The ultimate (raisins optional) butter tart recipe (2024)

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By Emma WavermanPublished: July 2, 2020Updated: June 11, 2022

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This recipe was originally published in the May ’20 issue ofCottage Life.

The ultimate (raisins optional) butter tart recipe (1)

Classic (raisins optional) butter tart recipe

Emma Waverman

The butter tart is not just any dessert. Within its fragile pastry shell, it holds a country’s memories of long weekends, country bakeries, recipes handed down through generations, and an eternal debate over raisins.

Here’s the family butter tart recipe from my mother, the food writer and author of many cookbooks, Lucy Waverman. It’s as classic as it gets.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Chilling and cooling time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert, snacks

Cuisine Canadian, classic, Cottage

Servings 12 tarts

Ingredients

Perfect Flaky Pastry

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¾ cup butter, diced
  • ¼ cup shortening, diced
  • ½ cup very cold water
  • 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice

Butter Tart Filling

  • ½ cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup corn syrup
  • ½ cup raisins (optional, obviously)

Instructions

Perfect Flaky Pastry

  • In a large bowl, sift together flour and salt. Cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.

  • Combine water and vinegar in another bowl. Sprinkle liquid over flour mixture. With your fingers, work in liquid and gather dough into a ball and divide into two equal pieces. Wrap in plastic, and let chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

  • Lightly flour work surface and roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Use 4-inch rounds to cut, re-rolling bits to use all dough.

Butter Tart Filling

  • Cream together butter, brown sugar, and salt with a whisk or a wooden spoon. Stir in vinegar, vanilla, eggs, and corn syrup just until combined. Don’t over mix. Let chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Fit pastry rounds into tart tins or muffin cups. It’s okay to have a slight overhang, or fold back in a little bit of pastry.

  • Place 1 tsp raisins (if using) in each shell.

  • Stir filling mixture. Spoon filling into shells until about three-quarters full.

  • Bake tarts for 25–30 minutes or until filling is set. Cool slightly in pan on a rack. Remove while still warm. Tarts will take about 2 hours to firm up.

  • Loosen tarts with a small, sharp knife and ease carefully out of pan. Eat any broken ones.

Notes

Tips for butter tart success

Pastry tips:

  • You can make the pastry by hand or in a food processor.
  • As with all pastry, keep everything cold—the bowls, utensils, and your hands (if they get hot, run them under some cold water and dry them quickly).
  • To keep the pastry from sticking, roll it out on a silicone mat.
  • Use a 4-inch pastry cutter. Food writer Elizabeth Baird favours a 28 oz tomato can.
  • The pastry should be rolled to approximately ¼-inch thick. Anything too thin will crack under the pressure of the filling.
  • The mix of butter and shortening gives the pastry flavour and texture, but you can use all butter if you like.

Filling tips:

  • Make sure you don’t over mix and create a frothy filling; the bubbles will create uneven texture.
  • If you want a runny centre, the filling needs some white vinegar or lemon juice, but no more than a tablespoon. You can also try apple cider vinegar.
  • Corn syrup gives a sweet taste and firmer texture, but feel free to try different ratios of corn syrup and maple syrup. Adding in maple syrup will give a more distinctive maple taste and make the filling a bit runnier.
  • Soak the raisins (if using) in hot water or even whisky or bourbon to plump them up.
  • Don’t worry about the filling looking goopy around the edges of the tart. (Some people love when the filling caramelizes on the pastry.)
  • Bake tarts in a silicone baking tray that has a wired rim. Even the tarts that ooze over the top during baking will come out every time.
  • Use a thin paring knife to remove tarts from the tin while they are still warm, no more than 30 minutes after they come out of the oven. If you wait too long, the tarts won’t come out of the tin without breaking.Looking for more pro tips for baking perfect butter tarts?

Keyword baking, butter tart recipe, classic (raisins optional) butter tart recipe

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Tags

  • baking
  • butter tart
  • buttertart
  • cabin
  • Canada
  • Canadian
  • cottage
  • dessert
  • pastry
  • treat

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The ultimate (raisins optional) butter tart recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my buttertarts so runny? ›

Butter tarts that are runny may be underbaked or may not contain enough egg. Eggs help thicken and stabilize butter tart filling while it bakes, which is why I've included two whole eggs in my recipe to ensure the filling is thick and fully set once baked.

What is butter tart filling made of? ›

These buttery mini pies, typically baked in a muffin tin, have a flaky crust filled with a gooey mixture of butter, sugar, syrup, egg, and sometimes raisins or nuts. They bear some resemblance to the American pecan pie and British treacle tart, but their uniquely rich flavor sets them apart.

What's the difference between a pecan pie and a butter tart? ›

The butter tart is different from pecan pie in that it has a "runnier" filling due to the omission of corn starch. Often raisins, walnuts, or pecans are added to the traditional butter tart, although the acceptability of such additions is a matter of national debate.

Should butter tarts have raisins? ›

Purists say true butter tarts should not contain raisins or nuts. For Currie and March of Wasaga Beach, Ont., they have to have raisins. Some like runny fillings, some firm. Some like thick pastry shells while others like thin so the filling stars.

Why is my tart not setting? ›

If the filling is runny and flowing out of the tart when you cut into it, then it is likely that the curd was not cooked for quite long enough. You need to be patient when cooking citrus curds as if you heat the mixture too quickly then it can curdle and become lumpy. You need to keep a low heat and stir constatntly.

Why are my butter tarts grainy? ›

-- To avoid "gritty" butter tarts, caramelize sugar first by blending on the stovetop with butter, syrup and vanilla. Let it cool before adding eggs to the mixture or they'll be scrambled.

Can you buy butter tart filling? ›

Get this item with your grocery order. Our Butter Tart mix strikes all the right notes of sticky and buttery sweetness while remaining convenient to prepare. With no artificial flavours or colours, simply add water and butter to the mix, cook and stir on your stove top for 10 minutes.

What country invented butter tarts? ›

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, butter tarts are a result of the filles du roi, or the King's Daughters, who were young French women sent to Quebec in the 17th century.

What culture is butter tarts from? ›

The History Of The Butter Tart

' Butter tarts were common in Canadian pioneer cooking. The earliest published recipe for a butter tart is from Barrie, Ontario dating back to 1900 in the Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook. Another early published recipe was found in a 1915 pie cookbook.

Can I substitute a pie crust for a tart? ›

While each dough is unique to their desserts, you can make a tart with pie crust.

Why is pumpkin pie not a tart? ›

PiesTarts – If you've ever thought a tart was pie, you're forgiven because they're incredibly similar. The main difference is that tarts only have a bottom crust, and the crust is much thicker than a pie crust.

What is a galette vs tart? ›

A tart is fancy. And a galette splits the difference, but is easier than either one. The defining factor of a galette (which can also be called a crostata if you've got Italian inclinations) is that it's a free-form pastry, baked without the stability of a pie pan or tart ring.

Can I use oil instead of butter in tarts? ›

The pastry of a tart made by using oil instead of butter will be richer and more flavoursome and will have that home-made taste that is so special, with aromas reminiscent of one's granny's comforting recipes.

Why do my butter tarts crystallize? ›

Butter tart fillings are high in sugar, which is also known as sucrose. Sucrose naturally wants to crystalize, which is how granulated sugar is made from simple sugars like fructose and glucose.

Why are butter tarts a Canadian must try? ›

Within its fragile pastry shell and its sticky filling of butter, sugar, syrup and egg, the butter tart holds Canada's memories of long weekends, country bakeries, recipes handed down through generations—and an eternal debate over raisins.

Why is my caramel tart runny? ›

There are two main reasons a caramel tart can be runny. First, if the caramel wasn't cooked to the proper temperature, it won't set properly. Make sure you use a candy thermometer to monitor it while it's cooking. Also, if you leave it at room temperature, the filling can soften, so keep your tart refrigerated.

Why is my tart soft? ›

If you use room temperature or melted butter, the crust will become soft. However, that would not help if you want to make tarts. All baking courses in Chennai suggest cutting the butter into small cubes and chilling it. Only after it is cold, should you add that in the flour.

Why is my tart dough so soft? ›

Very soft, difficult-to-mould pastry: Either too little flour or too much water or fat was used, the pastry was not kneaded together until smooth or the pastry was still too hot and soft to roll out (to remedy this, allow to stand or knead gently for 1–2 minutes).

Are you supposed to butter pop tarts? ›

Can you put butter on a Pop-Tart®? Yes! Our fans love to put butter on their Pop-Tarts®, which many say creates a whole new level of mouthwatering flavor.

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