Canadian Nanaimo Bars for #Food of the World

For this month's #Food of the World event, we are visiting our neighbor Canada. The first dish that came to my mind when I thought of Canada was Nanaimo Bars. But I wanted to do my due diligence and googled for vegetarian Canadian dishes. None of the results I got motivated or inspired me to make the dish. So I went back to Nanaimo bars -- and I'm very glad I did.

Nanaimo bar is a popular Canadian dessert that requires no baking and is named after the city in which it was first created. It consists of a wafer crumb-based bottom layer topped with a custard flavored butter icing which is finally covered with melted chocolate. There are quite a few variations to the base recipe and are made with different types of crumb, different flavors for the icing (like Nutella, peanut butter, mint etc) and different types of chocolate topping.
I used Cooking Classy's recipe for Nanaimo bars almost to the T. But mine didn't turn out as classy looking as hers -- her layers are so distinct and clean. Mine kind of blended together, but the bars tasted awesome nonetheless. The only change I made was to use egg replacer instead of the 1 egg that is called for in the recipe.
These bars are very easy to make and except for a little bit of butter melting and mixing ingredients, don't need any cooking. Most of the time is spent in chilling the layers. They are great to make on short notice and you have a tray full of these in just about no time :-)

Ingredients:

For the Bottom Layer

1¾cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1cup Sweetened or unsweetened dry coconut
½cup Pecans or almonds, finely chopped
½cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
3tbsp Cocoa powder
⅓cup Light Brown Sugar
1tbsp Egg replacer powder whisked in 3tbsp water (or use 1 large egg)
1½tsp Vanilla extract

For the Middle Layer

⅓cup Unsalted Butter
2tbsp Custard powder or vanilla/ white chocolate instant pudding mix
¼cup Heavy Cream
2cups Confectioners Sugar

For the Top Layer

2tbsp Unsalted Butter
4oz. Semisweet Chocolate (chips or chunks)

Method:

Lightly butter a 8" or 9" baking pan and line the bottom with parchment. Make sure to leave some parchment hang over the edges for easy removal at the end.
To make the Bottom Layer: Melt butter and add sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk until well combined. Slowly add the whisked egg replacer mixture (or the egg) and cook till the mixture thickens are little bit, about 1~2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the graham cracker crumbs, nuts, coconut and vanilla. Mix well to combine.
Put this mixture into the prepared baking pan and press down into an even layer. Cover and place the baking pan in the fridge for 30 minutes for the layer to set.
To make the Middle Layer: Beat butter, cream and custard/ instant pudding mix with a hand or stand mixer until soft and fluffy, about 2~3 minutes.
Add the confectioners sugar and beat until sugar is incorporated about a minute. The mixture will look quite dry in the beginning, but it will come together in no time.
Spread the custard mixture evenly over the bottom layer. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
To make the Top Layer: Melt butter and semi sweet chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir well and pour this over the custard layer. Spread into an even layer. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Carefully remove the bars holding the parchment overhang. Cut into bars using a sharp knife. Store in an airtight container and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Please visit our cohosts blogs and follow their sites! Diane: http://www.simplelivingeating.com Adelina: http://www.homemaidsimple.com Shey: http://justnotthecakes.blogspot.com Mireille: http://www.theschizochef.com/blog/ Usha: http://www.myspicykitchen.net Pavani: http://www.cookshideout.com
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