The butter tart is the Ontario gooey-runny pastry filled with butter, brown sugar, eggs and corn syrup, sometimes raisins or pecans. The crust is short and flaky; the filling pours when you bite.

The butter tart is a Canadian invention from early-1900s Ontario, with the first published recipe appearing in the 1900 Royal Victoria Cookbook from Barrie, Ontario. The Ontario Best Butter Tart Festival in Midland draws judging in June; Toronto's reference baker is Wanda's Pie in the Sky in Kensington Market since 1989, the runny-centre style the city standard.

Where to eat Butter tart in Toronto

1 editor pick for Butter tart in Toronto, ranked by editorial score. All Toronto signature dishes · Butter tart across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves Makes 12 tarts1 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 250g shortcrust pastry, store-bought is fine
  • 100g butter, melted
  • 200g brown sugar, packed
  • 100ml corn syrup or golden syrup
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 60g raisins or chopped pecans (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200C. Roll pastry to 3mm, cut 10cm circles. Press into a 12-hole muffin tin.
  2. If using raisins or pecans, divide them between the pastry shells.
  3. Whisk melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, vanilla and salt in a bowl until smooth.
  4. Pour filling into the pastry shells, filling each two-thirds full.
  5. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until the pastry edges are golden and the filling bubbles around the edges but is still wobbly in the centre.
  6. Cool 10 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a rack. Eat warm; the centre will be runny.

Editor tip. The Toronto-Ontario style is runny, not set. Pull them when the centre still wobbles like jelly. Corn syrup is canonical; maple syrup at 1:1 also works.

Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy.