Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Treat Day Wednesday: Butter Tarts–a true Canadian delicacy!!!

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It’s Treat Day Wednesday and decided to retry the butter tarts I made for Canada day.  So what’s a butter tart?

No it’s not a mini sugar pie or a pecan pie without the pecans.  This is a true Canadian staple and for our July 1st, full on Canadian celebration in Cary, it was a must have!

My mother has been bugging me for weeks to bring the butter tart to the masses, or at least the couple hundred who stop by here when they can spare a moment.  Butter tarts are, in a word, delicious.  Not all butter tarts are created equal.  It’s not just about the filling or just the crust, it’s about how the two work together.  Butter tarts can be runny or not, have raisins (I think this is a travesty, but that’s my opinion) or not.  Just simply a gooey goodness that everyone should at least try once.

Growing up we would go out to visit my grandmother who lived just outside Port Hope in Ontario.  About an hour from Toronto.  Without fail we would stop at Betty’s Butter Tarts!  It certainly wasn’t for her disposition, that’s for sure. Sadly she made the best tarts on the planet and she new it.  Ok, let me rephrase.  She made the best butter tart filling, her crust was crap, and she could bake them to the perfect gooeyness. It became a game, who could get in and out without pissing her off.  Betty closed up shop a few years ago and sold the business.  The person who bought them just can’t do what Betty did. 

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So now the challenge presented itself…to make the perfect butter tart.

I make a decent crust.  It’s taken years to get it just so.  Don’t kid yourselves there have been a few uggers, but usually I’m bang on.  So I’ve got the crust.  Now to find the great centre.

I made this first recipe for my Canada Day celebrations!  The second I made for treat day (a truer recipe).

Crust recipe can be found here

First up: Mum’s friend’s Filling:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tbsp whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup butter
  1. Combine together and bring to a boil on medium heat.  Boil for 3 minutes and pour into unbaked tart shells. 
  2. Bake at 375 until shells are golden brown.  Approximately 15-20mins

These are ok but not a Betty’s rival.  These taste more like Sucre Cream in a tart shell.

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Next up: Taken from the Joy of Baking online but originally from the Best of Bridge!

  • 1/3 cup (70 grams) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (215 grams) light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) light cream (half-and-half) (10% butterfat)
  1. Cream the butter and sugar.
  2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla extract. Stir in the cream.
  3. Fill the unbaked tart shells with the filling. Bake at 375 for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the pastry has nicely browned and the filling is set.
  4. Remove and cool completely.

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These were much better, it still needs a little tweaking but I think we have a start!

After I wrote this, I found Betty’s Butter Tart recipe. I think I’ll wait to give them a try because we have just a few butter tarts in the house and my waist doesn’t need them :)

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This was taken at Fort Bragg where we went for July 4th!  Don’t you love the girl’s patriotic outfits, got them the day before at the OshKosh outlet and I had to share :)

Thanks for looking!



Linking With:
Let's Do Brunch
These Chicks Cook
Share the Wealth Wednesday
Your Whims Wednesday
What's On the Menu Wednesday
It's a Keeper Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Strut Your Stuff Thursday
Catch a Glimpse
Thrilling Thursday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Chic & Crafty
Sweet Tooth Friday
I'm Loving It Fridays
Foodie Friday
Party Mindie Style
Weekend Wrapup
Show and Tell Saturday
Foodie Friday

13 comments:

  1. These sound so good! I can't wait to try them. :)

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  2. I love butter tarts and I will be honest and tell you that I sometimes like raisins and chopped pecans in mine...sometimes...not always! Good luck baking up Betty's next time around. I'm sure if she finds the post it will *piss* her off no matter how delicious you make them. LOL

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  3. These look great, I am pinning it, I have always wanted to try these! I found you at a Glimpse Inside!

    Carlee
    www.ladybirdln.com

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  4. Cool! I'd never heard of these before.

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  5. these look delisch!!!!

    Thanks for linking up to Your Whims Wednesday :)

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  6. I've never had butter tarts before, but they sound very tasty. So did Betty use brown sugar or not? Can't wait to hear your verdict on the third recipe too.

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  7. Very cute girls by the way. Two very nice outfits. Love the dress with the three layers in red, white and blue. Looks like it was a fun day with horses and all.

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  8. Buttertarts are most certainly a Canadian delicacy and we love them! The CBC recently did a wonderful radio program on trying to find the best buttertart in Canada. Great post!

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  9. Stopping by from Tatertots and Jello. These have my mouth watering!

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  10. Your girls are just adorable! The Butter Tarts look delicious. I really wish I had one to go with my afternoon tea. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and sure hope to see you again real soon!
    Miz Helen

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  11. Another good reason to love our neighbors up in Canada! These look SO yummy - butter is my favorite ingredient; no margarine has ever crossed my threshhold! Thanks for the recipes - will definitely be making these!

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  12. So yummy! While the tarts look terrific, my fave picture is of the girls. Thanks for sharing on Momtrends.

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  13. Oh my goodness, I haven't had a butter tart in AGES! They were such a part of my childhood in Canada. Both your recipes look delicious, but I also agree with Nicole, the photo of your girls is adorable! Thank you for sharing this post with Let's Do Brunch.

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