Crowds gathered in the UC Courtyard on Oct. 9 to try flavours from pecan to pumpkin spice
On Oct. 9, the University Centre (UC) Courtyard offered a sweet treat to many sweet tooths. Over 12 vendors from all across Ontario sold more than 20 different varieties of butter tarts, as well as other baked goods including fall cookies and cheesecakes.
The idea for Guelph’s Butter Tart Festival came to Carolyn Walker after she attended Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival in Midland. She figured this quintessential Canadian dessert was small, sweet and a favourite of so many people.
“Students love butter tarts,” she said. “I mean, who doesn’t love butter tarts, right? So I thought this would be a fun initiative for everyone.”
Walker chose to run the festival the Thursday before Thanksgiving to “get to the students before they head home to their families, to be able to pick something up for Thanksgiving Weekend.”
She also described that the tarts brought a little piece of homemade baking to students that are away.
“You have the international students—we have one student that will not be home for the next four to five years, and it just brings a bit of something home-baked so they can indulge in that,” Walker said. “It’s the home baking that’s important. It’s not commercially prepared.”
The festival had flavours for everyone, from pecan and raisin to Dubai chocolate, s’mores and even bacon.
“The first time I saw it, I was like, ‘I’m not too sure,’” Walker said, of the bacon butter tart. “They gave me a little piece to try and it’s sweet and salty, it’s very bizarre. But it is so Canadian.”
The festival also offered allergy-safe and vegan options, alongside two bakers specialising in gluten-free goodies. One of these vendors, Lynn Deakin, described how celiac disease led her to start her home-based St. Catharines bakery, Gluten Free Girl.
“I was diagnosed with celiac in 2009, and I have eaten a lot of bad celiac food,” Deakin said. “So, over COVID, my husband and I developed a flour and goo blend. We decided we would make our own gluten-free butter tarts that are better, in my opinion, than the regular ones.”
Gluten Free Girl travels to butter tart events, selling six main varieties. Deakin shared that her favourite non-traditional flavour is coconut raspberry, but that the pecan tart is the crowd-pleaser.
“The pecan are sold out,” she said. “They’re not only my favourite, but they’re everybody else’s favourite too. We had no idea it was going to be this fabulous.”
Similarly, Elicia Clarke was surprised at the incredible turnout. Her bakery Ten of Tarts had sold out of tarts within the hour, and her mother had left to bring back more.
Based in Shelburne, Ten of Tarts is a mother-daughter duo baking up unique flavours including cherry, blueberry, Skor, chocolate pecan and chocolate hazelnut.
“My mom really likes to experiment and do different things,” Clarke said. “This may not be your traditional tart, but it’s still delicious either way.”
Clarke’s favourite Ten of Tarts flavour is chocolate chip.
“It’s milk chocolate with some white chocolate drizzled on top with our maple filling,” she said. “And it is fantastic.”
The UC was completely packed with butter tart enthusiasts—students, staff and community members lined up excitedly to try new flavours. They also grabbed treats for loved ones, often with strong opinions on which tarts had their heart.
“That’s why I’m here—my family really likes butter tarts, and I’m going home tomorrow, so they want me to get it now,” said fourth-year student Sophia Marcon. “They really want the pecan. No raisin, whoever likes raisin is crazy.”
Lines for purchasing these baked goods wrapped around the UC. Although the event was described to run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., by mid-day, vendor tables displayed sold out signs. It’s official—the butter tart is Guelph’s gooey fall dessert of choice. The treat of next season is still to be discovered.