Mmm … butter tarts

Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour Taste-Off takes place September 19 at the Peterborough Saturday Farmers' Market

Butter tarts from End of the Thread Cafe in Brighton
Butter tarts from End of the Thread Cafe in Brighton

Honouring the quintessential Canadian dessert, the annual Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour Taste-Off takes place on Saturday, September 19th at the Morrow Building (beside the Peterborough Memorial Centre) during the Peterborough Farmer’s Market.

During the taste-off, bakeries from all over the Kawarthas will compete for bragging rights for the best butter tart in four categories: Best Overall Plain Butter Tart, Best Locally Sourced Tart, Best Alternative Butter Tart, and People’s Choice.

Participating bakeries so far include Burnham Family Farm Market (Cobourg), Ste. Anne’s Spa Bakery (Grafton), Doo Doo’s Bakery (Bailieboro), The Whistle Stop Cafe (Peterborough), Treats Bakery (Coboconk), Doohers Bakery (Campbellford), Kawartha Shortbread (Fenelon Falls), The Sweet Kitchen (Lindsay), South Pond Farms (Pontypool), and Betty’s Pies & Tarts (Cobourg).

Taste-off times are 11 a.m. for Best Overall Plain Butter Tart, 11:30 a.m. for Best Locally Sourced Tart (featuring local ingredients or ingredients found within Kawarthas Northumberland region), 12 p.m. for Best Alternative Tart, and 12:30 p.m. for People’s Choice (as voted by butter tart lovers at the taste-off).

CHEX television’s Mike Judson will be the emcee and local celebrity judges will taste all the entries and make the tough decisions for the judged categories. Updates on the competition will be live-tweeted and posted on social media using #ButterTartTour, #foodKN, and any other hashtags that the audience may create during the event.

The award-winning Pumpkin Butter Tart from Doo Doo's Bakery in Bailieboro
The award-winning Pumpkin Butter Tart from Doo Doo’s Bakery in Bailieboro

Butter tarts will also be available for purchase from the participating bakeries from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the Morrow Building.

If you can’t make it to the taste-off, you can organize your own butter tart road trip by downloading the Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour Map (PDF, 3.3MB).

Butter tarts from Cara Mia Bakery in Warkworth, made with maple syrup and with a subtle orange flavour
Butter tarts from Cara Mia Bakery in Warkworth, made with maple syrup and with a subtle orange flavour
For more information, visit the Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour at www.buttertarttour.ca or on Facebook.


Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour promo video from 2014

All photos courtesy of the Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour.