Canada's most distinctively national pastry features a flaky shell with a caramel centre that should drip when a bite is taken. The raisin debate has been ongoing since the 1930s.
About Butter Tarts
Canada's definitive pastry: a flaky shell holding a gooey filling of butter, sugar, egg and syrup that sets to a slightly runny, deeply caramelised centre; the great divide is raisins vs. no raisins; the Ontario Butter Tart Trail draws visitors through 50 bakeries; the filling should drip on your hand.
The Pastry
Canada's most distinctively national pastry is a small, flaky short-crust shell holding a filling of butter, brown sugar, egg and syrup that sets to a gooey, slightly runny caramel with a thin, crackly top. The centre should drip when bitten; a tart that does not drip has been overbaked. That single principle is the heart of butter-tart lore.
“The centre should drip when bitten; a tart that does not drip has been overbaked.”
Butter Tarts, Canada
The Great Debate
Raisins or no raisins is the question that divides Ontario families. The raisin camp argues the fruit adds texture and a counterpoint to the sweetness; the no-raisin camp calls them an intrusion. Pecans and other additions have their followers too. The only sensible response is to eat several of each and reserve judgement.
A Farm-Kitchen Original
The butter tart is one of the few baked goods that emerged from the Canadian kitchen rather than being imported whole, with early recipes traced to rural Ontario in the early twentieth century. It belongs to a tradition of thrifty farm baking built on pantry staples, sugar, butter, eggs and syrup. That homespun origin is part of why it is held up as genuinely Canadian.
Where to Find Them
Butter tarts are a bakery and county-fair staple, and Ontario has built a Butter Tart Trail and a festival around them. The best come from small bakeries that still use a tender, lard-based pastry and pull the tarts while the centre is soft. Warm, with the filling running and the shell shattering, is how they are meant to be eaten.
“Butter tarts are a bakery and county-fair staple, and Ontario has built a Butter Tart Trail and a festival around them.”
