A Short History of the Tart

This recipe is thought to be the first printed recipe for what we now call butter tarts. It was simply called a “filling for tarts”. The recipe was written by Mrs. Malcolm McLeod around 1902. It was published in a cook book put out by The Women’s Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital in , . Mrs. McLeod could not have predicted that the butter tart would become a Canadian icon or that there are now three separate locations that have festivals for butter tarts. They are located in Guelph, the Kawarthas and Midland. The biggest Butter Tart Trail Festival is in Midland and draws about 50,000 visitors who proceed to consume about 150,000 butter tarts. This year’s festival was held on June 9. Midland also hosts the Butter Tart Trot which is a 10 kilometre run that features stations along the way where the runners can consume butter tarts. With the average butter tart topping out at about 600 calories this seems somewhat counterproductive. Mrs. McLeod would probably be very surprised that her “filling for tarts” would become a Canadian icon. Like many icons there is controversy surrounding what constitutes a butter tart. It is polite controversy though. We are Canadian after all. Many of the tarts you will find on the Butter Tart Trail contain things like raspberries, marshmallows or even . These are not butter tarts! If you are a purist you can follow the original recipe as printed in the Summer 2017 issue of Food and Drink or I have included an updated version that is also delicious. Happy baking! Parts of this article are excerpted from Food and Drink Magazine, Summer, 2017 The Recipe 1 cup of ½ cup of butter 2 eggs 1 cup currants Mix. Fill tarts and bake.

My family’s favourite butter tart recipe comes from a 1964 edition of The Art of Home Baking sponsored by Monarch Flour. Preheat oven to 375. Prepare ; roll out half. Cut with a floured cookie cutter and line 15 medium sized muffin cups. Pour boiling water over ½ cup of raisins. Let soak for 5 minutes. Drain. Stir together ¼ cup butter ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar Blend in 1 cup corn syrup 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon lemon juice Fold in drained raisins Fill pastry lined tart shells 2/3 full. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.