Ingredients
Base
- 125 gbutter
- 50 gcaster sugar
- 40 gcocoa powder
- 1egg, beaten
- 200 gdigestive or graham cracker crumbs
- 100 gdesiccated coconut
- 60 gchopped walnuts or almonds
Middle
- 125 gbutter, softened
- 3 tbspcustard powder
- 3 tbspmilk or double cream
- 280 gicing sugar
Top
- 150 gdark chocolate
- 30 gbutter
Equipment
- a 20 by 20 cm tin, lined
Directions
- Melt the butter, sugar and cocoa in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Now add the beaten egg and stir constantly until the mixture thickens to a custard, about 3 to 4 minutes. Keep the water at a bare simmer and stir without stopping. The egg is thickening the base and it will scramble the moment it gets too hot.
- Take it off the heat as soon as it coats the spoon. Stir in the crumbs, coconut and nuts until evenly combined. Press the mixture very firmly into the lined tin, using the back of a spoon or a flat glass.
- Press it hard and evenly. A loosely packed base crumbles apart when you cut the bars, and it is the commonest complaint about them. Chill for 30 minutes until firm. For the middle layer, beat the softened butter with the custard powder and milk until smooth.
- Beat in the icing sugar a little at a time until you have a thick, spreadable buttercream. It should be firm enough to hold a shape. Spread it over the chilled base and level the top with a palette knife. Chill for another 30 minutes until firm to the touch. Do not skip this second chill.
- Warm chocolate poured onto soft buttercream melts straight into it and the layers merge. Melt the chocolate and butter together gently and let it cool for a few minutes. Pour it over the chilled filling and tilt the tin to spread it thin.
- Spread it quickly and thinly, and do not work it once it starts to set. Now chill it only until the chocolate is just set, about 20 minutes, then score the squares.
- Score it while the chocolate is barely set. Then chill it fully for another 2 hours before cutting through along the scored lines. Use a hot dry knife, wiping it between cuts. Serve cold from the fridge in small squares, because they are extremely rich.
Technique
- Bird’s custard powder is the standard and pudding mix is not the same thing.
- They freeze well and are cut straight from frozen.
- They keep a week in the fridge in a sealed tin.
Substitutions
- Vanilla pudding mix or vanilla buttercream in place of custard powder, which loses the characteristic flavour.
- Any plain sweet biscuit crumb.
Variations
- With mint, peanut butter or coffee in the middle layer.
- Made with a graham cracker base, which is the Canadian standard.
- Without nuts, which many recipes offer.
History
A layered no-bake dessert bar, its bottom made from a chocolate-and-coconut crumb base, its middle a custard-flavoured buttercream, and its top a layer of melted chocolate, named after Nanaimo, a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, following a 1950s recipe contest and community cookbook that helped popularize and formalize the specific three-layer version now considered standard. Its exact original inventor is not definitively documented, since similar layered bar recipes likely circulated informally among home bakers in the region before any one version was named and published under the city’s name. The bar became significant enough to Nanaimo’s own civic identity that the city has embraced it as an official symbol, including a giant nanaimo bar sculpture displayed publicly.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nanaimo bar?
Nanaimo bar is a dessert from Canada: no-bake layers of chocolate, custard cream, and coconut-crumb base. A layered no-bake dessert bar, its bottom made from a chocolate-and-coconut crumb base, its middle a custard-flavoured buttercream, and its top a layer of melted chocolate, named after Nanaimo, a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, following a 1950s recipe contest and community cookbook that helped popularize and formalize the specific three-layer version now considered standard. Its exact original inventor is not definitively documented, since similar layered bar recipes likely circulated informally among home bakers in the region before any one version was named and published under the city’s name. The bar became significant enough to Nanaimo’s own civic identity that the city has embraced it as an official symbol, including a giant nanaimo bar sculpture displayed publicly.
How long does Nanaimo bar take to make?
Nanaimo bar takes 30 min plus 3 hr chilling of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 24 squares. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Nanaimo bar?
Yes, within limits. Vanilla pudding mix or vanilla buttercream in place of custard powder, which loses the characteristic flavour. Any plain sweet biscuit crumb.
What is the most important thing to get right in Nanaimo bar?
Beat in the icing sugar a little at a time until you have a thick, spreadable buttercream. It should be firm enough to hold a shape. Spread it over the chilled base and level the top with a palette knife. Chill for another 30 minutes until firm to the touch. Do not skip this second chill.
