Wilkie's Bakery

Bakery: Wilkie's Bakery
Address: 169 Mississauga St E, Orillia ON
Website: facebook
Style: Canadian
Price: $$ 

The second stop in Orillia, Wilkie's Bakery is one of two bakeries on the downtown business strip. I wasn't sure which one to go to since the other one had quite a bit of people going to it and this one was a little less populated that day. Given the fact that they only really have one kind of sweet -- butter tarts -- I assumed that not only this is what you have to try while at Wilkie's, but that it has to be good. I assumed correctly. ;)

While they have a few other sweets, the selection is limited. Their claim to fame, however, is butter tarts. In fact, while there, the sign I spotted online touting that Wilkie's has "Canada's best butter tart" wasn't out on the street. Either way, those are some pretty big words and it takes a lot to stand by them. The question had to be asked: are Wilkie's butter tarts as famous and amazing as they claim? Well... yes. It may be a little rash to say they're the best in the country, but these butter tarts pack quite the punch and can probably be considered, based on other bakeries already reviewed, the best butter tart in Ontario.

The key to what makes this butter tart so great is, first of all, the dough. Ontario-style (versus what I call "Western-style") butter tarts with their hand-shaped tart shells are more often than not too doughy and thick, making it hard to crack open with a fork and ending up a little too overwhelming compared to the filling. As such, I'm usually not the biggest fan. This shell had the ideal texture: it was thinner, softer, and the ratio of shell to filling was perfect. That filling was amazing: not runny, not thick. It was right in the middle, just pure delicious, with that melt-in-your-mouth baked butter topping. This was butter tart perfection!

Rating: ****