Tarts and Arts in Arnprior - theHumm August 2023
By Terry and Joyce Dawson
What’s all the fuss about butter tarts? At its most simple form, the butter tart is just butter, sugar and eggs. The magic happens when these three ingredients are combined and baked in a pastry shell until golden. The filling may be a bit runny, or cooked longer to become more solid. The first known printed recipe was found in the early 1900’s Royal Victoria Cookbook that was produced and printed for sale as a fundraiser by the Women’s Auxiliary for the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ontario. Since then it has become a significant characteristic of Canadian cooking.
But it grows bigger. The tarts can have additions such as raisins, pecans, and even bacon! The pastry shells can be made with butter too, but more conventionally shortening, or lard, or a combination of these. Some have even been made with shortbread crusts that add a crunch to the taste of this decadent treat.
And of course you need a baking pan for these tarts. Most bakers use a muffin pan, cutting out circles of the rolled-out pastry dough and fitting them into the pan. Of course there are disposable foil tart pans for sale and if we go to Amazon, one can buy 200 3” tart pans for $22.34 or 500 for $38.13. How many will you make?
For the baker who needs a tool for everything, Amazon sells a two-piece “tart mold pastry masher” made of wood for $13.99. The end of the masher is the shape of the tart pan and is used to push the pastry circle into the pan. I guess one needs two of these mashers when there are two bakers wishing to make a lot of tarts for some reason. Like maybe a festival?
This brings me to the heart of this story — The Butter Tart Festival.
The best known is the one that centres around Midland, Ontario. In 2011, this idea became a reality with just a few stops. Now one can tour over 50 locations through Northumberland County, Peterborough County and the Kawartha Lakes. You can plan your trip with an online planner. According to newspaper reports there have been 60,000 tourists and over 200,000 tarts sold, many of course consumed on the spot.
Think of the economic boon to that area, besides the happy shoppers who bought these tarts. Can we maybe have a Butter Tart Tour closer to home? There are rumblings within theHumm’s coverage area where individual locations are having festivals of their own. Let’s see what we can do. In the meantime, plan on attending Tarts and Arts — the Arnprior Butter Tart Festival on Saturday, August 26, in beautiful Robert Simpson Park. Starting at 9:30am, this festival is a fun day for visitors of all ages. There are games for children and a butter tart competition, with the contest winner to be crowned at noon. This year’s theme is Through the Looking Glass, and be sure to pass through to find Alice, the Mad Hatter and the white rabbit. Ray’s Reptiles will be there at 1pm, and is only one of the many activities planned throughout the day. And as a bonus — admission is free! For more details, please visit arnpriorrotary.ca .