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Nanaimo Bars

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Level: Easy

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Description

What!? You have never heard of Nanaimo Bars? These are super popular in British Columbia, but don’t seem like they have made it much farther. Give them a try. You will be addicted!

Ingredients

  • FOR THE BOTTOM LAYER:
  • ½ cups Butter
  • ¼ cups Sugar
  • 5 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
  • 1 whole Egg, Lightly Beaten
  • ½ cups Chopped Walnuts
  • 1 cup Fine, Unsweetened Coconut
  • 1-¼ cup Graham Wafer Crumbs
  • _____
  • FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER:
  • ½ cups Butter, Softened
  • 2 Tablespoons Birds Custard Powder
  • 2 cups Icing Sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
  • _____
  • FOR THE TOP LAYER:
  • 2-½ Tablespoons Butter
  • 4 ounces, weight Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (4 Squares)

Preparation

* Note: This recipe looks quite long and extensive. It really isn’t! There is a lot of chilling time (1 hour between each layer) – that is really important for the final product to cut nicely.

Bottom Layer:
1) Melt butter in a medium pot on the stove and once melted, stir in sugar, and cocoa.
2) Beat egg in a small bowl and add a tablespoon of chocolate/butter mixture to the egg and stir quickly. This will warm the egg up a bit and help keep it from cooking when you add it to the pot.
3) Remove chocolate mixture from heat and pour egg into the pot and stir quickly to combine and prevent egg from cooking.
4) Continue to stir as the mixture thickens up quite a bit.
5) Add nuts and coconut and stir to combine. Lastly, add graham crumbs 1/4 cup at a time. Sometime you will need less then 1 1/4 cup. You do not want your mixture to be too dry.
6) Press base into the bottom of a tin foil lined 9×9 pan.
7) Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour minimum.

Middle Layer:
1) Cream butter together with the custard powder.
2) Add icing sugar and stir to combine.
3) Add the cream a little at a time until you have a smooth, spreadable mixture.
4) Spread over chilled base, and chill for at least another hour.

Top Layer:
1) Melt butter and chocolate together in a small pot over low heat stirring frequently.
2) Pour and spread over chilled custard layer.
3) Let bars sit in a cool place until chocolate is firm but not hard.

Cutting:
While cutting these bars, you have to be very careful so that the the chocolate does not crack. It is helpful to cut the entire bar at the same time when the chocolate is not too hard. Use a very sharp and large knife and cut into small squares.

These freeze very well in airtight containers with wax paper between each layer.

* If you are not freezing, store in the fridge.

10 Comments

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Profile photo of Marie @ My Culinary Calling

Marie @ My Culinary Calling on 12.30.2010

I think it would probably work. The flavor might be a bit different though.

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honeyg on 12.30.2010

I read somewhere that you could replace Bird’s Custard Powder with unprepared instant vanilla pudding, but I’ve never tried it.

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Wendy on 12.29.2010

Another brand of custard powder is Harry Horne’s Custard Powder. I know it’s available in Ontario, Canada.
Also…my mom has been making these since I was a kid. She had an old binder full of newspaper clipping recipes all tatered and browned that has an exact recipe called “New York Slice Bars”. We didn’t know until about 10 yrs ago they were called Nanaimo Bars. LOL Mom still calls them New Yorks and makes them every Christmas.

Profile photo of shellsonvancouverisland

shellsonvancouverisland on 12.29.2010

I believe the custard powder may be a british thing too ….

Profile photo of Marie @ My Culinary Calling

Marie @ My Culinary Calling on 12.28.2010

Here is another website…but it is not that encouraging

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/299321

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