The ultimate (raisins optional) butter tart recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my buttertarts so runny? ›

Butter tarts that are runny may be underbaked or may not contain enough egg. Eggs help thicken and stabilize butter tart filling while it bakes, which is why I've included two whole eggs in my recipe to ensure the filling is thick and fully set once baked.

Country Style Raisin Butter Tart (1 serving) contains 49g total carbs, 48g net carbs, 16g fat, 4g protein, and 350 calories.

Next time you make butter tarts, mix the filling by hand, as overmixing incorporates air into the eggs, which causes the filling to rise and overflow, and then collapse when removed from the oven.

The butter tart is different from the sugar pie given the lack of flour in the filling. The butter tart is different from pecan pie in that it has a "runnier" filling due to the omission of corn starch.

If the filling is runny and flowing out of the tart when you cut into it, then it is likely that the curd was not cooked for quite long enough. You need to be patient when cooking citrus curds as if you heat the mixture too quickly then it can curdle and become lumpy. You need to keep a low heat and stir constatntly.

Purists say true butter tarts should not contain raisins or nuts. For Currie and March of Wasaga Beach, Ont., they have to have raisins. Some like runny fillings, some firm. Some like thick pastry shells while others like thin so the filling stars.

Raisins: ¼ cup serving (40 grams) contains 26 grams of sugar for 120 total calories. Dried cranberries: ¼ cup serving (40 grams) 27 grams of sugar for 130 total calories.

-- Likewise, maple syrup is delicious in butter tarts but is the grittiest of sugar syrups. Again, heat first or the granules will fall to the pastry shells and you'll end up with gritty tarts.

Sucrose naturally wants to crystalize, which is how granulated sugar is made from simple sugars like fructose and glucose. To reduce the amount of crystallization in the butter tart filling when baking, try adding some acidity (i.e. lemon juice or 1 spoon of corn syrup).

Why do butter tarts boil over? ›

To stop tarts from boiling over, line each muffin cup so that the pastry comes about 1/2″ above the tin, says Nancy Coady, owner of Betty's Pies and Tarts in Cobourg, Ont. If you use an electric mixer to combine ingredients, start on the lowest setting. Overmixing can add air to the filling, causing it to bubble.

Butter tarts are indeed a popular Canadian pastery. The phrase butter tart, as used in the song, is also slang for a woman's parts.

Like many legendary dishes, the butter tart's origins are fuzzy. It's believed that filles à marier (“marriageable girls”) created a crude version in the 1600s. These newly arrived Québécois brides filled their French tarts with New World ingredients: maple sugar, freshly churned butter and dried fruit such as raisins.

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, butter tarts are a result of the filles du roi, or the King's Daughters, who were young French women sent to Quebec in the 17th century.

Soggy bottoms

This normally happens when the oven is not hot enough or the pastry is not baked for long enough. However, it can also be because too much water was added to the dough.

If you use room temperature or melted butter, your tart won't turn firm and crisp. If you want it flaky, cold butter is the trick. You can make the same recipe with room temperature butter and wonder why it turned soggy and soft.

When making a pie or tart there is no need to grease the tin before you line it with pastry – the high butter content in the pastry will naturally stop it from sticking to the tin.

Coating the inside surface of the bottom crust will create a barrier to prevent sogginess. Adding a layer of corn syrup or a slightly beaten egg white before pouring in the filling will form a seal between the pie dough and the filling and will help make the crust crisp and flaky.