Calgary Nanaimo Bars Food

CALGARY NANAIMO BARS

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square baking pan with foil, letting ends extend over sides by 1 in. In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar and cocoa; add butter. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into eggs. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir until mixture reaches 160°. Remove from heat., Stir in cracker crumbs, coconut and, if desired, almonds. Press into prepared pan. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set., For filling, in a small bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, pudding mix, butter and milk until smooth; spread over crust., In a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Spread over top. Refrigerate until set. Using foil, lift bars out of pan. Discard foil; cut into bars.

NANAIMO BARS

Steps:

• Line an 8-by-8-inch (20-by-20-centimeter) metal baking pan with parchment, allowing parchment to overhang by about 2 inches (5 centimeters) on two sides.
• Prepare the base: In a double boiler, or a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water, whisk butter with granulated sugar, egg, cocoa powder and vanilla until melted. Continue whisking until mixture thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts until the mixture is well combined and resembles wet sand.
• Transfer mixture to the parchment-lined pan and use your fingers to press it into an even layer. Transfer pan to the refrigerator to chill until firm, at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add heavy cream and custard powder and mix until combined, scraping sides and bottom of the work bowl as needed. Add 1 cup confectioners' sugar and mix on low until incorporated. Add remaining confectioners' sugar and mix on low until combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed, then mix on medium-high speed until smooth, light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove pan from refrigerator. Dollop the buttercream on top of the base layer then gently spread it evenly on top using an offset spatula. Transfer pan to the refrigerator to chill until buttercream is set, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare the topping: In a small, heavy saucepan or a double boiler, heat the chocolate and butter over low, stirring often, until melted and evenly combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Take pan from refrigerator and pour chocolate on top of buttercream layer. Working quickly and carefully, spread the chocolate evenly over the buttercream using an offset spatula. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using.
• Return pan to refrigerator and chill until chocolate hardens, about 25 minutes.
• To serve the bars: Lift excess parchment to remove Nanaimo square from the pan. Cut into 16 2-inch (5-centimeter) squares. Store bars in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving. Store remaining bars in the refrigerator for a few days, or wrap well and freeze.

THE ORIGINAL NANAIMO BARS

Steps:

• BOTTOM LAYER: Melt first 3 ingredients in top of a double boiler.
• Add egg and stir to cook and thicken Remove from heat.
• Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts.
• Press firmly into an ungreased 8 X 8 pan.
• SECOND LAYER: Cream butter, cream, custard powder and icing sugar together well.
• Beat until light.
• Spread over bottom layer.
• THIRD LAYER: Melt chocolate and butter over low heat.
• Cool
• When cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.

MINT NANAIMO BARS

Steps:

• Bottom Layer: Combine first amount of butter, first amount of sugar and cocoa to saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil. Stir in egg to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in graham crumbs, coconut and walnuts. Pack very firmly into a greased 9x9" pan. (Do NOT, I repeat, NOT, dump a beaten egg into a pot of boiling liquid. Unless you like scrambled eggs in your pastry. Instead, beat the egg in a small bowl and then add a tablespoon or two of the cocoa mixture to the egg and whisk well, then add the egg mixture into the chocolate mix and stir. Also, once this mixture is in the pan, chill it for about half an hour before making the middle layer - this will prevent the bottom layer from blending with the frosting and making it all lumpy.).
• Middle Layer: Combine second amount of butter, milk, flavouring and icing sugar in a bowl. Beat together well. Tint a pretty shade of green. Spread over first layer. (Regular Nanaimo bars call for the same amounts of milk, butter and sugar, but omit the [liquid] colouring and flavouring, and have the addition of 2 tablespoons of vanilla custard powder. This means that the mint filling is considerably softer than the regular. To prevent this, add an additional 1/4 cup of icing sugar, otherwise this layer may never firm up and will squish and ooze when the squares are cut. And as with the first layer, chill this before you add the top layer or the mint layer will melt and blend with the chocolate topping.).
• Top layer: Melt chips and third amount of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Spread over second layer. Chill and store in refrigerator. (This amount of chocolate IN NO WAY makes enough to properly cover a 9" square pan. It creates a thin, miserly little layer that doesn't look anything at all like the amount there should be based on the accompanying photographs. I'd go for a cup of chocolate, possibly double the original amount. Also - let the chocolate firm up at room temperature and cut as soon as it's firm. If you chill this first, and then try to cut it, the chocolate will get hard and crack and you'll have an ugly ol' mess like I did.).

NANAIMO BARS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from the heat; blend in sugar, cocoa, vanilla, egg, crumbs and coconut. Also add nuts if desired. Press into a 9-in. square pan. In a small bowl, cream 1/4 cup butter, pudding mix, milk and sugar. Spread over crumb layer; chill. Melt chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter; spread over pudding layer. Chill before cutting into bars.