WHERE HAS THIS TREAT BEEN ALL YOUR LIFE? CANADA

Made runny or solid, the butter tart makes for a humble but satisfying treat

You could be forgiven if you’ve never eaten a butter tart. There is no flashy frosting or elaborate lattice to entice you. It’s easy to pass by. But Canadians will tell you that these diminutive treats hold an expanse of flavour and textures: flaky pastry, caramelised crust and a bracingly sweet filling.

The butter tart is celebrated in its homeland, where the preference for runny or firm fillings, plain or with raisins, is a matter of passionate national debate. Ontario, where most scholars believe the butter tart was born, celebrates it with two duelling tourism trails (Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour, and Butter Tarts and Buggies) and festivals galore, including Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival in Midland and a new one that will have its debut in March in Bowmanville, east of Toronto.

“Good butter tarts, they seem like a modest dessert,” said Michael DeForge, a creator of TartQuest, an Instagram feed of butter tart reviews. “They’re supposed to pack a lot of punch. But on the outside, they’re supposed to just seem plain and unassuming.”

Modern Canadian culinary culture celebrates seasonality, native ingredients and provincial pride. Like poutine and Nanaimo bars, two other national favourites, butter tarts buck the norm. They are a humble treat, made with ordinary ingredients, and spectacularly delicious.

“If you look at the ingredients, it’s really what you have in your pantry when you have nothing else,” said Liz Driver, author of Culinary Landmarks: A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks, 1825-1949.

At its most basic, the butter tart is a pastry filled with brown sugar, butter and egg. Oven alchemy transforms those simple ingredients. Inventive cooks have gone further with chocolate chips, coconut, nuts and other add-ins.