Will Travel for Food

Passport & Plate - Canadian Butter Tarts

Canada | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Pastry Makes 24 tarts
5 Cups Flour
1 tbsb Salt
1 tbsb Sugar
1Lb of Lard (Cold)
1 Egg (beaten) Add water (Cold) to make 1 Cup of Fluid
Filling Makes about enough to fill 12 tarts
2 Eggs
1 ¼ Cups Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Butter (softened)
Optional Extra - 1 ½ cup of raisins (Boil and drain)

 

How to prepare this recipe
Mix dry ingredients together, then break lard into dry mixture (until it looks like porridge). Add the liquid ingredients and mix well. Flour surface and roll dough until desired thickness, use a circle cookie cutter to press out your tarts. Place in muffin baking trey and gently mold the tart.
Filling
Mix all ingredients together
Fill up pastry tarts about 3/4 full of filling
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown, leave to cool completely.

 

The story behind this recipe
Welcome to my crazy world of butter tarts. This recipe is an example of my search for the best, it could be considered a hybrid, a passed down from generations' past flaky pastry that I borrowed from my friend’s grandma, and the stand over the sink modern day gooey filling, that after many fails I perfected myself. I am proud to say I didn't have to travel far for inspiration. Here in Ontario, Canada we have a plethora of bakers who claim bragging rights to the best, and you have many options to taste their bounty, like on the Butter Tart Trail or at the annual Butter Tart Festival in Midland. Every spring when the snow starts to clear, I start to strategically plan the season’s road trips and make no mistake, stops include the local bakeries.