Nanaimo Bars

As an inaugural recipe, I've decided to make that most classic of Canadian desserts - Nanaimo Bars. Supposedly invented in the Vancouver Island city of Nanaimo, British Columbia, they're one of those simple, almost downright conservative dessert bars that most Canadians grow up with and therefore take for granted. They connote images of 1950s housewives, diligently making whole pans of the stuff for their eager, suburban families.

As a relatively recent transplant to the Great White North, I had never heard of this sweet, chewy confection, and was always slightly put off by their appearance in coffee shops - what was that extremely YELLOW goo sandwiched between the cookie base and the chocolate topping? As it turns out, it's a very basic vanilla buttercream frosting, mixed with custard powder, and even though the final product really doesn't look or taste anything like traditional custard, Canadians still call this layer "the custard".
But the important questions is - WHAT is custard powder? Well, I'm glad you asked - it's mostly corn starch, (sometimes combined with tapioca starch), sugar, a bunch of emulsifying/buffering agents like sodium phosphate, food dyes, (ergo that appetizing yellow), and of course, no processed pseudo-food would be complete without partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Since I don't like additives in my desserts, and especially don't like engineered franken-fats, I'm attempting to make a healthier version, (or as healthy as a sugar-based jolt to the brain can be). Corn starch is essentially a binding and thickening agent, so I figure if I substitute a bit of that and add some vanilla extract, (to replace the already artifically-flavored "vanilla-ness" of the custard powder), I should have a just-as-good if not better version of the classic Nanaimo bar. This recipe is the one listed by the City of Nanaimo as their official version, carefully selected after a city-wide contest...

shredded coconut, graham cracker crumbs, chopped almonds

the bottom cookie layer after it's chilled


vanilla buttercream


melting chocolate for the topping


ready for the dinner party!

Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

5 Tbs. cocoa

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 cups graham crumbs (I used Nature's Path brand - they're made with palm oil)

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

1 cup coconut (unsweetened)

1) 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.

Second Layer

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. heavy cream

1 1/2 Tbs. corn starch

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups icing sugar

2) Cream butter, cream, corn starch, vanilla and sugar, and beat until light. Spread over bottom layer and chill.

Third Layer

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

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

3) Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill until ready to cut and serve.

As these are very rich, you'll probably want to cut them into small squares - I'd say two-bite-sized pieces would be plenty. They were much enjoyed by all at the dinner party, though I have to say, if I were to make them again, I'd use less icing sugar for the custard layer - it was a bit sweet for my taste...but no one else seemed to mind:)