The Nanaimo bar is a dessert of Canadian origin that requires no baking and is named after the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. It is made up of three layers, each one rich, buttery and delicious. Traditionally, these bars are made with walnuts, but I prefer to use pecans. Since moving to Texas, I make it a point to make these bars every year on Canada Day. I must say that my American friends are big fans and have started requesting them on a regular basis. They are slightly more time consuming than the recipes I normally post, but definitely worth the extra time.

Ingredients:

Bottom Layer:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 5 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup crushed pecans
• 1/2 cup fine coconut flakes

Middle Layer:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 tbsp vanilla custard powder
• 2 cups icing sugar

Top Layer:

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 3 tbsp butter

 

Directions:

Bottom Layer:

Melt together butter, sugar, and cocoa powder over low heat in a heavy saucepan.

Slowly add beaten egg and stir until thickened.

Remove pan from heat and stir in graham cracker crumbs, crushed nuts and coconut flakes.

Press onto the bottom of a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.

Middle Layer:

Cream together butter, custard powder, milk and icing sugar until light and fluffy.

Spread over bottom layer.

Top Layer:

Melt together chocolate chips and butter over low heat.

Let cool.

When cool but not hard, spread over second layer until completely covered.

Let chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Please Note: The top layer can crack if its too cold, so I like to let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing into squares.