Description
Classic Canadian Butter Tarts featuring a flaky pastry crust filled with a rich, gooey filling of brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, raisins, and pecans. Baked to golden caramelized perfection, these tarts offer a sweet, buttery dessert that’s beloved across Canada.
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
- 2 ½ Cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ Cup salted butter, cold and cubed
- ¼ Cup shortening, cold and cubed
- 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Ice water, as needed (about 4-6 tablespoons)
Filling
- ⅔ Cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ Cup light corn syrup
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ Teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ Cup salted butter, melted
- ¼ Cup golden raisins
- ¼ Cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) to ensure it’s ready once the tarts are assembled.
- Prepare Pastry Dough: Cube the cold butter and shortening. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, light brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the cubed butter and shortening with a pastry cutter, forks, or your fingers, until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. This step is essential to creating a flaky crust.
- Mix Dough: Add apple cider vinegar and 4 tablespoons of ice water to the crumb mixture. Mix gently, adding more ice water a tablespoon at a time as needed until the dough just comes together. Avoid overmixing for tender pastry.
- Chill Dough: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to firm it up, making it easier to roll and shape.
- Make Filling: While the dough chills, combine the light brown sugar, corn syrup, whole egg, egg yolk, salt, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Stir in the melted butter thoroughly and set the filling aside.
- Roll Out Dough: Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and unwrap it. On a clean, floured surface, roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness.
- Cut Pastry Rounds: Use a round cookie cutter sized about ½ to 1 inch larger than your mini tart or mini muffin pan cavities. Cut as many rounds as possible, re-rolling scraps if needed to maximize dough use.
- Form Tart Shells: Press each dough round gently into the cavities of your tart or mini muffin pan, shaping the dough to cover bottom and sides evenly.
- Add Nuts and Raisins: Sprinkle a small amount of golden raisins and chopped pecans into the bottom of each pastry shell to add texture and flavor.
- Fill Tarts: Spoon the prepared filling into each tart shell, filling them about ¾ full to allow the filling space to bubble and expand while baking.
- Bake: Place the tart pan on a lower rack of your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the tops are caramelized and the edges of the pastry are just turning golden brown.
- Cool and Serve: Remove the tarts from the oven and allow them to cool completely in the pan. This step helps the filling set for easier removal and cleaner slices.
Notes
- Use cold butter and shortening to ensure a flaky crust texture.
- Do not overfill the tart shells to prevent filling from spilling over during baking.
- Golden raisins add traditional flavor, but you can substitute with regular raisins or chopped dried apricots.
- Let the tarts cool completely before removing from the pan to avoid breaking.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Canadian
