Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Butter Tart ::SUGAR:: style

Fresh fig and brown butter tart: a modern take on the historic (and Canadian!) butter tart.

I lived in Virginia Beach for six years while attending graduate school and not one person I met had heard of a butter tart...unless they were Canadian. I didn't realize we Canadians had an official food. Something to call our own.

Where did the butter tart originate? According to Wikipedia versions of the tart can be traced back to Quebec in the early 1600s. It is one of my all time favorite pastries. Possibly because it consists mostly of sugar.  And now I can feel delightfully patriotic when I imbibe.

I found this version of the butter tart in a cookbook I've long had but rarely use. I like the book more for it's photography than its recipes. The filling remained quite runny, but the shortbread crust was divine! It still tasted delicious despite the runniness. Next time I try this, though, I think I will substitute the filling base with the Best Butter Tarts recipe on the Canadian Living website to see if I can get the filling a little less runny.

Do you like the butter tart? What other treats are native to Canada?

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