Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo Bars are a true north strong and free Canadian treat! These no-bake amazing bars originate from Nanaimo, British Colombia, and according to Wikipedia, the earliest confirmed printed copy of the recipe using the name "Nanaimo Bars" was in 1953.  It has many other origin stories about who and where and what they were called along the way, some that go back to the 1930’s and some into the 1800’s!  

A Nanaimo Bar consists of three layers – a crumb base made with butter, sugar, unsweetened cocoa, graham crumbs, finely chopped nuts, coconut and an egg. The middle layer is a thick, sweet custard and the top layer is a chocolate layer.  These are a decadent sweet treat and we love them – as does everyone we know and all of Canada as well, as they have been voted Canada’s favourite confection for many years.  I make Nanaimo Bars every Christmas (and a pan or two throughout the year as well!) and need to make a few pans as the holidays go by as they go quickly!  

My original recipe comes from the cookbook Best Recipes Under the Sun by Marion Kane. It has so many fabulous recipes. My copy of this cookbook is well worn with loose pages falling out. I have made a few minor modifications to the original recipe.

It looks like a lot of steps but it’s not really and they come together quickly!

As always, when you make this recipe, I would love to see your creation so please post a photo of your Nanaimo Bar goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!

Prep Time:  10 minutes / Chill Time: a few hours total / Makes – 16-20 squares depending on how you cut them

Ingredients

  • Bottom Layer

  • ½ Cup (125 mL) Unsalted Butter - softened

  • ¼ Cup (60 mL) Sugar

  • 5 Tablespoons (65 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

  • 1 Egg – beaten

  • 1¾ Cups (425 mL) Graham Cracker Crumbs

  • ½ Cup Ground Almonds (or Almond Flour)

  • 1 Cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

  • 2 Teaspoons (10 mL) Vanilla extract

  • Middle Layer

  • ½ Cup (125 mL) Unsalted Butter - softened

  • 3½ Tablespoons (55 mL) Custard Powder

  • 5 Tablespoons (65 mL) Whipping or Light Cream (I’ve used Oat Milk and it works fine)

  • 3 Cups (750 mL) Icing Sugar

  • Top Layer

  • ¾ Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate (I use chocolate chips)

  • 2 Tablespoons (25 mL) Unsalted Butter

How It’s Made

Bottom Layer

  • Prep your pan.  I have an odd shaped pan – a rectangular 7” x11” as in the photos. A regular 8” or 9” pan works fine. Line your pan with foil or parchment and grease.  

  • If you have a double-boiler, use it, or make a double boiler by bringing a medium pot of water, 2/3 full, to a rolling boil, then turn the heat down so it is simmering gently.

  • Top with a heat safe bowl that the bottom fits in the pot you are simmering the water in just touching the water level – if you use a metal bowl, have a pot holder handy as it could get hot.

  • In the bowl, over the simmering water, add the butter, sugar and cocoa and stir until it is melted together. You can also melt and mix in a pot directly on the stovetop burner over LOW heat.

  • Add the egg and stir to combine and stir until the mixture is slightly thickened. 

  • Remove the bowl to the counter (I place mine on a kitchen towel since it’s hot) and stir in the graham crumbs, the ground almonds, the coconut and the vanilla. Stir until it is all evenly combined.

  • Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan and press it down evenly to form the base layer of your bars. Put the pan in the fridge to chill while you make the middle custard layer.

Middle Layer

  • In a medium bowl, cream the butter, custard powder and the cream together until it is smooth. Gradually sift in the icing sugar and mix it, or beat it with an electric hand mixer, until it is light and fluffy.

  • Spread this custard mixture over the chilled base layer.

  • Pop the pan back into the fridge to chill.

Top Layer

  • In the (cleaned) double boiler, or in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments, or directly on the stovetop burner over LOW heat. melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring often, until it is smooth.

  • Gently spread this chocolate layer over the custard layer so that it covers the top and no custard is showing. You may get a streak of custard as it won’t have set and hardened yet. That’s ok.

  • Cover the pan with foil and place in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened and the pan has cooled completely – this will firm up the custard layer as well.

  • Remove from the fridge and let the pan sit for 5 minutes at room temperature. Use the foil or parchment to lift them out of the pan to a cutting board and cut into squares or bars. Put bars on a pretty plate and serve to the delight of your family and loved ones. These make a wonderful gift in a pretty tin or box.

  • Store the bars in the fridge.

Enjoy! (Oh, you will!)

Variations:

  • Use very finely chopped pecans or walnuts (ground up in a food processor as chopping by hand won’t be fine enough) in the base layer instead of, or in combination with, the ground almonds.

  • Use Eggnog in the custard layer instead of the cream.

  • Add 2 Tablespoons of natural peanut Butter in the Custard Layer for a PB flavoured Nanaimo Bar.

  • Sprinkle crushed candy canes on the chocolate layer before putting the pan to chill in the fridge for a festive holiday look and taste.

No bake goods, Snacks, DessertRenata RichardsonNanaimo Bars, Canadian COnfection, Sweet Treat, CustardComment