Ontario's hallmark hand-pie — flaky shortcrust shell filled with a runny butter-sugar-egg-vanilla custard, sometimes studded with raisins, pecans, or chocolate chips. Baked until the filling just sets but stays gooey in the center. The Ontario church-bake-sale classic; Kawartha-region recipes have been argued over since the 19th century.
First documented in a Canadian cookbook in 1900 (the Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook, Barrie, Ontario), in a recipe by Mrs. Malcolm MacLeod that used currants rather than raisins. It is one of the few desserts of genuinely Canadian origin. Its deeper roots are usually traced to French settler women (the filles du roi) who came to Quebec in the 17th century and adapted their sugar pies to local ingredients, giving rise to tarte au sucre and later the Ontario butter tart; a folk claim of Scottish origin also circulates, but the documented lineage is French-Canadian. Two debates endure: runny versus firm, and raisins or not.
Fork breaks the flaky shell — distinct butter-and-lard layers separate. The filling oozes slightly: brown-sugar caramel depth, butter richness, vanilla warmth, a touch of lemon brightening. The center is still slightly runny — the desired finish. Raisin if you use them, plump from baking, bursts sweet. Three bites and one is done.
Corn syrup plus a little acid (vinegar or lemon juice) is the key to the filling: the acid and invert syrup together inhibit sugar crystallization, keeping the center smooth and runny rather than grainy, while the egg sets just enough structure to keep it from being soupy. The 'runny vs firm' outcome turns mostly on egg quantity and oven temperature: fewer eggs and a hotter oven stay runnier, more eggs and a cooler oven set firmer, and the filling sets up further as it cools. A cold, lightly worked shortcrust gives the flaky shell; butter is standard, with some bakers cutting in lard for extra flakiness.
Variations
Regional versions vary. The Maritime version is firmer and often uses molasses in place of some of the brown sugar. The Northern Ontario raisin tart is the most fiercely defended traditional style. The chocolate-chip variant is a relatively recent innovation; a pecan version leans more American. Filling consistency and the raisin question are matters most families consider settled in their own favor.
On the Palate
Where Butter Tart sits in the Canadian flavor cloud
The runny-versus-firm center comes down to eggs and oven heat — fewer eggs and a hot 200°C oven keep it gooey, and you must pull the tarts while the middle still jiggles because it sets further as it cools.
Ingredients
Serves 12
How it's made
7 steps · 1 hour active + 1 hour waiting
- 140 min
Crust: cut 100 g cold butter + 50 g cold lard into 250 g flour + ½ tsp salt until pea-sized. Whisk 1 egg yolk + 5 tbsp ice water + 1 tsp vinegar; mix into flour until just comes together. Knead briefly. Refrigerate 30 min.
- 26 min
Filling: combine 150 g packed brown sugar, 75 g unsalted butter (melted), 2 large eggs, 2 tbsp heavy cream, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp lemon juice, pinch of salt. Whisk smooth (don't aerate).
Watch outStop whisking the filling the moment it's uniform and glossy — the less air you beat in, the smoother the set.
- 312 min
Roll dough to 3 mm. Cut 12-cm circles; press into a 12-cup muffin tin to form shells with edges slightly above the rim.
- 45 min
Place 6 raisins (optional) in each shell. Pour filling to ⅔ full (do not overfill — bubbles up).
Watch outFill to only two-thirds — you should still see a clear rim of pastry above the filling before it goes in.
- 514 min
Bake 200°C for 13-15 min. Filling should be set at edges, jiggly in center.
Watch outPull them when the edges are set but the center still wobbles like loose jelly if you nudge the tin.
- 613 min
Cool 10 min in tin (filling will set further). Run a knife around each tart; lift out carefully — the bottom is delicate.
Watch outLet them cool 10 minutes in the tin before lifting; the filling firms and the delicate bottom won't tear.
- 75 min
Serve at room temperature; stores well at room temp 2 days.
