butter tart recipe

This famous Canadian dessert consists of a flaky pastry shell filled with a rich buttery caramel center.

BEST Canadian Butter Tarts

(375 grams) all-purpose flour,

tsp (2.5 milliliters) baking powder

tsp (2.5 milliliters) salt

(114 grams) lard

unsalted butter

tsp (5 milliliters) white vinegar

(250 milliliters) cold water

(165 grams) packed brown sugar

tbsp (15 milliliters) table or whipping cream

tsp (5 milliliters) vanilla extract

pecans, walnuts, raisins or chocolate chips

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Cut in the lard and butter using a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.

In a measuring cup, combine the egg and vinegar. Add enough cold water to make one cup.

Gradually stir in the liquid, adding just enough to make the dough cling together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball and divide into two equal portions. Tightly saran wrap both portions. Place one in the freezer for later use. Place the other in the fridge to chill for one hour.

Roll the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8&#8243; thick. Cut as many 4&#8243; circles as you can. Re-roll the scraps and cut out more circles to make 12.

Fit the pastry circles into a muffin pan and place back in the fridge until ready to fill.

Preheat oven to 375F and position a rack in lower third of oven.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat and stir in the cream and vanilla. Let cool to touch (about 5 minutes) before whisking in the egg.

Divide the pecans (if using) among the pastry shells and pour in the filling until half full.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until crust is lightly golden around the edges and filling is bubbling.

Let cool completely in the pan. Best way to remove the tarts from the pan is to place a cooling rack (upside down) on top and flip the pan over. Then individually flip each butter tart right side up.

I am addicted. Made it multiple times. So delicious! Thank you

So easy, so tasty. They were a big hit with our neighbours during drinks in the front garden. Thank you. 

I like using the directions to cut the butter in thawed

Great recipe! Made these today and they tasted amazing! 

I made this recipe today I must say I love the crust. I don’t really like the filling. I have my old recipe with corn syrup &amp; maple syrup instead of just brown sugar.  They give you extra Mmm...yummy in your mouth! However, the recipe is very easy to follow. Thank you for sharing 

I think I must have overworked the pastry. It was a tough dough. Not very flakey. I’m sure it was my error....everything in the recipe should have made it tender and flakey. LOVED the filling..it’s a nice change. 
I make tarts all the time and if I could give a tip for any pastry.....when rolling the dough...I cut it ALL into tarts and freeze what I’m not going to use on baking day. I roll flat, cut into circles and put parchment between each one, so it’s easy to separate. I do the same for pie shells. Then when you have surprise visitors, I don’t have to haul out all the baking ingredients. Just thaw and fill. It takes no room in the freezer because everything if frozen flat.

I have never had so many compliments on my butter tarts!  I always used one recipe for years, but I tried these and I'm going to stick with this recipe.

Absolutely delicious.  

Very nice tarts!  This recipe is a keeper.  Just the right amount of every ingredient.

Made these for the family twice in one week!!  These were not overly sweet as some butter tarts are.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/vhd9QEIa.mp4

These butter tarts consist of a flaky pastry shell filled with a rich buttery caramel center.

Canadian Butter Tarts

A Canadian treat that everyone should try, these EASY Canadian Butter Tarts consist of a flaky crust filled with a buttery, caramel-like, gooey center!

Canadian Butter Tart Recipe

flour

sugar

fine sea salt

unsalted butter (, cold)

water (, cold)

unsalted butter (, at room temperature)

brown sugar

eggs (, at room temperature)

maple syrup

vanilla extract

Using a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter in chunks, pulse 5 to 8 times, or until butter is in small pieces. Add the cold water and pulse until the dough starts coming together.

Turn the dough onto 2 plastic wrap pieces lying flat. Cover over and pat into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Dough will be super sticky, this is normal.

Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a flat surface and roll out one portion at the time, about 1/8 of an inch thick. Use a round cutter or lid (4 inches) and cut 15 pieces.

Grease 1 muffin pan completely and 3 muffin cups from a second pan. Press each dough circle into the bottom of a muffin pan cup. Refrigerate while making the filling.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Crust

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at the time. Add the maple syrup, salt, and vanilla extract. The filling is a chunky custard and very loose. If you make this ahead and set aside, you&#39;ll need to whisk before pouring into muffin tins.

Pour the filling into pie crust and bake for 25 minutes. It is easiest to use a glass measuring cup with a pour spout.

Let the tarts cool for 5 minutes in the pan and remove to a cooling rack.

If you&#039;ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comment or ratings!

Filling

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1599702662/btfkonrokfvhhgz9boh7.mp4

A Canadian treat that everyone should try, these Canadian Butter Tarts consist of a flaky crust filled with a buttery, rich, caramel like, gooey center!

Butter tart squares feature a buttery, crumbly crust topped with a gooey, sweet mixture of brown sugar, vanilla, raisins, and pecans.

Butter Tart Squares

all purpose flour

butter

eggs (lightly beaten)

butter melted (cooled)

brown sugar (lightly packed)

baking powder

vanilla

salt

raisins

pecans

Pre- heat oven to 350F/180C. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl combine the flour and sugar, add the butter and fix to form course crumbs. Press into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes, let cool 10 minutes.

In a small bowl add the raisins and cover with boiling water, let sit 15 minutes, drain well, towel dry.

In a medium bowl mix together the eggs and butter, add the sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt, whisk to combine, stir in the raisins and pecans. Pour over the base and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack, then cut into squares. For easier cutting chill for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

TOPPING

Butter tarts are a beloved classic, known for their flaky, melt-in-your-mouth pastry and rich, gooey filling.  This recipe uses hand made dough and my famous filling to make the perfect butter tart.

The Best Canadian Butter Tarts

all-purpose flour

lard

vinegar

egg yolk (lightly beaten)

ice water

brown sugar (lumps broken up, packed)

egg (beaten well)

whipping cream

Thompson raisins (or currants)

Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl.

Cut in the butter and the Tenderflake with pastry blender or 2 knives until the lard is pea sized within the flour.

In a 1-cup liquid measuring cup, combine the vinegar and the egg yolk. Add the ice water to make ½ cup of water.

Gradually stir the liquid into the flour mixture, adding only enough liquid to form a cohesive dough. You may not need to use all of the liquid. If you need to add more, flick the ice water onto the dough using your fingers, a little at a time, until the dough comes together.

Gently gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a disk. Then, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour if you plan to use it right away, or freeze it for future use.

How to Make the Tart Crust by Hand

Add the flour and salt to a medium to large-capacity food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse for 3-4 seconds to combine.

Add in the cold butter and lard cubes. Process for a few seconds at a time until you have pea-size clumps of the butter and lard in the flour mixture.

Add some of the cold water mixture slowly into the flour mixture, then process for a few seconds. Add just enough more liquid and process until the flour mixture is just clumpy and starts to cling together in clumps. You may not end up using all of the liquid.

How to Make the Tart Crust With a Food Processor

When you are ready to use the dough and it has chilled, roll out each portion one at a time on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to a thickness of ¼ inch. You will get exactly 12 tart shells.

Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into circles, then place each circle into a muffin well. Gently push the dough into the muffin well, forming a tart. The top of the tart should be slightly above the muffin well, which helps to prevent the tart from spilling over.

Place the muffin tins into the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Prepare the Tart Shells

In a large bowl or a 10-cup capacity liquid measuring cup, combine the brown sugar, melted butter, beaten eggs, cream, and vanilla until you have a smooth mixture.

Prepare the Filling

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position.

Remove the chilled tart shells. Place half a tablespoon of raisins into the bottom of each tart.  See my notes below for raisins.

Fill the tart ⅔ of the way to the top of the tart shell with the liquid filling mixture.

Repeat this process with all the remaining tarts.

Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes, until the edges of the tart shells are golden brown and the filling has started to firm up and set.

Remove the tarts from the oven and cool them on a wire rack for a few minutes. Then, run a butter knife around the edge of each tart to loosen it. Let the tarts cool completely in the pan, then remove them from the muffin wells.

If the tarts are sticking in the tin, run a knife around the edges again and refrigerate to cool it more, then remove.

Once cooled, store them in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper for up to three days at room temperature. You can also freeze them after storing them in the same manner.

Bake the Butter Tarts

I have been making these tarts since I was a little girl with my Mom &amp; Aunt &amp; with my daughters &amp; grandkids. Everyone loves them so much!!!

Top 4 butter tart recipe recipes from across the web

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BEST Canadian Butter Tarts

Canadian Butter Tart Recipe

Butter Tart Squares

The Best Canadian Butter Tarts

Top 4 butter tart recipe recipes from across the web

The most viewed butter tart recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

BEST Canadian Butter Tarts

Canadian Butter Tart Recipe

Butter Tart Squares

The Best Canadian Butter Tarts

The most viewed butter tart recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine