Pies! Pies! Pies!

We're doing it again! We're making changes at The Little Tart!

Cherry Pie



 You asked for pies and we've listened. It will take us a little time, but we are slowly working some new items into the store. What? Well, first of all more pies, more varieties. (Today for example we have a delicious blueberry, a scrumptious cherry, a mouth watering strawberry rhubarb and a dreamy coconut cream - all prepared from scratch of course.)



Coconut Cream Pie

We still have all of our wonderful tarts and we're working on putting more items into the store to tempt your tastebuds so come on by and see what we're up to. Your sweet tooth wont be disappointed!



Blueberry Pie

In the Spirit of Fairness

This may only be our third summer as The Little Tart, but Bill and I have operated our business here for seven summers now and each year we have had to implement changes in order to operate our business effectively. We realize not all of our decisions will be met with approval, however there are only TWO of us working here. We give every consideration to every decision we make and when we make a decision is it because it is necessary for us to be able to continue. We do not have a staff. We do not have voluntary help. The Little Tart is a genuine mom and pop shop which means we do all the preparations, baking, dishes, clean up, accounting, marketing, and the occasional stock run all by ourselves. It's hard work, but it's the way we like it. 

Going into our third summer as The Little Tart we have noticed the popularity of our business has grown. We are thrilled! And we are busy. Very very busy and we are trying to meet the growing demand of our customers which leads us to our latest decision.

Due to the overwhelming volume of baking and in the spirit of fairness, The Little Tart will now operate on a first come first serve basis and we will no longer accept advance orders. We apologize for this decision, but it is a necessary one to maintain a sufficiently stocked store and to make sure all of our customers feel appreciated because we do greatly appreciate everyone who comes through out door. 

Thank you for understanding and your continued support.   

Bring on the Summer!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

The Canada Day long weekend is only days away and that means Bill and I about to get crazy busy here at The Little Tart, which also means no more blogging until September. But that doesn't mean you can't still follow us because now we're on Twitter!

This is good news because now with a quick tweet we can let you know of any sudden changes (ie: we've sold out and are closing early). We are trying our best to keep the doors open as long as possible this summer by trying to bake more, but there are only two of us and selling out is an unavoidable possibility.

So, if you don't want to make the long drive only to find out we're closed, follow us @the_little_tart on twitter and we'll do our best to keep you up to date.

See you there and hopefully we'll see you here!

What's Available to Order for 2012?

Here is The Little Tart's list of items available for order for our 2012 season. Please order prior to 2pm for next day pickup. Unfortunately we cannot accept same day orders and we do not accept orders via email.

Pies ($15 each)

Lemon Meringue
Coconut Cream
Banana Cream*
Triple Chcolate Banana Cream*
Apple Crumble*
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble*
Pumpkin (Thanksgiving only)

*subject to ingredient availability (ie. fruit)

Tarts 6 for $11 or 12 for $20

 (min. 6 of any one kind only. For a mixed variety please visit the store)

Gooey Butter
Pecan
Lemon
Apple Crumble
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Strawberry Cheesecake
Blueberry Cheesecake
Blueberry Custard
Strawberry Custard
Coconut Cream

Squares (min. 8 of any one kind only - equals a tray. For a mixed variety please visit the store.)

Lemon ($14.80)
Date ($19.60)
Coconut ($19.60)

What's New for 2012?

Happy Victoria Day Weekend! The sun is shining here in cottage country today. It's the perfect Saturday of the long weekend kind of day. Here's hoping for many many  more this summer!

Bill has been asking me all winter to create a coconut square and after several attempts to create something with the "wow" factor we always strive for, today we introduced a new square we like to call, "Not Just Another Pretty Coconut" and it is really really rediculously delicious (if we do say so ourselves - and we do). It is a coconutty, pecanny, gooey, shortbready mess of a square and we're happy to say it's already going out the door!

 

And this delectable delight is called, "OMG!" (Orangy Mouthwatering Goodness!) What we have here is orange cheesecake on top of a chocolate shortbread crust sprinkled with chocolate and white chocolate shavings. Yes, it tastes as good as it sounds, but this is a special treat and we wont be putting "OMG!" in the store until July. It's worth the wait!

We'll also be introducing a fabulous new tart this summer we're sure is going to be a big hit, but for now, we're keeping it our secret!

Rockin' the House at Extendicare Haliburton

On Thursday May 17th, The Little Tart will close at 6pm (one hour early). Bill and I will be rocking the house at Extendicare Haliburton that night!

Okay, we wont exactly be rocking the house, but we will be honoring a volunteer commitment to entertain the residents.

Once a month throughout the winter Bill and I volunteer to entertain the residents at Extendicare Haliburton (where my mother - the Original Little Tart is a resident). Bill plays the guitar, we both sing and since they keep inviting us back, we're happy to do it. This will be our last performance until the Fall.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but believe us, when we see how happy it makes everyone there, it's worth it!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's day weekend is the first very busy weekend of our summer season. This year most of you came early because you remembered that last year we sold out quite ofen on the weekends and had to close early. Fortunately this year we had enough for everyone!

Last year The Little Tart closed early nearly every Saturday and Sunday in July and August. It wasn’t our intention to close, but on those days we were sold out, and although that’s good for us, we realize it’s not very nice for the people who drive to our store on a Saturday or Sunday (sometimes both) afternoon only to find out we’re closed.

We are a mom and pop pastry shop in every way. Bill and I are quite literally “chief cook and bottle washers”. We prep, prepare, bake, clean and wash dishes (a lot of dishes) by hand. We try to bake as much as we possibly can, especially on the weekends, but sometimes it’s just not enough, and on those days when we close early, as much as we would love to sit back and have a nice cold drink and enjoy the rest of the day, the reality is that we start all over again to restock the store for the next day.

Every year has been a learning experience and every year we try to figure out how to bake more without jeopardizing the quality of our baked goods. This year we’re going to try our best to bake even more to keep our doors open longer because the last thing we want to do is disappoint our customers.

We consider ourselves fortunate that you’re so forgiving.