Lemon Butter Tarts

 

Lemon Butter Tarts.  You don't get much more Canadian than Butter Tarts. Butter Tarts are a dessert that Canada is known for and are pretty near impossible to resist on a dessert tray!

I have loved Butter Tarts my whole life.  When my sister and I were growing up we would pool our allowances together to buy a package of two butter tarts at the shops.  I can remember sitting on a hill above the shops eating them together.  They tasted so good! 

Rich and buttery and delicious! 

 

I found this recipe for Lemon Butter Tarts on a blog called Closet Cooking at the weekend. Kevin is a fellow Canadian. We started blogging about the same time, so have been acquainted with each other for about 15 years now.

I simply adore anything lemon.  If I had to choose between chocolate and lemon, lemon would win every time. It is no contest.

The idea of Lemon Butter Tarts really intrigued me and so I printed out the recipe! I could not wait to bake these!

 

 

I had everything in the house to make them.  I used frozen tart shells because I had some which needed using.  In fact that is how I ended up looking for the recipe.

I had these shells and wanted to make a nice Easter type of tart, went searching and came up with these.  The only thing I did different was to add some dried currants to half of the tarts. Lemon and currants go together very well.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE LEMON BUTTER TARTS

Simple ordinary ingredients. I know I say that all the time, but truth is, I don't really like doing complicated, and I am guessing you don't either!!!

• 12 partially baked tart shells
• 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
• the finely grated zest of one lemon
• 2/3 cup (126g) granulated sugar
• 1 large free range egg
• 1 large free range egg yolk
• 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted and cooled
• dried currants, optional

 

If you don't have ready made tart shells, might I be so bold as to recommend my butter/lard pastry to make your own?  Its a beautiful pastry. So crisp and light and flaky. 

I used fresh lemons that I had bought by the bag at my local shops.  With everyone coming down with Covid this week, I am sure happy I have them!  They will come in very handy. (I am still negative, fingers crossed.)

Did you know you can freeze egg whites?  You can. Whenever I have a recipe that calls for a yolk on its own, I freeze the white in an ice cube tray and then pop it out into a zip lock baggie that I keep just to hold egg whites in the freezer. You can thaw them out and use them for meringues, macaroons, pavlova, etc.   Its a good thing as Martha would say! 

 

HOW TO MAKE LEMON BUTTER TARTS

If you have ready made tart shells, this will go very quickly!

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.

If you are making your own pastry, roll it out and cut it into 12 circles large enough to fit your tart tins. Press the pastry into the tin. Ready made or homemade, pop the lined tart tins onto a baking tray and partially bake for about 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.

If desired sprinkle a few dried currants into the bottom of each shell.

Whisk together the lemon juice and sugar, until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the lemon zest, egg, egg yolk and butter. Pour the mixture into the partially baked tart shells, dividing the mixture equally.

Bake in the preheated oven until set, 18 to 20 minutes. Leave to cool completely before eating.

Do not skip the step of pre-baking your tart shells a little bit. This will ensure that you have nice crisp shells that hold up in your hand without overbaking the filling.

You want a filling that is slightly runny, but not too runny. It should be set, but not over set if that makes sense. They will still taste good if you over set them, but its better if you don't.

I dusted mine with a bit of icing sugar to pretty them up  a bit. Not sure if it worked, lol

You don't have to use the dry currants as I did, but if you do, don't over-do it. You only need a few in each pastry shell.  I hope you do add currants to at least some of them. I thought they were a great addition.

I loved both tarts, but as I love any kind of raisin or currant, I liked the ones with the currants most of all and thought they were the most like butter tarts, probably because butter tarts usually have raisins and/or currants in them! 

 

I hope my poor photography doesn't put you off from wanting to make these. I can promise you that they are really, REALLY tasty!  They are the perfect blend of savory (from the pastry) combined with sweet and tart.

If you love the flavors of lemon, then you are going to adore these delicious tarts!  Mine are all gone now, but boy oh boy writing about them has made me want them all over again!!!

If you are fan of tarts, you might also enjoy the following:

CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS -  This is what I'm talking about.  You don't get much more Canadian than these fabulous tarts. With a flaky buttery pastry, and that rich sweet filling, they always go down a real treat. These are everyone's favorite.  They are very similar to the Scottish Ecchlefecan tarts!

LEMON DRIZZLE TARTS - Beautifully delicious tarts with a lemon curd filling, topped with a lemon cake and a lemon drizzle glaze!  Betcha can't eat just one!  These are the perfect teatime treat!

Yield: 12

Author: Marie Rayner

Lemon Butter Tarts

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Sweet, tangy and incredibly moreish. You can use your own pastry recipe for the shells or frozen tart shells.

Ingredients

• 12 partially baked tart shells
• 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
• the finely grated zest of one lemon
• 2/3 cup (126g) granulated sugar
• 1 large free range egg
• 1 large free range egg yolk
• 1/4 cup (57g) butter, melted and cooled
• dried currants, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
2. If you are making your own pastry, roll it out and cut it into 12 circles large enough to fit your tart tins. Press the pastry into the tin. Ready made or homemade, pop the lined tart tins onto a baking tray and partially bake for about 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
3. If desired sprinkle a few dried currants into the bottom of each shell.
4. Whisk together the lemon juice and sugar, until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the lemon zest, egg, egg yolk and butter. Pour the mixture into the partially baked tart shells, dividing the mixture equally.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until set, 18 to 20 minutes.
6. Leave to cool completely before eating.

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