This post will be a short one. I’ve been working on an exciting new food-related project that has been taking a lot of my time. I will fill you in as soon as I can – it’s a good one!
These little tarts are sure to make anyone feel better after a hard day. They are little bites of gooey, sweet caramel goodness and are a wonderful Canadian staple. The contrast between the flaky pastry and the soft velvety filling makes for the perfect sweet treat at any time of day.
On another note, I got many emails about the glass milk carton I featured in my Coffee Cake post. For any one who would like to purchase it, it’s made by Fred and Friends and can be bought on Amazon.com here. It’s been a great addition in our kitchen!
Gooey Butter Tarts
Makes 8-10 mini tarts
For the dough:
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) of all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons (100 grams) of very cold butter
2 tablespoons (30 grams) of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons of water
For the filling:
1/2 cup of golden raisins
2/3 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup of butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tbl of light corn syrup
Sift the flour, sugar and salt directly onto a work surface (a cold surface such as marble works best). Cut the butter into small pieces. The butter must be very cold before you add it to the flour. Mix the butter into the flour using a pastry scraper. You can also use your fingers, but work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold. Once the dough has the texture of coarse sand, create a well in the center by using a cup or glass. Add the egg and water to the well. Using a fork, swirl the egg and slowly incorporate the flour into the centre. Once most of the flour has been incorporated you can start using your hands. Knead the dough into a round ball. At this point, take a small handful of the dough at a time, and, using the palm of your hand, smear it out completely onto the counter surface. This process makes sure that the butter is fully incorporated into the dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough until you have a pile of chunks of dough. Gently knead and form into a flat disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Take out 10 minutes before using.
In the meantime, make the filling. Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with warm water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes. Drain well and reserve. In a small saucepan on medium low heat, add the butter and sugar and stir until just melted. Add the corn syrup, vanilla extract and drained raisins. Beat in the eggs and whisk over the heat for 5-6 minutes or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not overcook.
Preheat your oven to 375F. Roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out large circles of dough to fit individual mini tart molds. Butter the molds and gently place the dough inside. Pour in the filling until 3/4 full and bake for 15 minutes. Set to cool on a cooling rack and unmold a few minutes later.
Enjoy the read!
vanillasugar
January 28, 2011 at 7:25 pm (14 years ago)butter tarts! i was just listening to one of my favorite songs “steal my sunshine” by len and they talk about butter tarts in it. LOLOL! too funny.
perfect photo though, for real.
Nina
January 28, 2011 at 10:36 pm (14 years ago)Your tarts look wonderful…as does the coffee cake! Yum.
Heather
January 29, 2011 at 9:16 am (14 years ago)I’d love to try this recipe. Those tarts look scrumptious.
Nina Timm
January 29, 2011 at 10:01 am (14 years ago)What a lovely idea and how on earth can butter tarts not taste good.
A Canadian Foodie
January 29, 2011 at 12:26 pm (14 years ago)Are you Canadian? Butter Tarts are definitely the bomb, here. I have a recipe from my great grandmother – on my site – and it is the best I have every tasted. YOurs look beautiful!
🙂
valerie
Looking forward to hearing about your project!
🙂
sara @ CaffeIna
January 29, 2011 at 2:09 pm (14 years ago)I love gooey! I love butter! I love tarts! These little ones looks fantastic and a new “must try” in my list 🙂
Kay Heritage
January 29, 2011 at 3:52 pm (14 years ago)Words like “gooey and butter” make me happy! Great looking recipe! Will look forward to what your food project will be. 🙂
Chocolate Shavings
January 29, 2011 at 4:18 pm (14 years ago)A Canadian Foodie: I have been living in Montreal for several years now – and have been introduced to these little bites of pleasure since then! Butter tarts are such a great Canadian treat – and they’re so fun to make at home.
Anonymous
January 29, 2011 at 11:32 pm (14 years ago)If you don’t want glasses creamer, Crates and Barrel have a cute set that looks like your!
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/kitchen-and-food/tea-and-coffee-accessories/embossed-cream-and-sugar/s411127
Laura
January 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm (14 years ago)Tarts sound delicious! I’ll definitely have to keep this recipe handy for a special sweets occasion soon! And that glass milk carton is adorable – thanks for linking up to where we can find one for ourselves! Hope the rest of your weekend is lovely!
pigpigscorner
January 30, 2011 at 5:33 pm (14 years ago)I’ve never heard of butter tarts actually, they remind me of pecan pies.
Chocolate Shavings
January 30, 2011 at 6:27 pm (14 years ago)pigpigscorner: They are sort of the Canadian version of pecan pies – these are filled with raisins though, and some butter tarts also use currants. All delicious in my book!
i love paris...
January 31, 2011 at 7:05 pm (14 years ago)Looks wonderful.. but you know.. I absolutely love, love that tray… oh where did you get it?
Megan @ FeastingonArt
February 1, 2011 at 7:27 am (14 years ago)Oh my, these look so wonderful!
Deborah
February 1, 2011 at 11:40 am (14 years ago)Gooey – butter – and tarts – 3 great words that make for a great dessert!! and that milk carton is too cute!!
Meaghan Luby
February 2, 2011 at 2:00 pm (14 years ago)love butter tarts! and, wow, wish i had seen the little milk carton sooner! i have one in opaque white glass that i just got last week. thanks for sharing, though! maybe i’ll upgrade… 🙂
-meg
@ http://www.clutzycooking.blogspot.com
@
http://www.myscribblednotebook.blogspot.com
Meeta K. Wolff
February 3, 2011 at 3:54 am (14 years ago)Butter tarts! Anything with butter and dough tastes good to me. These look great!
Trissa
February 9, 2011 at 7:49 am (14 years ago)I can’t wait to hear the news about your project! Also, I must have missed the picture of the glass carton – it’s adorable… but what I love most in your post is the first pic of the gooey tarts… anything gooey and buttery is just heaven!
culturafemenina
February 12, 2011 at 5:14 pm (14 years ago)Butter tart are my favorites..i going to try your recipe… beautiful blog.
Cheers Iela
Anonymous
February 17, 2011 at 11:14 pm (14 years ago)These butter tarts look so good. Butter tarts always grace our table at Thanksgiving, but I have no qualms about them being there the rest of the year!
Have you thought about entering the new Canadian food show, Recipe to Riches? They’re having an open casting call in Montreal on Saturday, February 19 at the Hyatt Regency.
More info at: http://recipetoriches.ca
Chocolate Shavings
February 19, 2011 at 5:07 pm (14 years ago)Anonymous: Thanks for thinking of me. I covered the event for Food Network – what a great competition! It’s not open to professional chefs and people in the industry though!
Restaurants
February 25, 2011 at 7:41 am (14 years ago)Wow this looks absolutely good and probably taste delicious. I can’t wait to try this at home.
The Food Hunter
March 2, 2011 at 6:35 pm (14 years ago)Love these delicious looking tarts
Marie
March 13, 2011 at 10:13 pm (14 years ago)Aw, I love the little glass milk carton! Almost, but not quite, as much as I love butter tarts.
They look scrumptious!