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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Ontário
Individual tart made with pie crust filled with butter, sugar, syrup and egg; creamy inside and firmer on top. The earliest known printed recipe dates from 1900 in Barrie, and the tart features on bakery and festival trails in Ontario.
Traditional sweet from Ontário
Also known as: butter tarts, tartelette au beurre
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Butter tart — Ontário, Canada
A butter tart is a small tart made with a flaky pie crust and filled with butter, brown sugar, syrup and egg. In the oven the filling becomes semi-solid, with a firmer, crispier top. The Canadian Encyclopedia calls it quintessentially Canadian.
The oldest known printed record is a filling recipe for tarts published in 1900 in a cookbook compiled by volunteers of the Royal Victoria hospital in Barrie, Ontario, sold to raise funds. The recipe is attributed to Mrs. Malcolm MacLeod, a resident of the town, and the book is kept in the Simcoe County archives. It is the earliest known record, not proof of origin: the Canadian Encyclopedia suggests the tart may descend from Quebec’s tarte au sucre and from recipes adapted by the filles du roi, young French women sent to New France between 1663 and 1673.
Two debates surround the butter tart. The first is whether it should include raisins: older recipes did not, today raisins or dried currants are accepted, and walnuts are already considered a step too far by some. The second is texture: some prefer a runny filling, others want it firm. In Quebec it is common to substitute corn syrup with maple syrup.
In Ontario the tart features on bakery trails, such as those in the Kawarthas and Northumberland, with dozens of stops, contests and festivals like the one in Midland. It’s easy to find in bakeries, cafés and markets across the province.
Pie crust; filling of butter, brown sugar, syrup (corn or maple) and egg, sometimes with vanilla. Raisins or dried currants are optional.
By hand, at room temperature or slightly warm; served as a dessert or with coffee.
Year-round; also at summer fairs and festivals in Ontario.
Your questions
It’s a small pie-crust tart filled with butter, brown sugar, syrup and egg, creamy inside and firmer on top.
It depends on the maker. Older recipes did not include them; today raisins or dried currants are accepted, but many people prefer them without. Walnuts are often considered a different recipe.
The earliest printed record is a 1900 recipe from a Barrie, Ontario cookbook. The origin may be older: one theory links the tart to Quebec’s tarte au sucre.
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