Nanaimo Bars

By Sara Bonisteel

Nanaimo Bars
Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Christine Albano.
Total Time
30 minutes, plus 1½ hours’ chilling
Rating
4(1,433)
Comments
Read comments

The Nanaimo bar is a tremendously sweet, no-bake layered bar cookie from Canada made almost exclusively of packaged ingredients. The buttercream layer gets its yellow hue from custard powder, a vital ingredient that makes this a true Nanaimo bar. Use an offset spatula to give the chocolate top a surface as smooth as freshly Zambonied ice. The novelist Margaret Atwood included this recipe, from the chef Susan Mendelson, in her “Canlit Foodbook,” a fund-raising book that featured food from literature, as well as author recipes. Ms. Atwood prefers walnuts in this recipe, but any combination of walnuts, almonds or pecans will do. We’ve added a smidge more cocoa and the optional addition of salt — but leave it out for the true Nanaimo bar experience.

Featured in: A Bite-Size Square of Canada’s History, Culture and Craving

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:16 bars

    For the Base

    • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into pieces
    • ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
    • 1large egg
    • 3tablespoons cocoa powder
    • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2cups/235 grams graham cracker crumbs
    • 1cup/85 grams unsweetened shredded coconut
    • ½cup/50 grams finely chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans (or a mixture)

    For the Buttercream

    • ¼cup/60 grams unsalted butter (½ stick), at room temperature
    • 3tablespoons heavy cream
    • 2tablespoons custard powder, such as Bird’s
    • 2cups/245 grams confectioners’ (icing) sugar

    For the Chocolate Topping

    • 4ounces/115 grams semisweet chocolate, broken into ½-inch (1¼-centimeter) pieces
    • 2tablespoons unsalted butter
    • Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

344 calories; 23 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 24 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 164 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Line an 8-by-8-inch (20-by-20-centimeter) metal baking pan with parchment, allowing parchment to overhang by about 2 inches (5 centimeters) on two sides.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the base: In a double boiler, or a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water, whisk butter with granulated sugar, egg, cocoa powder and vanilla until melted. Continue whisking until mixture thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts until the mixture is well combined and resembles wet sand.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer mixture to the parchment-lined pan and use your fingers to press it into an even layer. Transfer pan to the refrigerator to chill until firm, at least 15 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add heavy cream and custard powder and mix until combined, scraping sides and bottom of the work bowl as needed. Add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and mix on low until incorporated. Add remaining confectioners’ sugar and mix on low until combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed, then mix on medium-high speed until smooth, light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Remove pan from refrigerator. Dollop the buttercream on top of the base layer then gently spread it evenly on top using an offset spatula. Transfer pan to the refrigerator to chill until buttercream is set, about 30 minutes.

  7. Step 7

    Prepare the topping: In a small, heavy saucepan or a double boiler, heat the chocolate and butter over low, stirring often, until melted and evenly combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Take pan from refrigerator and pour chocolate on top of buttercream layer. Working quickly and carefully, spread the chocolate evenly over the buttercream using an offset spatula. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using.

  8. Step 8

    Return pan to refrigerator and chill until chocolate hardens, about 25 minutes.

  9. Step 9

    To serve the bars: Lift excess parchment to remove Nanaimo square from the pan. Cut into 16 2-inch (5-centimeter) squares. Store bars in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving. Store remaining bars in the refrigerator for a few days, or wrap well and freeze.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,433 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Diane

Semisweet chocolate is too sweet for the chocolate topping. Use bittersweet chocolate instead. Offsets the sweetness of middle layer. Per 70 yr old recipe I use.

Phillipa Rispin

If you leave out the custard center layer, you’ll still get something that tastes good, but it is NOT a Nanaimo bar. That center layer is a vital component; otherwise, it’s not a Nanaimo bar. Call it something else.

Leslie

Use half the amount of sugar. 2 Tbsp sugar for base. 1 cup conf sugar for middle layer. Also use 2 Tbsp corn starch with 1/4 tsp vanilla instead of custard powder.

FB

I was paranoid about the raw egg since I was planning on serving these to a large group at Christmas including a bunch of small children. I baked the crust at 350 until it reached 190 degrees and it turned out just fine!

KB

As a Canadian I find the author's description of "almost exclusively packaged ingredients" offensive and poorly researched.

PNW

Hailing here from Canadaland, very close to Nanaimo. Unfortunately, as written this isn’t a holy grail authentic recipe. The flavours are pretty nice (but then again, you can’t go too wrong with butter and sugar). But the base was proportionally way too thick in comparison to the custard. And - the base was pretty crumbly. I may try halving the base next time. The bar needs slightly more custard (I may try 1.5x), and I wanted a bit more custard taste to be authentic (will add another tbls of custard powder). With those changes, the top needs to be unsweetened chocolate.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.