Legends of Canadian Pastry: The Butter Tart

The Sweet Canada: Domestic stamps series

As we can now interact with more people as vaccination numbers increase, be the hit of your backyard barbeque with some buttery goodness. Butter tarts have been a favourite ever since France send women to help colonize their Quebec territory 350 years ago, and they adapted the recipes they brought with them with what was available in their new home. Today, most butter tart recipes are a variation of a recipe from 1900 submitted by Mary Ethel MacLeod to The Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook. Whether you like them firm or slightly run, or with (or without) raisins or pecans, the recipe below will satisfy your cravings.

Ingredients

12 pre-made tart shells
(If you have a favourite homemade pie crust recipe, feel free to use it; if you need one, here's a good recipe.)
50 g butter, melted and cooled
90 g brown sugar, lightly packed
170 mL corn syrup
2.5 mL vanilla
1 egg
salt
120 grams raisins (optional)
40 grams coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. If you are making a pie crust from scratch, prepare the dough and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 204°C, and grease and flour the muffin tin you plan to use.
2. Remove the pie pastry from the fridge and roll it out to a 3mm thickness and cut out pieces with a round cookie cutter or a glass. Gently form the dough into the muffin tin.
3. If you want raisins in your butter tarts, place them in a medium bowl, cover them with boiling water, and let them sit for 5 minutes. Remove the raisins from the water and immediately stir them in the butter, then add the egg, vanilla, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt and combine well. If you want nuts in your tarts, this is where you can add them into the mix.
4. Pour the filling into the prepared tart shells and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 177°C and continue baking for approximately 10 - 15 minutes or until they start to brown.  Let cool before serving. Store the tarts in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days, or keep them at room temperature; keep in mind they will only keep for up to two days.