- Flaky pastry shells
- Butter, brown sugar and egg filling, sometimes with corn syrup
- Raisins or pecans (optional, and controversial)
Butter Tarts
Butter tarts on a cutting board. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Butter tarts are Ontario's signature sweet: a small flaky pastry shell filled with a gooey mixture of butter, sugar and egg. The filling can be runny or firm, and the country is divided on raisins: with or without is a serious question.
The earliest printed recipe appeared in 1900, in a Barrie, Ontario community cookbook. The Kawarthas, north of Toronto, claim the tart as their own and run a Butter Tart Tour linking the bakeries.
Key ingredients
Where to try it
- The Butter Tart Tour bakeries of the Kawarthas.
- St. Lawrence Market bakeries in Toronto.
- Farmers' markets across Ontario.