Nanaimo City's Bar Recipe

 

For this Sunday Funday, we celebrate the upcoming Canada Day on July 1st.   I can think of a number of dishes/flavors that personify the Great White North, maple syrup being one, poutine being another, and then those famous bars from the City of Nanaimo.  We are just a few hours from the border, and our local grocery store bakeries always have these bars in stock.  Quite sweet, they last a long time held in the fridge for me when hubby decides to treat me.  The city has the recipe available on their website and I have wanted to try them out for years.  I believe the bakeries use desiccated coconut, (unsweetened), and in the interest of not making these even sweeter than they tend to be, that's what I used.  The base is what tempers the sweetness of the custard/buttercream filling.  I did make sure to get real custard powder and not use pudding mix.  They are not the same and it won't taste quite the same though it's a common enough substitution.  It used to be a difficult item to find, but I see it all the time now, just as with golden syrup.

The base is fairly crumbly when mixed but presses together nicely.  And since there is more base than the frosting-like filling, these are sweet, but not overwhelming in small squares.  These homemade ones are much more balanced and less sweet than the grocery store versions, especially since I prefer to use salted butter.  Not difficult to make and very much worth it!

The store bought variety has a perfectly smooth surface, a thinner ganache topping than this one, but also a cloyingly sweet filling.  I very much preferred this homemade version! 

* Although the original recipe calls for unsalted butter throughout, I fervently disagree.  These bars NEED the salt to enhance the flavor and temper the sweetness, so add pinches of salt to the base and the filling if using unsalted butter! 

Nanaimo Bar Recipe
from the City of Nanaimo
makes 25 squares

Base Layer
½ cup butter (European style cultured) (113g)
¼ cup sugar (50g)
5 tbsp cocoa (26g)
1 egg beaten
1¾ cups graham wafer crumbs (175g) I used 125g grahams and 50g pretzels and loved the result
½ cup finely chopped almonds (50g)
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened) (53g)

Filling Layer
½ cup salted butter (113g)
2 tbsp and 2 tsp cream (40 ml)
2 tbsp vanilla custard powder (30 ml) I only had plain custard powder available locally so I added vanilla
2 cups icing sugar (225g)

Topping Layer
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (4 oz)
2 tbsp butter (28g)

Gently melt together the butter, sugar, and cocoa in the top of double boiler.  Add the beaten egg and stir until the mixture has thickened.  (Make sure the mixture is not hot enough to scramble the egg.)  Remove from heat. Stir in the cracker crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8-inch square pan.  (Line with parchment if desired for easier removal.)  Chill while making the filling.

Cream together the butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar until well combined.  Beat until light. Spread evenly over the bottom layer with an offset spatula.  Chill for 30 minutes or until set and not sticky.

Melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat. Cool to room temperature. Once cooled, but still
liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator until firm.  (I ended up thinning mine a little more with a drizzle of cream as it was a bit thick with the chips I used.)

Cut into small squares and serve.  Store, chilled and covered, in the refrigerator. 

I need a smaller offset spatula!

 Be sure to check out the rest of our Canada-centric recipes: 

• Butter Tarts: Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Cherry Chip Cake: Amy's Cooking Adventures
• City of Nanaimo's Namesake Bar: A Messy Kitchen
• Maple Banana Muffins: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Maritime Hodge Podge - Creamy Summer Vegetables: Food Lust People Love
• Pouding Chômeur: Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pumpkin Pie With Homemade Pie Crust: Sneha's Recipe 
• Quick and Easy Poutine: A Day in the Life on the Farm