Cappuccino Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo Bars are a British Columbian classic, and this recipe is by Anna Olson as featured on her Sugar-program on Food Network Canada.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Yields: 64 mini-bars

Ingredients

• Base

• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 5  tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1  egg
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1⁄2 cups  chocolate cookie crumbs
• 1  cup unsweetened coconut, grated
• 1⁄2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

• Filling

• 1⁄3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons  custard powder
• 1⁄4 cup milk
• 2  teaspoons instant coffee powder
• 2  teaspoons vanilla
• 3  cups icing sugar, sifted

• Topping

• 8  ounces  semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2  tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare a 8-inch square pan by greasing bottom and sides with vegetable oil or spray.
2. For base, melt butter and stir in sugar. Sift cocoa powder into mixture and blend well. Whisk together egg and vanilla extract and add. Blend in chocolate cookie crumbs, coconut and chopped walnuts until evenly incorporated. Press into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then chill for 20 minutes.
3. For cappuccino filling, beat butter by hand until smooth and beat in custard powder. Heat milk with coffee powder to dissolve and cool to room temperature. Add milk to butter mixture a stir in sifted icing sugar a cup at a time, combining well. Spread over base and chill while preparing topping.
4. For topping, melt chocolate and butter over a pot of gently simmering water. Pour over vanilla filling and spread to cover evenly. Chill for 30 minutes.
5. To serve, slice with a hot, dry knife into 1-inch squares.