Butter tarts are Canada’s own dessert: a flaky pastry shell holding a sweet, buttery filling that is runny at the centre. The pastry is where most recipes go wrong, and the old answer is lard, which stays tender and flaky even under a wet filling.
Ingredients (12 tarts)
- Pastry for a double-crust pie, ideally our all-lard pastry
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) packed brown sugar
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) corn syrup or maple syrup
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) melted butter
- 1 egg
- 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
- 5 ml (1 tsp) white vinegar or lemon juice
- A pinch of salt
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) raisins or chopped pecans (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F) with a rack in the lower third. Roll the pastry about 3 mm thick, cut 10 cm rounds and press them into a muffin tin. Chill 15 minutes.
- Whisk the brown sugar, syrup, melted butter, egg, vanilla, vinegar and salt until smooth.
- Divide the raisins or pecans among the shells if using, then fill each two-thirds full.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling bubbles but still wobbles in the centre.
- Cool 10 minutes in the tin, then lift out with a knife and cool on a rack.
Notes
- For a runny centre, bake the shorter time; for a firm set, the longer.
- Do not overfill: the filling boils up and can glue the tarts to the tin.
- Keep 3 days covered, or freeze baked tarts for a month.
More pastry: sugar pie and tourtière. Where to find lard: where to buy lard in Canada.
From Rise Nutrition
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Pure lard from Canadian pork. Ships from Canada · Free shipping over $45 · 30-day money-back.
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