The Great Canadian Butter Tart

The Great Canadian Butter Tart

Butter Tarts are a classic Canadian dessert. This easy butter tart recipe features a buttery, flaky pastry filled with a gooey caramel-like filling. You can add pecans, raisins, or keep them plain. The filling comes together in seconds! You can make the crust in this recipe or make use store-bought pie crust for even easier butter tarts!
Servings: 12 yield(s)
Prep Time: 60 mins
Cook Time: 17 mins
Total Time: 77 mins
Ingredients
    For the Crust
  • 1.5 cup (7.5 oz/210 g) all-purpose flour
  • .5 tsp (2 g) salt
  • .25 cup (55 g) cold butter, cubed
  • .25 cup (55 g) shortening or lard, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) vinegar
    • For the Filling
  • .5 cup (120 ml) raisins or toasted pecans
  • .25 cup (55 g) soft butter
  • .25 cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 pinch salt
  • .5 cup (120 ml) corn syrup
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
Instructions
    For the Crust
  1. Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 5 seconds to combine.
  2. In liquid measuring cup, whisk egg yolk and vinegar to combine. Add enough ice water to make 1/3 cup (78 ml). Keep in freezer until ready to use.
  3. Sprinkle butter and shortening over the flour and pulse until only pea-sized pieces of butter remain (10-15 pulses).
  4. Sprinkle egg mixture over flour mixture and then pulse to combine (10-15 pulses). Dough should look like wet sand and come together when squeezed between fingers.
  5. Gather dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap or reusable beeswax wrap and chill for 1 hour.
  6. Before rolling out dough, create parchment paper shells by cutting out squares and folding them over the bottom of a glass that fits in your muffin tins (see pictures below). Fit the parchment liners into 12 muffin cups.
  7. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into twelve 10 cm/4 inch circles. You may need to put the dough back together and re-roll for the last couple of tarts.
  8. Press into prepared muffin tin.
  9. Chill 30 minutes.
    10. For the Filling
  10. Preheat oven to 400F
  11. Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes.
  12. In a large bowl, blend together softened butter, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup with hand blender
  13. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
  14. Drain raisins and divide equally into chilled tart shells.
  15. Pour butter mixture over the tarts (about 1 1/2 tbsp per tart).
  16. Bake for 15-20 minutes; filling will be lightly browned but still bubbling. The amount of time to bake depends on how runny you like your tarts. I tend to go for 17 minutes.
  17. Let cooked butter tarts cool in pan for 10 minutes after removing from oven then place on racks until completely cool.