Butter tarts
Butter tarts
Flaky shells, runny brown-sugar filling — Canada's pastry argument (runny vs set, raisins vs not).
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Butter tarts.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 1 hr
- Total
- 1 hr 50 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
A butter tart is a small pastry case filled with butter, brown sugar (or maple), egg, and sometimes raisins or pecans, baked until the top is glossed and the centre is still a bit liquid — or fully set, depending on your hill to die on. This version leans runny. They are not pecan pie, though pecans show up. Line shallow tart tins with a plain shortcrust. The filling is butter, brown sugar or maple, egg, a pinch of salt, and vanilla; raisins or pecan pieces are optional and politically charged. Bake until the top is glossed and the centre still trembles if you like them runny, or longer if you like them set. Cool enough to lift. They are not pecan pie in a smaller hat, even when pecans show up.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour, plus extra, or shop shortcrust200 g
- Butter, 100g cold for pastry, 80g melted for filling180 g
- Sugar, brown160 g
- Egg1 large
- Vanilla4.9 ml
- Maple syrup (optional)15 ml
- Salt1.2 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Make or line 12 tart shells. Chill.
20 minStep 2
Stir melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, salt and maple. Do not overbeat.
5 minStep 3
Fill shells two-thirds. Bake at 200°C 12–15 minutes until the tops are blistered and the centres still jiggle. Cool — they set as they sit.
15 min200°C
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Brown sugar → Maple syrup plus a little flour
A maple tart. Still Canadian.
Tips
- Raisins or pecans go in the shell before the filling if your family requires them.
- A minute too long and you have candy, not a tart.
History & culture
Ontario picnic tables and bake sales. Raisins divide families. We put them as optional and stay alive. Ontario bake sales, church halls and picnic tins still run on these. Families split on raisins the way other families split on gravy. Maple in the filling is a regional extra, not a maple-leaf sticker you owe the filling. Eat them at room temperature. A slightly leaking tart is a texture, not a failure, if the pastry held.
Late 19th / early 20th-century Canadian baking with British tart DNA. The runny filling is a national personality test. Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canadian baking sits on British tart pastry and cheap brown sugar or syrup. The runny-versus-set fight is a later personality test, not a colonial parable. Cookbook recipes standardised the small tin. You are making a sugar-egg tart, not reconstructing a frontier myth.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Butter tarts take?
1 hr 50 min all in — 30 min prep, 20 min cook, 1 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 12 tarts. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Eggs, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Oven, Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at ¼ tsp.
How much sugar?
160 g (brown) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Brown sugar → Maple syrup plus a little flour. A maple tart. Still Canadian.
Any tips from this recipe?
Raisins or pecans go in the shell before the filling if your family requires them. A minute too long and you have candy, not a tart.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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