Name: Best Canadian Butter Tarts
Ingredients: Pastry for double crust 9-inch pie shell; 1 cup (250 mL) Thompson dark raisins; 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter; 1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar, packed; 1 cup (250 mL) corn syrup (grease cup before measuring); 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt; 2 large eggs, lightly beaten; 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Best Canadian Butter Tarts

Oven450 °F, then 350 °F

Ingredients

Pastry for double crust 9-inch pie shell
1 cup (250 mL) Thompson dark raisins
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter
1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar, packed
1 cup (250 mL) corn syrup (grease cup before measuring)
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

Directions

Prepare

Line tart tins with pastry.
Preheat oven to 450 °F.
If you don't want to make your own pastry, buy the 3‑inch frozen tart shells in foil cups.

Make the filling

In a heavy saucepan, combine raisins, butter, sugar, syrup, and salt.
Set over low heat until butter is melted and mixture is warm, stirring to dissolve sugar. Do not let mixture get hot.
Remove from heat and stir in eggs and vanilla.

Bake and cool

Spoon filling into pastry‑lined tart shells, filling each 2/3 full.
Bake in 450 °F oven for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 °F and bake five minutes more or until pastry is golden. Do not let filling bubble over pastry or you will have trouble getting the tarts out of the pans.
Let cool before removing from pans.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

380Calories

10 gProtein

18 gFat

47 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 10 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pastry	not in our table	0
Pie	not in our table	0
Syrup	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,842 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,943 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Raisin + vanillatop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together782 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Syrup + vanillatop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,855 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter: Melts into the filling, adding richness and a smooth, tender texture.
Eggs: Set when baked, giving the filling its firm, sliceable structure.
Corn syrup: Adds sweetness and keeps the filling smooth and glossy rather than grainy.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and caramel-like flavour while dissolving into the filling.
Thompson dark raisins: Add chewy texture and concentrated fruity sweetness throughout the filling.

The step that matters

Keep the filling from getting hot before baking. Heating the mixture too much can scramble the eggs and start setting them early, which can make the texture uneven. Warm only enough to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, corn, syrup, egg, vanilla):

Coconutfits better
Figfits better
Peachfits better
Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, corn, syrup, egg, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes

Corn Cake90 recipes

Corn Starch Cake89 recipes

Corn Cakes22 recipes

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Best Canadian Butter Tarts