The Little Tart is Haliburton's tart store! We're a tiny pastry shop in the town of Donald, 8km south of main street Haliburton, Ontario. (That's a short drive along Gelert Road!) We offer good old fashioned home baked goodness from our very own "Ooey Gooey Butter Tarts" to our popular Thanksgiving pumpkin pies. All of our baking is created by hand, from scratch, on site. All of our recipes are tried and retried until they are our absolute best because only our very best will do.
Good morning!
We hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
I just popped in to say we are now fully booked for pumpkin pies on Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
We still have room on Friday and Sunday.
Thank you and have a great day!
We now return you to your regularly scheduled scrolling. 😊
This has been a remarkable summer season. We are both at a loss for words to express our deep appreciation. Deciding to drop Thursdays was an immense stresser. We knew we needed to slow the pace to keep going but we also know how busy Thursdays could be.
Thank you so much, especially you Thursday people who accomodated the change.
The work load didn't change; we shifted Thursday's baking, adding it to the other three days but this summer had that extra day to prep. We were even able to sit outside to have a morning coffeewithout a timer going off which is much more amazing than you can imagine after the 15 previous years of go go go from the time we crawled out of bed. Having time to cook a dinner rather than open a package or can to heat something up is priceless.
And now here we are at the end of another summer season. As always we are grateful for you, your kindness, your generosity and your support. We can't thank you enough for making The Little Tart a part of your summer season, for sharing us with your friends and family and for sending others our way. We absolutely love and adore each and every one of you.
Okay, enough of the mushy stuff or I'll get all weepy. Besides, this isn't good-bye. As a matter-of-fact we'll be in the kitchen this afternoon prepping for next weekend before we take a little break. Our summer season may be over but we still have the fall and that season begins next Saturday!
I don't normally post this here but I had a little fun with the writing today and so I wanted to share it here in case anyone actually reads this blog because... I thought it was funny. So did Bill. We might just be really really tired. Anyhoo...
We are sold out and closed for the rest of today.
We will open again at 10am tomorrow!
'kayso if you're wondering what's going on outside today then grrrl, I gotchew!
Summer's being all, like, "Look at me, I'm all shiny and warm and pretty and everybody's loving me." You know, all smiling and sh... stuff. Then autumn shows up all huffy, sucking her teeth being like, "Excu-use me? You're causing all that sunburn and bugs n' stuff and, like, I make everything pretty. You've seen my work. October?" She gives a finger snap wave. "That's what I'm all about.
So then summer's like, "Shu' up! I saw what you started doing to the trees already and, like, it isn't even your turn yet so you better check yourself you blustering bi-."
But autumn wasn't having any of that so she got all mad 'n stuff and was like, "Look how I'm making the sky all dark and pouring rain everywhere."
And summer was like, "Oh yea, look at me swallowing up your clouds and making the sunshine."
And then autumn was all like, "Oh no you didn't!" Like totes p o'd.
And they've been throwing it down all day y'all. Weather eh?
Have a super spectacular Saturday afternoon and evening! ❤️
'kayso... Bill and I have always tried to be very open about what's happening with The Little Tart. For those of you who have been with us during these 16 years, you know every decision we make about the business is and has always been for its longevity which means altering how we do things every now and again.
So much has changed over these past four years and let's just say not in a way that makes it easier to run a small business (never mind a mom-and-pop shop) but we're tenacious (or completely out of our minds) and refuse to give in or give up. Over these past sixteen years we have learned to adapt to whatever is thrown at us. So far, so good.
Last weekend we began working seven days a week. We do this every year through July and August. What you see when you enter The Little Tart during the summer is the result of seven days of prep that carries on even when the store is closed.
Now, there are only twenty-four hours in a day and when we're puting 14-16 hours a day into the business, five or six for sleep, that doesn't leave much time for everything else including everyday life stuff. We know it's only two months and if you tilt your head, squint and say it quickly, it sounds like no biggy-wiggy boo-boo. But time can be cruel and it sneaks up on you. We don't like to admit we're getting older.
We're getting older and that reality ran into us like a brick wall last year. (Yes, the wall was moving. The analogy works if you just suspend your disbelief and go with it. Seriously, is that where you want to hang your hat right now? I'm pouring my heart out here.)
Anyway, it's sad but true and we can't carry on that way anymore.
And so we have had to make a hard decision and when I say it was a hard decision, I mean, we agonized over it all all winter and spring. We are slowing down and will open three days a week instead of four this summer. We will still be working seven days a week but hopefully at a more manageable pace. This is just a new way for us to keep The Little Tart running and to keep its bakers, cleaners, dish washers, maintenance workers, marketing team, landscapers, etc., etc., healthy. (And again, if you're new here, all of those people are Bill and I. We don't have a staff.)
We're so sorry if this comes as a dissapointment. We hate to disappoint anyone.
What will not change is our commitment to offering you our very best because you deserve nothing less. Thank you so much for your understanding and support.
Now let's have a fantabulously funtastic summer season!!! ❤️
It's the Father's Day weekend and you know what? Your dad is just like a little tart.
Hold on, hold on... let me explain!
You see, some tarts are store bought frozen and take time to thaw out before you can enjoy them. Some tarts begin as an empty shell. If their crust is too thin they break under pressure; too thick and there's not enough room for the sweet filling, but if the crust is just right it can hold up to whatever you fill it with.
Some tarts are old fashioned; home baked from scratch. Their recipe has been passed down from generation to generation. You are an ingredient that will one day become a tart, a shell or the filling... or maybe the topping... or the embelishment (I think this is getting away from me. Let's bring it home).
Some tarts are nutty, some fruity and some eggy. Some tarts have a chocolate drizzle and some have a crumble topping. Some don't need anything more than the ooey-gooey goodness baked inside.
So... whether you have one tart or two, each is sweet treat and is all yours. Unles there's more than one of you. Then you have to share. That can get messy. (But I digest.)
Hmm... now that I think of it, your dad is like a muffin - no wait - a cookie - or, oo, I've got it!
Your dad is like a square... or not. Anyhoo! We sure hope you are having a fantabulous Father's Day weekend! ❤️
