The butter tart is not just any dessert. Within its fragile pastry shell, it holds a country’s memories of long weekends, country bakeries, recipes handed down through generations, and an eternal debate over raisins.
Though they are made from pantry staples, the alchemy of a butter tart’s ingredients makes for something all its own. And their simplicity means you’ll usually have what you need on hand to whip up a dozen for a crowd at the cottage. Plus, they freeze well (some say they taste even better frozen, especially when you’re sitting dockside).
Why do butter tarts and the cottage seem so inseparable? For me, it’s the memory of eating oozing tarts on the deck in the midday sun, followed by a dive into the lake to wash off all the sticky residue.
Whatever your own experience, we know that the butter tart is tied to many Canadians’ memories of leisurely cottage dinners or sneaking one as you dash out the screen door. People become lifelong devotees to the tart, pledging undying loyalty to the local bakery in town or their mother’s version. Here’s the family recipe from my mother, the food writer and author of many cookbooks Lucy Waverman. It’s as classic as it gets.
Classic Butter Tarts
Emma Waverman
The butter tart is not just any dessert. Within its fragile pastry shell, it holds a country’s memories of long weekends, country bakeries, recipes handed down through generations, and an eternal debate over raisins.Here’s the family butter tart recipe from my mother, the food writer and author of many cookbooks, Lucy Waverman. It’s as classic as it gets.
Perfect flaky pastry
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup butter diced
- ¼ cup shortening diced
- ½ cup very cold water
- 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
Butter tart filling
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup corn syrup
- ½ cup raisins optional, obviously
Perfect flaky pastry
In a large bowl, sift together flour and salt. Cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
Combine water and vinegar in another bowl. Sprinkle liquid over flour mixture. With your fingers, work in liquid and gather dough into a ball and divide into two equal pieces. Wrap in plastic, and let chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
Lightly flour work surface and roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Use 4-inch rounds to cut, re-rolling bits to use all the dough.
Butter tart filling
Cream together butter, brown sugar, and salt with a whisk or a wooden spoon. Stir in vinegar, vanilla, eggs, and corn syrup just until combined. Don’t over mix. Let chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Fit pastry rounds into tart tins or muffin cups. It’s okay to have a slight overhang, or fold back in a little bit of pastry.
Place 1 tsp raisins (if using) in each shell.
Stir filling mixture. Spoon filling into shells until about three-quarters full.
Bake tarts for 25–30 minutes or until filling is set. Cool slightly in pan on a rack. Remove while still warm. Tarts will take about 2 hours to firm up.
Loosen tarts with a small, sharp knife and ease carefully out of pan. Eat any broken ones.
Pastry tips
- You can make the pastry by hand or in a food processor.
- As with all pastry, keep everything cold—the bowls, utensils, and your hands (if they get hot, run them under some cold water and dry them quickly).
- To keep the pastry from sticking, roll it out on a silicone mat.
- Use a 4-inch pastry cutter. Food writer Elizabeth Baird favours a 28 oz tomato can.
- The pastry should be rolled to approximately ¼-inch thick. Anything too thin will crack under the pressure of the filling.
- The mix of butter and shortening gives the pastry flavour and texture, but you can use all butter if you like.
Filling tips
- Make sure you don’t over mix and create a frothy filling; the bubbles will create uneven texture.
- If you want a runny centre, the filling needs some white vinegar or lemon juice, but no more than a tablespoon. You can also try apple cider vinegar.
- Corn syrup gives a sweet taste and firmer texture, but feel free to try different ratios of corn syrup and maple syrup. Adding in maple syrup will give a more distinctive maple taste and make the filling a bit runnier.
- Soak the raisins (if using) in hot water or even whisky or bourbon to plump them up.
- Don’t worry about the filling looking goopy around the edges of the tart. (Some people love when the filling caramelizes on the pastry.)
- Bake tarts in a silicone baking tray that has a wired rim. Even the tarts that ooze over the top during baking will come out every time.
- Use a thin paring knife to remove tarts from the tin while they are still warm, no more than 30 minutes after they come out of the oven. If you wait too long, the tarts won’t come out of the tin without breaking. More pro tips for baking perfect butter tarts here.
Keyword butter tart, dessert
This recipe was originally published in the May ’20 issue of Cottage Life.
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