Canadian Butter Tart

This Canadian Butter Tart is something special.

Each summer, I wax poetic about my childhood summers in Canada. If you’re new to this, I’ll recap: each summer from the time I was barely walking through early high school, Mom, little Buddha and I spent two full months of each summer at my grandparents’ house just north of the border in a tiny town called Fort Erie. It sits about 10 miles from Niagara Falls, and we spent our carefree summer days playing in the too-cold water of the river, swinging from trees, riding bikes, eating snap peas fresh from the garden, playing rag tag baseball in the neighboring park, celebrating birthdays with peach upside down cake and eating more ice cream than Mom would normally allow any other time of the year. Really, living our best lives. It was magical, and I can’t look back on those years with anything other than with a smile on my face, and a wish that life was really that easy 25+ years later.

One of things that I remember about Grandma and Grandpa’s house was that there was always, always a box of Tim Horton’s donuts on the kitchen table, refreshed with crullers every few days (or maybe a peanut donut or two) and butter tarts.

I was never a fan of butter tarts. Or, as you know, pies or tarts in general, but they were always there and I always assumed that they were some sort of old people dessert or grandparent dessert but as it turns out, it’s a Canadian dessert! In which case, it’s perfect given that this weekend is Canada Day (July 1st).

Traditionally mini-pies, I made this recipe into one giant tart for a few reasons: 1) I ain’t got time to make things mini and 2) the real reason, is that I think any sort of mini pastry has a tendency to be overly doughy and…well, gross. This eliminates that. I added walnuts, but you can also add raisins if you like (and you know I don’t). And finally, this is reminiscent of a pecan pie without the pecans. It’s very sweet, very rich and very delicious. I adapted Tasting Table’s recipe every so slightly, but if you want to make these into mini-tarts, head over and check it out.

I know the top looks a bit uneven in texture but that was the result of just how the bubbles settled after I took it out of the oven. It’s all good and if you have mini-tarts, it’d likely be a little more uniform. Still, Mom was thrilled and surprised when she showed up the other day to find this, ready and waiting for her to take home and share with her friends. When i told her that, she said that there was no way that she was sharing this- it was all for her.

Also, each year, on that border town and on the Buffalo side, the two nations celebrated with a Friendship Festival, with fireworks igniting from Canada on the 1st, the US on the 4th, and a fair carnival to boot on both sides. Let’s hope that our countries’ friendship endures.

June 29, 2018

Servings: 8

Prep: 45 min

Cook: 15 min

Total: 1 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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This Canadian Butter Tart takes the glory of the mini buttery bites and makes it large enough to share! Butter, walnuts and a golden crust..mmmm!

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

For the crust:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 large egg yolk
Ice water
For the filling:
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup (I used a Canadian corn syrup)
1 large, room-temperature egg
2 tablespoons very soft, unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple extract
1/4 tsp salt
⅓ cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Step 1 Make the pastry:
Step 2 In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the chopped butter to the bowl, an pulse about 10 times until you have very fine crumbs (alternatively, you can cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or a fork).
Step 3 In a 1-cup measuring cup, use a small whisk or fork to combine the egg yolk and enough ice water to come to ⅓ cup total. Gradually add to the the flour mixture until the pastry holds together. Press into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm (about 30 minutes). Let stand at room temperature to soften, just a little, before rolling.
Step 4 Make the filling:
Step 5 Preheat the oven to 425°.
Step 6 In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, syrup, egg, softened butter, vanilla, maple extract and salt until smooth. Set aside.
Step 7 When the dough is ready, roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a ⅛-inch thickness. Fit the crust into a pie dish or tart pan. Distribute the walnuts over the bottom of the dough in an even layer. Spoon the filling over the walnuts.
Step 8 Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden. Let scool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.