Where to Try Canada's Iconic Desserts, From Butter Tarts to Beavertails

Canadians love their maple syrup, and it’s found in several of the country’s most iconic treats. But there’s more to Canada than maple. From pies to layered bars, homespun to highfalutin, here are a handful of sweet treats that have left an indelible mark on the nation, and where to try them.

Butter tarts

This quintessential Canadian dessert is a sweet and gooey, butter and sugar bomb baked into a flaky tart shell. Recipes for these handheld tarts can be found dating back to the early 1900s, and have since spawned self-guided tours, routes, and annual festivals like Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival in Midland, Ontario. When in Toronto, visit Bà Nội, a micro bakery, where the flaky, crispy crusts are just thick enough to contain the oozing, maple-spiked filling.

Nanaimo bars

The city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island may be tiny in population, but it’s big on name recognition. That’s because of the signature bars, which consist of a thick graham, cocoa, and coconut base, creamy custard layer, and a rich chocolate ganache topper. Many find Nanaimo bars too large and sweet, so the couple behind Vancouver’s Northern Bars decided to create bite-size squares sold in giftable boxes. Meanwhile, To Live For bakery, coincidentally located on Nanaimo Street in East Vancouver, uses coconut cream to replace the traditional egg custard layer in a plant-based version.

Sugar pie

Also known as tarte au sucre, this French-Canadian classic features a simple filling made from brown sugar or maple syrup, spun with butter, eggs, milk, and a little flour, baked into a pie crust. The key to its popularity is the little jiggle in the middle. Enjoy a slice at a rustic sugar shack, like Sucrerie de la Montagne in Quebec, which serves a trusted family recipe. Or head up to Canoe restaurant on the 54th floor of the gleaming TD Bank Tower in Toronto, where the kitchen riffs on the classic using Newfoundland Screech (rum) in the sugar pie filling and serves it with a warm wintergreen sauce, poured tableside.

Saskatoon berry pie

The heart of the Saskatoon berry pie is in the little berry that could: Saskatoon berries thrive in cold prairie weather, have purported health benefits, and are subtle enough to flit between sweet and savory dishes. They resemble blueberries but are actually more closely related to the apple family, and also go by the aliases of serviceberry and juneberry. To enjoy the freshest-ever slice of Saskatoon berry pie, visit The Berry Barn in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where the plump berries are grown in an on-site orchard before being piled high in a butter crust, baked, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Oatcakes

Little known in the rest of Canada but enjoyed with “a cuppa” on most days on the east coast, the humble but tasty oatcake was introduced by Scottish settlers in the late 1700s. More cookie than cake, not moist but not exactly dry, Halifax-style oatcakes are often thicker, soft, and chewy, while Cape Breton’s version tends to be thin and crunchy. Oatcakes are so common in the region they can be found in both Costco and at bakeries throughout the eastern provinces, including Mrs. P’s Bakery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where oatcakes are sandwiched with peanut butter and dipped in chocolate.

Beavertails

Whole-wheat dough is stretched into the oblong shape of a beaver’s tail and deep fried before the real magic happens: It's tossed in cinnamon sugar or icing sugar for purists (or go off piste with chocolate-hazelnut spread and sliced bananas). A true Canadian success story, since debuting in Ottawa in 1978, BeaverTails have spawned more than 140 locations worldwide, including four locations as you skate along Ottawa’s Rideau Canal during winter.

The resort town of Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, where the year-round population is just 359 residents, explodes during summer, which is probably why there are four BeaverTails locations for the all-weather treat.

Pounding chômeur

Known as “poor man’s pudding” when roughly translated from French, this buttery, maple-baked delight was created in la belle province during the Great Depression, using ingredients most locals had on hand: flour, butter, some milk, and lots of syrup from family maple stands. At Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon, famous for chef Martin Picard’s over-the-top interpretations of classic Quebecois comfort food, the superb version of pouding chômeur is made extra special when topped with optional seared foie gras and shavings of aged cheddar.

Read the original article on Food & Wine