Nanaimo Bars - A Canadian Tradition

Published on December 4, 2016 ᛫ Updated on November 26, 2024 by Chef Markus

This recipe is part of a series featuring popular holiday desserts in my family. The last recipe was a German cookie recipe that my mother would make every year for Christmas. So I thought for this next recipe I should do something purely Canadian. I sought out the advice of my wife and co-workers and asked them what traditional Canadian Christmas baking brings to mind. My wife's answer came without hesitation: Nanaimo Bars!

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Which she also happened to crave during her pregnancy and is incredibly difficult to find pre-made during the summer months by the way.

I received the same response from almost all of my co-workers to who I asked the question too. While a few of them said they make some kind of secret cookie recipe with their families almost all of them said Nanaimo bars are about as traditional as it gets.

Which led me to my next question:

How do you actually make these delicious looking treats? I'd only ever bought them pre-made or seen them at Holiday bake sales. It turns out they are surprisingly easy to make despite taking a good 40 minutes to prepare (but this is mainly due to having to chill chocolate in the fridge etc.), so plan ahead and set an afternoon aside when making these. The fact that Nanaimo bars are a no-bake dessert, makes them ideal as a side project while cooking supper in the oven.

Nanaimo Bars are easy to make at home and a family favortite during the holidays

Featured in: Christmas Day Dinner Ideas.

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A Little History

Nanaimo bars are named after the town of Nanaimo, BC where depending on who you ask, you will get various answers as to the recipes' heritage.

The first published version of this recipe was first published in the 'Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook' under "chocolate squares", and didn't appear in print as Nanaimo bars until it was published in the Vancouver Suns Edith Adam's Cookbook.

Others say that these delicious squares were first called London fog bars and the recipe was sent with families from London as they sailed to Canada to settle in the coal town now known as Nanaimo. Regardless of who was actually behind the invention of this recipe, it can be said with utmost certainty that the Nanaimo Bar as we know it today is a clearly Canadian dessert.

Real Canadian Nanaimo Bars

First things first, make sure you have all the ingredients on hand before you begin. You don't want to be running around looking for stuff while you make this!

Besides the following ingredients, you will also need an 8" x 8" square casserole dish, parchment paper, a mixer with a whisk attachment, a spatula, a pot of water, and a bowl to use as a double boiler.

Nanaimo Base:

¾ cup of unsalted butter melted
¼ cup sugar
4 tablespoon water
6 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 cup finely shredded coconut
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
¼ cup ground almonds

Buttercream Filling:

1 cup butter, softened
8 tablespoon 35% whipping cream
4 tablespoon vanilla custard powder
3.5 cups icing sugar

Chocolate Ganache:

6 oz semi-sweet baker chocolate
4.5 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

Once you have all the ingredients together, prepare an 8" x 8" square cookie dish or casserole pan by lining it with parchment paper.

Melt the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in a double boiler (a bowl set over a pot of simmering water). Once mixed together and liquid, add the almonds, graham crumbs, and coconut. If the base mixture seems too thick add some of the water to the mass to make it more pliable. You want the Nanaimo base to be moldable yet hold together. Press the base into the parchment lined pan.
Chill the base in the fridge until firm, about 15 to 20 minutes.
While the base is chilling, add the softened butter, icing sugar, and custard powder to an electric mixer. Beat the butter and sugar mix until creamy, fluffy, and has the consistency of icing. Slowly add the 8 tablespoon of whipping cream and continue beating until the cream is incorporated. The icing should be smooth and have a velvety texture.
Once the graham crust base has set, use an offset spatula and spread the icing mixture evenly over the base layer. Again return the dish to the fridge to let the icing set, about 10 minutes.
Melt the remaining semi-sweet chocolate and butter over the double boiler on low heat. Once the buttercream icing layer has set, pour the chocolate ganache over the Nanaimo Bars and again using an offset spatula, spread the chocolate over the top.
Refrigerate one more time for at least half an hour to ensure everything is nice and cold, then cut the Nanaimo Bars into whichever shape or size you like!

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Recipe

Canadian Nanaimo Bars

Chef Markus

A Canadian tradition, Nanaimo Bars are a delicious holiday dessert. rich and velvety with just the right amount of chocolate.

4.84 from 12 votes

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Prep Time 1 30

Chilling Time 30

Total Time 2

Course Dessert

Cuisine Canadian

Servings 12 nanaimo bars

Calories 522 kcal

Equipment

1 8" x 8" square casserole dish

1 parchment paper

1 offset spatula

1 electric hand mixer or

1 electric stand mixer