Canadian visitors to Toronto are already familiar with butter tarts. Those from outside The Great White North should get their first bite of this dessert delicacy from The Maids’ Cottage.
This bakery is located north of Toronto in Newmarket, but fortunately their award-winning tarts are distributed through a number of retailers in The Six (a.k.a. Toronto), including Pusateris, Druxy’s, independents like Café Diplomatico, Grill Time Gourmet Meat Shop, and others.
What’s a butter tart?
It’s a Canadian thing, eh? I take that back. British Columbia has its Nanaimo Bars; the Maritimes boasts about its Blueberry Grunt; Quebec its Poutine; but the home of butter tarts is right here in Ontario.
People from the U.K. confuse butter tarts with treacle pie. Americans think they’re a small pecan pie. Nope and nope! They’re a totally unique taste and texture treat.
A butter tart is a filling of liquid gold, made of sugar or maple syrup, butter and eggs, and baked in a flaky or crumbly crust. Some are loaded with raisins or pecans and ooze. I like mine plain and less runny.
I also prefer the handmade style of a country tart versus the more uniform nature of many urban offerings. If you want to create your own tart taste off, put Maids’ Cottage up against the reputed “Best of Toronto” from Andrea’s on Gerrard Street. It’ll be a sweet victory either way.
What’s Spot On:
• Awarded Ontario’s Best Butter Tart at Midland Festival in 2016
• Won again in 2017
