Nanaimo Bars

This month we bring you our version of Nanaimo Bars, a deliciously sweet confection named after the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. Popular in both North America & Canada, Nanaimo Bars generally consist of a nutty biscuit crumb base, topped with a smooth butter-cream type filling then finished with a layer of chocolate. We’ve used Dean’s Shortbread crumbs to create the base, but any plain, sweet biscuit crumbs will work just as well.

Ingredients:

75g plain chocolate
110g butter
1 free range egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

225g Dean's Shortbread, crumbed

50g desiccated coconut
50g chopped walnuts or pecan nuts

For the filling:

60g custard powder
4 tbsp milk
80g softened butter
375g icing sugar
To finish - 100g milk or plain chocolate, 20g butter

Follow these steps

Line a 29cm x 19cm (approx) baking tray with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 180degC
Prepare the base by melting the plain chocolate and butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Leave to cool slightly before adding the egg and vanilla extract - mix well
Stir in the Dean's Shortbread crumbs, coconut and chopped nuts. Press into the prepared tray and bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool
To make the filling:
Mix the custard powder & milk together - beat in the softened butter followed by the icing sugar and beat to a smooth paste. Spread over the baked & cooled base.
To finish, melt the chocolate and butter together and spread over the top.
Leave in the fridge to set before cutting into bars or triangles.

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