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.
