Nanaimo Bars Recipe

Rising up in Canada, I’ve had loads of Nanaimo bars from bakeries, eating places, and my very own grandmother’s kitchen. With three distinct layers—a graham cracker crust with shredded coconut and cocoa powder, a candy custard filling, and a bittersweet chocolate topping—Nanaimo bars are an attention grabbing deal with. The no-bake bars have been a mainstay throughout Canada for the reason that Nineteen Fifties, when the bars had been apparently first made within the waterfront metropolis of Nanaimo in British Columbia. The bars turned much more common within the late Nineteen Eighties, after they had been featured at Expo ‘86, the World’s Truthful in British Columbia.

As with many different iconic desserts, there’s a lot debate about what makes the right Nanaimo bar. Some cooks could choose a thicker base, whereas others need extra icing. In 2019, when Canada Post revealed a line of stamps that includes Canadian desserts—together with a Nanaimo bar with a hefty layer of filling—the stamp brought about a commotion amongst many Canadians who felt strongly that the ratio of crust to filling was incorrect. “I fear in regards to the structural integrity of this nanaimo bar,” tweeted reporter David Reevely. For me, the very best Nanaimo bars have a hefty crust, with a thinner layer of custard icing and chocolate. Learn on for my recommendations on making what to me are the right Nanaimo bars, in addition to my full recipe.

Ideas for Making Excellent Nanaimo Bars

Make a sturdy base. For a base layer with loads of taste and nutty texture, I pulse graham crackers, shredded coconut, and walnuts collectively in a food processor to type fantastic crumbs. The graham crackers present construction, whereas the coconut provides sweetness. I like to make use of walnuts for his or her taste, however some variations of Nanaimo bars name for chopped almonds as an alternative—you’ll be able to simply swap in almonds and even pecans if desired. Simply use the identical quantity of nuts and proceed with the recipe as written. 

Although most recipes for bars may have you bake the bottom so it companies up, my Nanaimo bars require no time within the oven in any respect. I whisk an egg into melted butter, sugar, and cocoa powder over a pot of simmering water, and because the egg cooks, the combination thickens. Along with the butter, the cooked crushed egg acts as a binding agent to carry the crust collectively with out having to show the oven on.

Much like a fast graham cracker crust, the butter combination moistens the crumbs, so it may be pressed right into a baking dish to type the sturdy base layer. As soon as the bottom has chilled and set within the freezer, I add the custard icing layer on high.

Use a contact of custard powder to make the icing. It wouldn’t be a Nanaimo bar with out its filling of custard icing, which comes collectively shortly with the assistance of a stand or hand mixer: All you must do is beat softened butter, powdered sugar, custard powder, milk, vanilla extract, and salt collectively till you get a wealthy frosting. I’ve chosen to make use of Chicken’s custard powder right here due to the model’s 100-plus yr historical past; it is the one many Canadians—together with my grandmother—attain for when making Nanaimo bars. 

Nobody is aware of precisely why basic Nanaimo bars characteristic custard-flavored icing versus precise custard, however I do realize it would not be a Nanaimo bar with out the powder, which reinforces the vanilla taste of the frosting and its creamy texture. My splendid custard layer is simply barely thinner than the bottom layer, so it supplies loads of taste with out being overpowering. As soon as I unfold the frosting over the bottom, I refrigerate it for an hour to provide it an opportunity to agency up earlier than transferring it into the freezer to get it further chilly for the chocolate layer.

Semisweet or darkish chocolate is essential. To forestall the dessert from being cloying, it’s important to make use of semisweet or darkish chocolate (round 70% cocoa) for the topping. The bitterness of the darkish chocolate helps to offset the sweetness of the filling and rounds out the complete dessert.

Portion with a sizzling knife. For good, clear cuts, I run a pointy knife beneath sizzling faucet water and dry it with a clear kitchen towel earlier than chopping the chilled bars. For probably the most exact cuts, I like to recommend repeating this step between every slice.

Serve the bars chilly. To maintain the construction of the bars and the layers distinct, it’s essential to retailer Nanaimo bars within the fridge. I wish to get pleasure from a Nanaimo bar straight out of the fridge, however you can even allow them to come to room temperature for a number of minutes if you happen to choose—you’ll simply need to be ready for very delicate chocolate and custard layers. Irrespective of how they’re served, these Nanaimo bars are a comforting style of residence, and convey me straight again to my childhood in Canada.