Nanaimo Bars
These no bake 3 layered Canadian bar cookies with a crumbly chocolate coconut base, vanilla buttercream layer, and crisp chocolate top are a hit with everyone!
Equipment
- 1 20 x 20cm ( 8 x 8 inch) tin lined with baking paper / baking parchment.
Ingredients
Bottom Layer:
- ½ c (90g) unsalted butter
- ¼ c (50g) granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons (40g) cocoa powder
- 1 egg beaten
- 1¼ c (125g) digestive biscuit or graham cracker crumbs
- 1c (90g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
- ½ c (70g) almonds skin on, roughly chopped
Buttercream Layer:
- ½ c (90g) unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch/ cornflour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2c (250 g) icing sugar/ confectioners sugar
- ½ tablespoon milk
Top Layer:
- 4 oz (115 g) dark chocolate (70%) roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
For Bottom Layer:
- Line a 20 x 20cm ( 8 x 8 inch) tin with lightly greased baking paper.
- Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Heat the butter and sugar until the butter has melted.
- Keep the water simmering, but carefully remove the heatproof bowl with a tea towel and place on a heatproof surface.
- With a balloon whisk whisk in the cocoa powder. Whilst whisking, slowly pour in the beaten egg a little at a time.
- When you add the egg, the mixture can look as though it has split - this is ok, it will become smooth as you continue to cook and whisk it.
- Place the bowl back over the pan of water and continue to whisk for 4-5 minutes until thick (this will cook the egg).
- Remove from the heat and stir in the biscuit/cookie crumbs, coconut and chopped almonds.
- Spoon into tin and press down well into an even layer. Place in the fridge to set for 10-15 minutes.
Buttercream:
- Beat the butter with the cornflour, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth and slowly mix in the milk.
- Pour on top of the base and spread into an even layer. Place in fridge for 15-20 minutes.
Chocolate Topping:
- Just before you start to melt the chocolate place the Nanaimo bar tin in the freezer. This will help prevent the buttercream from mixing with the warm chocolate.
- Either in the microwave, or in a clean heatproof bowl set on top of a pan of simmering water, place the chopped chocolate and butter.
- Once melted, carefully remove the bowl from the heat and let stand for 30 seconds or so. You want it to sill be runny but not quite so hot.
- Remove the Nanaimo bars from the freezer and carefully spoon on the chocolate, working quickly to lightly spread the chocolate in an even layer over the buttercream.
- Chill in the fridge until the chocolate has just set (around 10 minutes). With a sharp knife cut through the chocolate layer into 16 squares. Place back in fridge to set properly for another 20 minutes.
- Cut through the other 2 layers once chilled. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze.
Video
Notes
Making Nanaimo bars With Custard Powder: If you have Birds custard powder, omit the cornflour and vanilla and add 2 tablespoon Birds custard powder to the buttercream.
Butter – you can use unsalted butter or salted butter.
Granulated sugar – white sugar.
Cocoa powder – unsweetened cocoa powder, not sweetened.
Egg – size large.
Digestive biscuits or graham crackers.
Desiccated coconut – use unsweetened coconut. If you only have shredded coconut, blend it in a mini blender until fine.
Almonds – or you can use walnuts or pecans
Cornstarch/ cornflour – If you are in Australia or the UK you will see it as cornflour, if you are in America I recommend you use cornstarch.
Vanilla bean paste – or vanilla extract.
Icing sugar – confectioner’s sugar. Use pure icing sugar, not soft icing sugar / royal icing sugar (this will make the buttercream layer too soft).
Milk – I prefer to use milk in the buttercream, although many recipes call for cream or whipping cream.
Dark chocolate – unsweetened chocolate – use a good quality (70%) dark chocolate. I recommend you don’t use milk chocolate as the Nanaimo bars are a sweet bar with the thick buttercream layer. I like to use bar chocolate and roughly break it into pieces, but dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips would work just as well.
Cooking in a bain marie, or double boiler (heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water) helps prevent the egg from cooking in clumps (I cooked it in a saucepan the first time I ever made it and was left with little bits of egg white dotted through the base).
Chilling the bars before adding the next layer helps keep the layers seperate so you get that lovely contrast when you slice them.
Chopping almonds – as you can see from the photos and video I have left chunks of almonds, traditional Nanaimo bar recipes have smaller pieces. We enjoy the crunch…
Placing the bars in the freezer after you have spread the buttercream layer, whilst you melt the chocolate – for around 5 minutes – then quickly pour the chocolate over and spread in an even layer. Just before you start to melt the chocolate place the Nanaimo bar tin in the freezer. This will help prevent the buttercream from mixing with the warm chocolate.
Adding butter to the chocolate topping not only gives the chocolate a lovely sheen, but makes it easier to cut neatly.
Make sure the bars are chilled properly before cutting down through the buttercream layer, otherwise and the buttercream can run out of the sides, and it can look messy.
Nutrition
Calories: 317kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 59mgPotassium: 151mgFiber: 3gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 340IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 2mg
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