Nanaimo Bars; delicious Canadian-style bars with chocolate coconut crumb base, vanilla buttercream frosting centre, and smooth chocolate topping.
(this recipe contains affiliate links and a gifted product)
Welcome back to my Desserts of the World series in which we try to recreate sweet treats from all over the planet! Today we’re tackling our second recipe, all thanks to Canada.
Canada. The second-largest country on planet earth, with enough natural beauty to flex on every single other country there is. In modern times, it’s a nation made up of people from all over the world, which reflects in its regional and national cooking.
Some of my lovely YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers are from Canada and provided me with some suggestions as to what are Canada’s most iconic desserts. Of all the comments and messages, two desserts stuck out most. The Canadian Butter Tart, and the Nanaimo Bar. With the latter being indisputably more popular. Having done some research and recipe testing, I can see why!
Prefer to watch a recipe video? Click here!
According to Wikipedia, Nanaimo bars have been around since the 1950s, being made everywhere from family homes all the way to Canadian state dinners. Nanaimo bars are named after the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. They consist of three layers: a biscuit, nut, and coconut crumb base; vanilla frosting in the middle; and a layer of chocolate on top.
From what I’ve seen online, recipes for these bars are a bit all over the place. Some using enormous quantities of sugar and some hardly any, some using dark chocolate and some using semisweet, some using pecans and some using almonds. And, naturally, because of North American cup measurements, the ingredient quantities in Nanaimo bars are often wildly varied too.
The recipe you see today involves a classic Nanaimo bar base, with a blend of tastes and textures. A bold but balanced dark chocolate topping. And a vanilla frosting centre, that may be slightly controversial…because it doesn’t contain the standard custard powder. But HEAR ME OUT.
As a Brit I am very familiar with custard powder, what it tastes like, and what it’s used for. The most iconic brand consists of cornflour, salt, colourings, and flavourings. It is intended for mixing into hot milk to create a type of custard without the need for eggs, cornflour, and vanilla to be added separately. It’s…fine, it’s not mind-blowing.
However, despite it being tradition, I chose to omit it from my own version. Partly because I couldn’t find any here in northern Italy, and partly because it makes no scientific sense in this recipe. Cornflour’s thickening properties are activated by heat, which is not used in making Nanaimo bar fillings, and the flavourings used are typically just vanillin (artificial vanilla). So, while I did add vanillin for authentic flavour, I decided against the cornflour and colourings just for the sake of tradition. Sorry!
Controversy aside, let’s talk about chocolate. If you ever want to level-up your baking without any extra effort, use the best quality chocolate you can afford!
I used Willie’s Cacao chocolate for these Nanaimo bars, having been gifted some bags of their cooking chocolate a while ago. This stuff is not only truly delicious but ideal for baking.
In this recipe I used their 72% Rio Caribe dark chocolate chef’s drops. The chocolate has a bold, nutty, and almost coffee-like flavour that really stands up to the bold buttery, vanilla, and coconut flavours in these bars. You’ll find they come in handy resealable 1kg bags, and can be used for all kinds of sweet and savoury purposes.
I’ve loved chocolate from Willie’s Cacao for years now. They are frontrunners of the UK craft chocolate market, ensuring ethical environmental and labour practices in their bean-to-bar process. It’s chocolate you can truly feel good about snacking on or baking with, and it’s worlds apart from the nasty bitter dark chocolate you’ll often find in supermarkets!
If you’d like to try some of their cooking chocolate for yourself, you can find it here.
Anyway, let’s get into today’s very Canadian recipe, and see what all the fuss is about, eh?
Want to save these Nanaimo Bars for later? You can pin the image below:
To make these Nanaimo Bars, simply follow the recipe below:
Nanaimo Bars – Desserts of the World
Ingredients
For the cocoa coconut crumb base:
- 125g (9 tbsp) soft salted butter
- 50g (¼ cup) granulated or caster sugar
- 4 tbsp cocoa
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 150g (5 oz) plain sweet biscuits
- 70g (½ cup) whole almonds
- 70g (¾ cup) desiccated or shredded coconut
- Pinch of salt
For the vanilla buttercream frosting:
- 300g (1 ½ cups) icing sugar
- 125g (9 tbsp) soft salted butter
- 2 tsp clear vanilla extract or vanillin
For the chocolate topping:
- 200g (7 oz) dark chocolate, I used a 74% chocolate from Willie’s Cacao
- 75g (5 tbsp) soft salted butter
Instructions
For the cocoa coconut crumb base:
- Grease and line a 18cm x 25cm (7in x 10in), or 20cm x 20cm (8in x 8in), baking tin with greaseproof paper. Leaving some overhang at the sides will help the bars be easier to remove later!
- In a small pan, gently heat your butter, sugar, and cocoa until melted smoothly together.
- Remove from the heat to cool for 5 minutes.
- Slowly pour your beaten egg into the pan, whisking constantly to incorporate. Set aside.
- Separately, use either a food processor or a food-safe bag and a rolling pin, blitz/crush your biscuits and almonds into rough crumbs.
- Stir the coconut and salt through the crumbs.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined into a chunky crumble.
- Tip your crumble into the prepared tin and press firmly into a flat layer.
- Chill the tin in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
For the vanilla buttercream frosting:
- In a large bowl, beat together your butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
- Spoon the mixture over your chilled set crumb base and smooth out evenly.
- Place the tray back into the fridge to chill for at least another 30 minutes.
For the chocolate topping:
- In a heatproof bowl, melt together your chocolate and butter until smooth. You can do this in quick bursts in the microwave, or in a small bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
- Once melted and cooled slightly, pour the liquid mixture over the buttercream layer and smooth out evenly.
- Chill the tin in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.
- Slice into small squares or rectangles, and enjoy!
BE A MAVERICK: why not add some flavourings like mint, coffee, or hazelnut to the frosting filling for a new twist on this traditional recipe?
These Nanaimo Bars will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days, but are best enjoyed fresh!
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