Banbury Tarts are a traditional tea treat named after the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire in England. There are regional variations of this classic tart, some calling for raisins, others with figs, candied peel or currants and walnuts.
Canadians will know these as butter tarts.
Considering Canada was a British colony, my guess is that the butter tart recipe is simply the Banbury tart, replacing currants with raisins (and or walnuts) and then renamed.
The reason my multi pie pastry recipe comes in handy is so that I have extra on hand in the fridge or freezer to quickly roll out and use.
Makes 24 tartlets perfect for tea, or 12 larger muffin sized tarts for snacking. You will yield more tarts if your shell is more shallow.
Bountiful Banbury Tarts aka Butter Tarts
Servings 12 tarts
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- 1½ cups raisins (you may wish to rough chop if you are making tartlets)
- 2 tbsp. honey
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 pie crust*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Roll dough out to 1/8″ thickness. Use a 2″ biscuit/scone cutter (or empty tomato paste can) to make the mini tarts, a 4″ cutter (or empty tuna can) for the larger muffin size.
- Combine butter, brown sugar, honey, sale and vanilla. Heat over low heat.
- Whip up eggs until foamy and add to the butter mixture, along with raisins.
- Fill shells ½ full so the shells do not overflow, but Lord D loves the sticky bits that bubble over so I often indulge him on his point.
- Bake for 10 – 12 minutes.
- The tarts freeze really well.
Notes
*
My Granny's Versatile Pie Dough
My granny grew up helping to feed 10 other siblings. This is just one of her pie dough recipes. This recipe uses baking powder and gingerale to create a never fail crust.
Servings 2 crusts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached white flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cup ginger ale ice cold
Instructions
- In a large shallow bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Cut in the vegetable shortening with a pastry blender or two forks until all the shortening has been incorporated
- Add the ginger ale and bring together into a dough.
- Divide into two equal parts, flatten into disks and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.