Meanings
plural maids of honour tarts · alternative Maid of Honour tart · alternative maid of honour tart · alternative maid-of-honour tart · alternative US maid of honor tart · alternative US maid-of-honor tart
- A traditional English baked tart consisting of a puff pastry shell filled with curds, sometimes with jam or almonds and nutmeg.
Synonyms: maids of honour cake
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA traditional English baked tart consisting of a puff pastry shell filled with curds, sometimes with jam or almonds and nutmeg.
Origin
Said to date back to Henry VIII when he witnessed some of the Queen’s maids of honour eating some cakes and demanded to taste one. He found them delicious and named them after the maids. However, there is another theory that they were named after Anne Boleyn, a maid of honour at the time, who made the cakes for Henry VIII.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
maids of honour tart. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maids%20of%20honour%20tart
“maids of honour tart.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maids%20of%20honour%20tart. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maids of honour tart,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maids%20of%20honour%20tart.
Source: maids of honour tart on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.