Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo bar is a no-bake, layered dessert, which got its name from the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia.

“According to historical legend, a group of friends in Nanaimo, who would later found the Harewood Ladies' Auxiliary, found the recipe in the Vancouver Sun under the name "chocolate fridge cake," and popularized it under the name Nanaimo bar. However, a search through the newspaper's archives failed to turn up the recipe, so its ultimate origin is unknown. It made its way throughout the province's communities by way of household cookery recipes shared by housewives in the 1950s, particularly via company towns. The Nanaimo bar was a well-known confection well before the establishment of the popular coffeehouses.” Says Wiki about the origin of Nanaimo Bars. I am not quite sure if this is the true origin since I saw a few more sweet stories about it as well.

It is also said that “In 1985, Mayor Graeme Roberts started a contest to find the ultimate Nanaimo bar recipe. The winning recipe, submitted by local resident Elsha Kowbel, was unanimously declared to be the official recipe and is available as a handout from the City.”

I think this is the first time I am seeing a dish with an official recipe! I mostly followed the recipe published in the City of Nanaimo website, except that I reduced the quantity of the coconut, and cheated on the top layer. I will tell you about that shortly.

Here is the recipe as it appears in the official website of the city of Nanaimo:

Bottom Layer

½ cup unsalted butter (European style cultured)

¼ cup sugar

5 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg beaten

1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs

½ c. finely chopped almonds

1 cup coconut

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8" x 8" pan.

I used only ½ a cup of coconut. I don’t know what is European style cultured butter! So I just used the butter I had. I used a food processor to chop the almonds, then added the graham crackers and processed it again until it is all crumbled well. Make sure you cook the egg properly. With all those coconut, chocolate, and ground almonds, this layer alone would make a yummy treat.

Second Layer

½ cup unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream

2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder

2 cups icing sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

I use Bird’s custard powder(always!). Some recipes suggest adding mint flavoring to this layer.

Third Layer

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter overlow heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.

Since I ran out of semi-sweet chocolate, I had to look for alternatives for this layer. While browsing through my pantry, I stumbled upon this little chocolate colored bottle that my daughter picked up during a grocery shopping long time ago. The bottle said “Smuckers Magic Shell Topping made with real chocolate”. I thought it would be perfect for the top layer of my Nanaimo bars. It took only less than a minute to open the bottle of magic shell and pour over the second layer. I am glad it turned out perfect.

Cut into small squares and serve cold. This recipe makes about 24 small squares, and is perfect for a potluck.

So, chocolate lovers, please try it out. This Canadian favorite is extremely easy to make, and it will soon become your favorite too.