Chef Matthew Morand of Ettamae’s Cafe in Richmond shares his recipe for Canadian Butter Tarts.
Canadian butter tarts
Butter tarts date back to the Canadian pioneer days and are considered one of Canada’s original foods. They have their roots in two cultures that settled in Canada, the Scottish who back home make something called an Ecclefechan butter tart (named after the town where they are made) and the French who bake the tarte à la frangipane, a common tart that differs from the Canadian version only by the addition of almonds.
Canadian Butter Tarts
The pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (two sticks) cubed
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons ice water
The filling:
½ brown sugar
½ white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon hot water
½ cup raisins
To make the pastry:
In food processor, place flour, salt, and butter. Pulse four or five times to get pea-sized butter bits. Run processor while adding in ice water. A dough ball will form. Wrap ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes or overnight. Between two sheets of wax paper roll out dough to 1/8 inch. Using a 3 inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place them into well-greased medium size muffin tins, pressing them in to form a cup. Place 10 raisins in the bottom of each shell.
To make filling:
In a bowl, combine sugars, eggs, vanilla, butter and hot water. Pour filling into pastry cups and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
—Makes 18 Butter Tarts
About Chef Matt Morand
Matt Morand has cooked in restaurants in Richmond and New York for 30 years. Some of you may remember du Jour Restaurant where Matt began his creative journey. In New York, he was a roundsman at Rock Center Café in Rockefeller Plaza and was executive chef at Ulysses’s in lower Manhattan. He now co-owns Ettamae’s Café in Historic Jackson Ward.
About Ettamae’s Café
Ettamae’s Café is a family owned business run by Chef Matthew Morand and his sister, Laura Morand Bailey. The restaurant is named after the siblings’ grandmother Ettamae Rivers who passed away in 1982. Located at 522 N. 2nd street in Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward, Ettamae’s has quickly won the hearts of its customers and culinary critics alikem and that praise has propelled the restaurant from a modest luncheonette to a destination bistro. Including impressive fare for dinenr and brunch.
