Smorgasbord Special Butter Tarts Recipes

BEST CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Cut in the lard and butter using a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.
• In a measuring cup, combine the egg and vinegar. Add enough cold water to make one cup.
• Gradually stir in the liquid, adding just enough to make the dough cling together.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball and divide into two equal portions. Tightly saran wrap both portions. Place one in the freezer for later use. Place the other in the fridge to chill for one hour.
• Roll the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8″ thick. Cut as many 4″ circles as you can. Re-roll the scraps and cut out more circles to make 12.
• Fit the pastry circles into a muffin pan and place back in the fridge until ready to fill.
• Preheat oven to 375F and position a rack in lower third of oven.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat and stir in the cream and vanilla. Let cool to touch (about 5 minutes) before whisking in the egg.
• Divide the pecans (if using) among the pastry shells and pour in the filling until half full.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes or until crust is lightly golden around the edges and filling is bubbling.
• Let cool completely in the pan. Best way to remove the tarts from the pan is to place a cooling rack (upside down) on top and flip the pan over. Then individually flip each butter tart right side up.

BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Make the pastry: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, rub butter or lard into flour until mixture is in pea-size pieces.
• In a small bowl, mix water, egg yolk and vinegar until well combined. Add liquid to the flour mixture, using a fork to combine. Add 1 tablespoon more water if it looks dry.
• Knead dough several times by hand to bring it together and shape into a flat square. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Once chilled, roll out the dough into a 16-inch-by-12-inch (40.5 centimeters by 30.5 centimeters) rectangle about 1/8- to 1/4-inch (3 to 6 millimeters) thick. Flour the work surface and rolling pin as you work with the dough.
• Use a circular 4-inch (10 centimeter) cookie cutter (or a clean 28-ounce/496 milliliter can) to cut 12 pieces. Reroll dough if needed to cut more circles, but try to cut as many pieces on the first pass. With your fingertips, press each circle into the cup of a standard muffin tin, so that the edge of the dough is flush with the pan. Refrigerate while while you make the filling.
• In a bowl, cover raisins with hot tap water to plump. Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Make the filling: In a bowl, mix brown sugar and salt, and then beat the butter into the sugar by hand until smooth. Add vanilla and egg and mix until combined. Do not use an electric mixer; it will add too much air to the filling.
• Drain the raisins and place seven or eight raisins in each chilled tart shell.
• Divide the filling evenly among the tart shells, filling each one about halfway. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet. Bake 13 to 15 minutes for a runnier tart and 17 to 19 minutes for a firmer one.
• A few minutes after removing the tarts from the oven, run a knife or offset spatula around the edge of each tart to loosen. Let cool completely in the tin. To remove, run a butter knife or offset spatula around and under each tart to pop it out of the tin.

SMORGASBORD SPECIAL BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Pour boiling water over currants and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain. Place currants on paper towel to absorb extra water. Place about 1 teaspoon currants in each tart shell.
• Combine butter, cream, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and lemon juice until mixed. Mixture will have bits of butter remaining and will looked curdled --- this is normal. Pour about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of filling over currants in each tart.
• Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes.
• (If making 2-inch tarts use about 1/2 teaspoons of currants and 2 to 3 tsps. of filling per tart).

AWARD-WINNING BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Prepare muffin pans by rolling out pie dough and cutting 4-inch (approx) circles; fit dough circles into muffin cups; set aside in fridge until ready to fill.
• In a small bowl, place raisins and cover with hot tap water; let stand on the counter for 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together the soft butter, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup; stir well until sugar is dissolved and butter is creamed.
• Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
• Drain raisins.
• Retrieve tart shells and divide raisins equally into all shells; then divide butter mixture into all tarts.
• Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes; filling will be lightly browned but still bubbling.
• Canadians fall into two camps about butter tarts and are quite loyal to their favourite type: runny or firm.
• I like runny-- the type that dribbles when you bite into one; if you like firm, bake them for the full 20 minutes, even adding another minute or two if you wish.
• Let cooked butter tarts cool in pans for 10 minutes after removing from oven; then remove and place on racks until completely cool.

SMORGASBORD OR SMORREBROD (DENMARK)

Steps:

• Butter each slice of bread you want to use then proceed with ingredients for any one of the options below:.
• Salami and tomato - cover the bread with slices of salami. Add slices of tomato and some onion rings.
• Prawns and lemon - put a lettuce leaf onto the bread. Spoon prawns on top and add some black pepper and a twisted slice of lemon.
• Blue cheese and lettuce - cover the bread with lettuce and thin slices of blue cheese. Sprinkle cress on top.
• Cheese and tomato - lay thin slices of Havarti cheese on the bread. Then, lay a row of sliced tomato along the middle. Add a gherkin garnish.
• Smoked salmon and egg - cover the bread with slices of hard-boiled egg and smoked salmon. Sprinkle it with chopped dill.
• Lettuce, egg and herring - lay slices of hard-boiled egg and fillet of pickled herring on the bread. Sprinkle it with cress.
• Garnishes:.
• Cut a slice of lemon in half. Make a cut in the middle of each half, then twist the ends so that the slice stands up.
• Make thin cuts along the length of a gherkin, cutting almost to the end. Then, spread the slices out like a fan.

CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 170C/ conventional 190C/gas 5. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface so it's slightly thinner than straight from the pack. Then cut out 18-20 rounds with a 7.5cm fluted cutter, re-rolling the trimmings. Use the rounds to line two deep 12-hole tart tins (not muffin tins). If you only have a regular-sized, 12-hole tart tin you will be able to make a few more slightly shallower tarts.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl and combine with the rest of the ingredients except the walnuts. Tip this mixture into a pan and stir continuously for 3-4 minutes until the butter melts, and the mixture bubbles and starts to thicken. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Don't overcook, and be sure to stir all the time as the mixture can easily burn. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts.
• Spoon the filling into the unbaked tart shells so it's level with the pastry. Bake for 15-18 minutes until set and pale golden. Leave in the tin to cool for a few minutes before lifting out on to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

GOOEY BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir flour with salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter and shortening until mixture rexembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces.
• In liquid measure, whisk egg yolk with vinegar; add enough ice water to make 1/3 cup. Gradually sprinkle over flour mixture, stirring briskly with fork until pastry hold together. press into disc; wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
• In bowl, vigorously whisk together brown sugar, corn syrup, egg, butter, vanilla, vinegar and salt; set aside.
• On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a 4 inch round cookie cutter cut out 12 circles, rerolling scraps once if necessary. Fit into 2 3/4 inch by 1 1/4 inch muffin cups. Divide currants among cups. Spoon in filling until three quarters full.
• Bake in bottom third of 450*F oven for about 12 minutes or until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden. Let stand on rack for 1 minute. Immediately run spatula around tarts to loosen; transfer to rack and let cool.
• CHOCOLATE GOOEY BUTTER TARTS: Drizzle cooled tarts with 2 ounces melted semisweet or white chocolate.
• NOT SO GOOEY BUTTER TARTS: Increase brown sugar to 3/4 cup and decrease corn syrup to 1/4 cup.

CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Prepare and refrigerate the pie dough.
• Roll the dough as you would for most pies, about ⅛-inch thick or a tad thinner. Don't worry about keeping it nice and round like you normally would.
• Using a 4-inch-diameter cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the dough into as many circles as possible. Line each cup of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with one of the circles, gently nudging it down into the bottom creases of the pan. Try not to stretch the dough as you work; it can help to use something blunt, like a narrow jar, to nudge the dough. The top edge of the dough circle should come to about the middle of the cup. Gather the scraps and reroll the dough if you need additional ­circles. Chill the pan in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Adjust one oven rack so it is in the lower position, and preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Combine the sugar, maple syrup, and butter in a mixing bowl. Whisk briefly. Add the egg, vinegar, vanilla, and salt, and whisk again.
• Set the muffin pan on your work surface. If you're using the fruit or nuts, put a few pieces in as many of the shells as you wish, but don't crowd them. Use a ladle or ¼-cup measuring cup with a handle to divide the filling evenly between the shells.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the filling bubbles and darkens somewhat.
• Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully run a butter knife around the edge to loosen each tart. Let the tarts cool in the pan, then remove. Store, refrigerated, in a single layer in a covered tin or container, but let them come to room temperature before serving.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Note: to melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for 5-10 minutes; stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely smooth and no pieces remain; remove from heat and let cool 5-15 minutes or until lukewarm.
• To make the buttercream: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter using an electric mixer on MEDIUM speed for about 3 minutes or until creamy.
• Add the milk carefully and beat until smooth.
• Add the melted chocolate and beat well for 2 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.
• Gradually add in the sugar and beat on LOW speed until creamy and of desired consistency.
• **For icing a 3-layer cake use the following measurements: 2 cups unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons milk, 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 3 cups sifted powdered sugar.