instead of (or alongside) raisins.

• •

  Make a chocolate butter tart by adding 1 tbsp cocoa powder to the filling.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Store at room temperature for 3 days, refrigerate for 1 week. The pastry softens after a day — best eaten fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions