Wait till you try these ooey gooey Butter Tarts, which are a true Canadian classic! These are the ultimate sweet treat and with Canada Day upcoming, it is a must-try.
Ingredients (make approximately 14-16 butter tarts)
For the Pastry Dough
- 2¼ cups (300 grams) All Purpose Flour
- 2 tbsp (14 grams) Powder Sugar (white granulated sugar ground into powder)
- 1 tsp Salt (by error in the video I said 1 tbsp)
- 1 cup (226 grams) Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 6-7 tbsp Water, ice cold
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
For the Filing
- ½ cup (grams) Unsalted Butter, melted
- ¾ cup (135 grams) Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
- 2 large Eggs
- ½ cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- ¼ tsp Salt
Optional filling
- ½ cup (60 grams) Pecan, toasted and chopped
- ½ cup (40 grams) Raisins
Method
- In a bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, and salt.
- Toss in the cold butter cubes and with a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture till you get very small bits of butter covered with the flour.
- To the ice-cold water, add the lemon juice and vanilla extract and give it a quick whisk. Add it to the flour and butter mixture and gently bring the dough together.
- Once the dough has come together, roll it into a log and wrap it up with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for about an hour for the dough to relax and the butter to firm up again.
- Cut the firmed-up dough log into disks and roll out each disk till it’s about ¼ inch thick and 4 inches in diameter. You can use a cookie cutter to get an even edge. If you are using a cookie cutter preserve the edges to use later to make some more tarts.
- Now place the rolled-out disc into the muffin tray and gently press it down. You want a rustic look around. You should get about 16-18 tarts. Once you have rolled out the dough and filled the muffin trays, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator once again for about 10 minutes.
- In a small heavy-bottom saucepan, add the butter and dark brown sugar and over medium heat allow the butter and sugar to melt. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, take it off the heat.
- In another bowl, add the eggs and whisk them just to break them up. To the eggs add the maple syrup, lemon juice, pure vanilla extract, and salt. Give it a whisk till blended, then start streaming in the melted butter and brown sugar mixture while continuously whisking vigorously till well blended.
- Now preheat your oven to 425F/220C and into the chilled tarts start putting a few of the chopped roasted pecans at the bottom. In some, you can add raisins if you like.
- Give the liquid mixture a quick stir and pour it into the tarts till they are 3/4 full.
- Place the tray in the oven and bake at 425F/220C for 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 375F/190C and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the centres have set.
- Allow the butter tarts to cool in the tray for about 5-10 minutes before removing them and placing them on a wire rack to cool.
