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Canadian recipe

Nanaimo Bars

A no-bake Vancouver Island square with a cocoa-graham-coconut base, vanilla custard-butter centre and a thin bittersweet chocolate cap.

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Prep
2 hr 5 min
Cook
10 min
Total
2 hr 15 min
Servings
16
Layered Nanaimo bars with chocolate, custard and coconut crumb base
Real finished-dish photographPhotograph by Craig DugasSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 2.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

01

Ingredients

  • 120 g

    unsalted butter, divided

  • 25 g

    unsalted butter for the chocolate topping

  • 50 g

    granulated sugar

  • 25 g

    unsweetened cocoa powder

  • 1

    large egg, beaten

  • 180 g

    graham cracker crumbs

  • 70 g

    sweetened shredded coconut

  • 50 g

    finely chopped walnuts

  • 35 g

    vanilla custard powder

  • 30 ml

    heavy cream

  • 300 g

    icing sugar

  • 120 g

    bittersweet chocolate, chopped

  • 1 g

    fine salt

02

Method

  1. 01

    Prepare the pan

    Line a 20 cm square pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides. Set up a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water.

    Nanaimo Bars, step 1: Prepare the pan.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  2. 02

    Cook the cocoa base

    Melt 60 g butter with the sugar, cocoa and salt over the simmering water. Whisk in the beaten egg and cook, whisking continuously, until thick and it reaches 71°C.

    Nanaimo Bars, step 2: Cook the cocoa base.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  3. 03

    Form the crumb base

    Remove the bowl from the heat. Fold in the cracker crumbs, coconut and walnuts until evenly coated. Press firmly into the lined pan and chill for 20 minutes.

    Nanaimo Bars, step 3: Form the crumb base.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  4. 04

    Beat the custard layer

    Beat the remaining 60 g butter with custard powder until smooth. Beat in the cream and icing sugar gradually until fluffy and spreadable.

    Nanaimo Bars, step 4: Beat the custard layer.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  5. 05

    Spread and chill the middle layer

    Spread the custard mixture over the chilled base in an even layer, reaching the corners. Chill for 30 minutes until firm to a light touch.

    Nanaimo Bars, step 5: Spread and chill the middle layer.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  6. 06

    Add the chocolate top

    Melt the bittersweet chocolate with 25 g butter in a dry heatproof bowl over hot, not boiling, water. Spread the smooth chocolate over the firm middle layer.

    Nanaimo Bars, step 6: Add the chocolate top.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  7. 07

    Chill, score and slice

    Chill for 30 minutes until the chocolate is almost set. Score the top with a warm dry knife, chill for 30 minutes more, then lift out and cut into 16 bars.

    Nanaimo Bars, step 7: Chill, score and slice.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

03

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Nanaimo Bars, stacked.jpg — Photograph by Craig Dugas; CC BY-SA 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

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