History

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.

Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 12 tartsHands-on 30 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

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.

Tip from the editors. 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.

Where to eat butter tart

Butter tart in Toronto

Wanda's Pie in the Sky ★ 4.5

Bakery$$kensington-marketTue-Sun 09:00-18:00Walk-in onlyPies and butter tarts

Wanda's Pie in the Sky on Augusta in Kensington Market has run the city's reference butter tart counter since 1989, baker Wanda Beaver's pies.

Order: A classic Canadian butter tart, runny in the middle.

Tip: Closed Mondays. The cherry pie is seasonal in summer; the pumpkin pie in October.

Worth the queue: Butter tart

287 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2M2

More cities are in research. Want butter tart covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →