Nanaimo Bars

Taken from 'Baking and Desserts' cook book - Helpful Hint : These bars originate in western Canada in a town called Nanaimo. It is important to use dark chocolate which has not been sweetened too much because the filling layer is very sweet and rich. do be careful when melting the dark chocolate for this recipe as the plain chocolate used has a fairly high cocoa content and if the melting process is rushed and the heat is too high, the result will be a powdery looking finish to the chocolate topping.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Yields: 18 bars

Ingredients

• 125  g butter, melted
• 40  g sugar, granulated
• 25  g cocoa powder
• 1  large egg, lightly beaten
• 175  g  biscuits, crushed (digestive)
• 75  g coconut (flaked or desiccated)
• 75  g walnuts, chopped
• 50  g butter
• 2  tablespoons  custard powder
• 1  teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3  tablespoons milk
• 225  g icing sugar, sifted
• 75  g chocolate (plain dark)
• 1  tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Lightly oil a 23 cm square tin and line with clingfilm. Mix together the 125 g butter, sugar, cocoa powder egg, biscuit crumbs, coconut and walnuts until combined thoroughly. Press into the prepared tin very firmly. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. For the filling, cream together the 50 g butter and custard powder and vanilla essence. Add the milk and icing sugar alternatively, about one-third at a time. until smooth. Spead the mixture over the chilled base. Return to the refrigerator and chill again for a further hour.
3. For the topping, melt the dark chocolate together with the 1 tbsp butter. stir together until combined well. Pour over the filling and spread quickly to cover the base and filling thinly,.
4. Leave for 5-10 minutes until starting to set, then mark the chocolate with a sharp knife into 18 squares. Refrigerate until set. Cut through the marks, dividing the cake into squares. Serve the bar chilled.