Canadian recipe

Ontario Butter Tarts

Name: Ontario Butter Tarts
Prep time: 55 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 1 h 13 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Canadian cuisine
Ingredients: 250 g all-purpose flour; 3 g fine salt; 115 g cold unsalted butter, diced; 60 g cold vegetable shortening, diced; 75 ml ice water, plus more only if needed; 1 large egg yolk for pastry; 180 g packed brown sugar; 120 ml light corn syrup; 60 g soft unsalted butter; 2 large eggs; 5 ml white vinegar; 5 ml vanilla extract; 1 g fine salt for filling; 60 g currants or raisins; 15 g butter for greasing the muffin tin

Tender flaky pastry cups hold a buttery brown-sugar and syrup filling with currants, baked until puffed and bubbling but still soft in the centre.

Ontario, especially central and eastern Ontario

Prep: 55 min
Cook: 18 min
Total: 1 hr 13 min
Servings: 12

Ontario butter tarts with flaky pastry and glossy currant filling — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Alex LozuponeSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

250 g
all-purpose flour
3 g
fine salt
115 g
cold unsalted butter, diced
60 g
cold vegetable shortening, diced
75 ml
ice water, plus more only if needed
1
large egg yolk for pastry
180 g
packed brown sugar
120 ml
light corn syrup
60 g
soft unsalted butter
2
large eggs
5 ml
white vinegar
5 ml
vanilla extract
1 g
fine salt for filling
60 g
currants or raisins
15 g
butter for greasing the muffin tin

Method

01
Cut the fat into the flour
Whisk the flour and 3 g salt. Cut in the cold butter and shortening with a pastry cutter until pea-sized pieces remain among coarse crumbs.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Bring the pastry together
Whisk the egg yolk with 75 ml ice water. Drizzle over the flour and toss with a fork just until ragged clumps form; press into a disc without kneading.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Chill and line the cups
Chill the pastry for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 220°C and butter a 12-cup muffin tin. Roll the pastry to 3 mm and cut 12 rounds to line the cups.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Mix the filling
Whisk brown sugar, corn syrup, soft butter, eggs, vinegar, vanilla and 1 g salt until smooth. Divide the currants among the pastry shells.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Fill the tarts
Pour filling into each shell until it is about two-thirds full, leaving headroom for bubbling. Place the tin on a rimmed baking sheet.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Bake until puffed and bubbling
Bake at 220°C for 12–15 minutes until the pastry edges are golden and the filling is bubbling. The centre should still wobble slightly.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Release and cool
Rest in the tin for 2 minutes. Run a thin spatula around each tart and transfer to a rack to cool for 30 minutes so the filling settles.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Serve at room temperature
Serve at room temperature with the filling soft and slightly gooey. Store any remaining tarts covered so the pastry does not dry out.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Keep pastry ingredients cold and chill the dough before rolling so the crust stays flaky rather than tough.
Cool a cooked filling before it goes into the pastry shell; hot filling melts the butter and weakens the base.

Common mistakes

Overworking pastry develops gluten and makes a tough crust; stop as soon as it holds together.
Filling an unchilled shell too full makes the filling bubble over and the pastry stick to the pan.

Substitutions

Use a chilled all-butter pastry if lard is unavailable; texture will be a little less tender but still flaky.
For berries, frozen fruit can go straight into the filling; add a little more thickener if the fruit has thawed and released juice.

Storage

Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Freeze for longer storage.

Cultural context

Butter tarts are especially associated with Ontario and appear in early twentieth-century Canadian cookbooks. Fillings are personal: raisins, currants or nuts may be included, and bakers disagree about how runny the centre should be.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

ButtertartS1360020.jpg — Photograph by Alex Lozupone; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Canadian recipes

Ontario Butter Tarts

Ingredients

Method

Cut the fat into the flour

Bring the pastry together

Chill and line the cups

Mix the filling

Fill the tarts

Bake until puffed and bubbling

Release and cool

Serve at room temperature

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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