The butter tart

A dish most Ontario families bake is the butter tart. It is a small pastry with a brown-sugar center. It is a bake-sale sweet and a holiday tin, not a full meal.

What you need

• 12 tart shells, or pastry for 12 small tarts
• 1/2 cup butter, soft
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons of cream, or milk
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup raisins, if you use them
• A handful of pecans, if you prefer them to raisins

How to make it

• Heat the oven to 190°C, about 375°F.
• Set the tart shells on a tray. If you make the pastry, roll it and cut rounds to fit a muffin tin.

• If you use raisins, put a spoon of them in each shell.

• Beat the butter and the brown sugar.
• Add the egg, the vanilla, the cream, and the salt. Mix until smooth.

• Spoon the filling into the shells. Do not fill them to the rim. They rise.

• Bake for about 15 minutes. The edges should be set. The center should still wobble a little.
• A firm tart needs a few minutes more. A runny one comes out sooner.

• Cool them in the tin. They set as they cool.
• Lift them out only when they are warm, not hot.

How it is served

• They are eaten with tea or coffee.
• One or two is a serving. The tin is passed.
• Raisins or nuts are a family choice. A plain tart is correct.
• They keep for a few days in a closed tin.
• They are a sweet after a meal, or the thing you bring to a visit.