Nanaimo Bars

We’re studying world geography this year in school, and we’re studying Canada first.  The book we were reading mentioned Nanaimo Bars, so we decided to try them (we’re going to try to cook a recipe from each country that we study).  We searched for a recipe on the internet and decided to try the one from this blog.

We thought these were delicious!  They’re creamy and crunchy and chocolaty all at the same time.  Because they’re pretty rich, a small square makes a good dessert.

It wasn’t hard to make these, but it does take a while because there are three layers.

For the first layer, melt butter, sugar and cocoa powder together in a double boiler (we use a glass bowl on top of a pot because we don’t have a double boiler!)

Let that cool a bit while you beat an egg in another bowl.

Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture gradually.  We mixed in about 1/4 cup first, and then mixed in the rest.  Be careful to keep mixing it, or the hot chocolate mixture will curdle the egg.

Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, chopped almonds, and coconut.  Press this into an ungreased 8×8 inch baking dish.

For the middle layer, beat together butter, cream, vanilla pudding powder, and powdered sugar.

(Kristen’s note: authentic Nanaimo Bar recipes call for vanilla custard powder, but I didn’t want to buy a whole container just to make these bars, and besides, the blogger whose recipe we followed successfully used instant vanilla pudding powder.)

Spread over the chocolate crust.

Put the pan in the refrigerator until the middle layer is firm.

For the chocolate topping, melt chocolate and butter together (we used chocolate chips.)

Let it cool a bit, then carefully spread it over the middle layer.

You want to cool the chocolate first because otherwise it will melt the middle layer.

Refrigerate the bars until the frosting is firm.

Cut into small bars to serve. And you should store your bars in the refrigerator to keep the chocolate firm.

Nanaimo Bars

If you need a printable version, you can use the one on this blog.

Layer 1
½ cup butter at room temperature
¼ cup sugar
5 tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup coconut

In a double boiler, combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder.  Cook and stir until melted.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg.  Slowly stir a bit of the hot chocolate mixture into the egg, and then gradually stir in the rest.  Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, the almonds, and the coconut.

Layer 2
½ cup  butter at room temperature
3 tbsp whipping cream
2 tbsp vanilla pudding powder (we used instant vanilla pudding powder)
2 cups powdered sugar

Beat together the butter, cream, pudding powder, and powdered sugar.  Spread evenly over bottom layer.  Refrigerate.

Layer 3
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 tbsp unsalted butter

In a bowl, melt the chocolate and the butter (we used our microwave).  Let it cool a bit and then spread it on the middle layer.  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into small squares to serve.  Store leftover bars in the refrigerator.