My mom was born in Canada. She moved to San Francisco and met my dad in her twenties. I was born and raised in California. However, I definitely consider myself a Canadian along with my USA roots. My mom and dad moved back to Canada 19 years ago. Tragically, we lost my dad a few years ago but mom still lives in Canada, on the beautiful Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She lives 30 minutes from Nanaimo. For that reason, I felt it was important that I learned to make the Nanaimo bar and post it on this site. I made them last weekend. It is very sweet and my children endorse this recipe. This recipe was found on Canadianliving.com.
Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
For the filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 TBS custard powder (you can substitute vanilla pudding mix if you cannot find this)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TBS milk
For the topping:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 TBS butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9×9 or 8×8 pan by lining it with parchment paper; make sure it covers all sides so you can lift the bars out when done.
Mix graham cracker crumbs with coconut, walnuts, cocoa powder, and sugar. Add butter and egg and combine. Press the crumb mixture into the prepared pan. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack.
Beat together butter, custard powder, and vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar, adding milk in increments as needed. Spread over cooled crust and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
In a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of water, melt the chocolate with the butter and spread it over the filling. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, until almost set, then score the chocolate top with the tip of a knife so the chocolate doesn’t break when you remove the bars.
Once completely set and cool, cut all the bars and serve or wrap.
They last for 4 days if refrigerated.
Leave a Reply