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Bake Fresh

Bake Fresh

January 27, 2010 · 21 Comments

Not a Baker’s but food lover’s challenge – Making Nanaimo Bars with The Daring Bakers

Chocolate· Daring Bakers· Uncategorized

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Food Blogging community is amazing. I am loving each bit of it since I have started blogging and joined food blogosphere. I love being part of The Daring Kitchen. Thankyou all of you for inspiration, setting great standards in recipes, presentation, photography and help. 
 



The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca

I really liked the challenge but it was more of a food lover’s challenge then a baker’s since it is pretty straightforward (although lengthy) to make but very challenging to resist. The way the layers compliment each other is great. I did not go for gluten-free version of graham crackers though since I knew they were not going to be used up and also because the three kinds of flour are difficult to find here. I have always loved graham crackers and making it yourself was a great idea. It is so simple to make and next time I do plan to make it with whole wheat flour to yield healthier version. 

 

Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian dessert created in none other than Nanaimo, British Colombia. In case you were wondering, it’s pronounced Nah-nye-Moh. These bars have 3 layers: a base containing graham crackers, cocoa, coconut and nuts, a middle custard layer, and a topping of chocolate. They are extremely rich and available almost everywhere across the country.

Assembling Nanaimo Bars themselves is a fun task. Making each layer, chilling and making next is quite fun. I loved the bottom layer – the way chocolate, crackers and coconut were complimenting each other was phenomenal. You must try this recipe. I loved the idea from one of my fellow Dating Bakers of turning these bars into mini chocolates or chocolate bars.  However, they are eaten, they are addictive and delicious.

For a very dear friend of mine who was looking for any gluten-free dessert recipe for her son’s upcoming birthday, I am listing down ratios of gluten-free flours as well. 

 

Graham Crackers
Ingredients:
Sweet Rice Flour or Glutinous Rice flour 1 cup
Tapioca Starch/Flour 3/4 cup
Sorghum Flour 1/2 cup
OR 
Substitute all above three flours with 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp of All-purpose-flour

Dark Brown Sugar (lightly packed) 1 cup [I used light brown sugar and it was ok]
Baking soda 1 tsp
Salt 3/4 tsp
Unsalted butter (frozen and cut into 1 inch cubes) 7 tbsp
Honey 1/3 cup
Milk 5 tbsp
Vanilla essence 2 tsp

Method:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour or all-purpose flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour or All-purpose flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour or all-purpose flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
6. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
7. Bake for 25 minutes in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 5, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Keep an eye if you are using all-purpose flour since they get browned quickly.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.
10. This proportion makes a lot of wafers so you might want to divide the recipe into half. 







Nanaimo Bars 

Ingredients:
For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)
For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (I used Betty Crockers’ Caramel powder)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar [i used 1 1/2 cups to reduce sweetness]
For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter
Method:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch square dish or pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.
 
 

Some important points:
1. Toast almonds and coconut lightly for added flavor.
2. If you are making in a hot weather, make sure you chill each layer for neat appearance and layers dont’ get smudged. 
3. Chocolate in the top layer should be cool so it doesn’t melt the middle layer but still liquid for easy spreading.
4. These bars freeze really well and graham crackers can be put in air-tight container for upto 2 weeks.
5. A very good video which i found helpful can be watched here 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5aqa6R1jIM&feature=fvsr 
6. Some good sources on gluten-free baking
 http://www.thesensitivepantry.com/the-sensitive-pantry/2009/8/3/grahams-plain-fancy.html 
http://glutenfreemommy.com/gluten-free-grains-101-the-best-flour-blend/ 

 

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Comments

  1. Basht says

    January 27, 2010 at 7:01 am

    they look awesome! good job!

    Reply
  2. SANIA says

    January 27, 2010 at 7:58 am

    Amazing, Nadia!
    Im definitely gonna try the graham crackers first so tht I can use them in the base of cheesecake as well! :d
    The Nainamo bars look toooooo good [job done extremely well by you I must say! :)] and the recipe is very interesting and Im sure would be fun to make. Too bad my husband is not a very big chocolate fan… 🙁
    by the way, how many bars are made with this recipe; cuz if its not too much, then I might as well try it for myself! 😀

    Reply
  3. Karen @ Citrus and Candy says

    January 27, 2010 at 8:27 am

    Nicely done and lovely photos 😀 And I agree with your sentiments… I love interacting with like-minded foodies too!

    Reply
  4. ap269 says

    January 27, 2010 at 11:22 am

    They look great!

    Reply
  5. bakefresh says

    January 27, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    thanks everyone,
    @ sania, dont be afraid to try them with different flavor, u can omit cocoa from bottom layer, and for top layer, use glazed cherries. There were many variations tried out by fellow daring bakers so visit Thedaringkitchen.com for more ideas, i made half proportion which makes 8 squares, more than enough for 2 ppl 🙂

    Reply
  6. SANIA says

    January 27, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    Oh good!
    Will definitely visit the website and try this recipe! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Sophie says

    January 27, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    Gorgeous bars. They're so clean cut – lovely job 🙂

    And I 100% agree – that bottom layer really is phenomenal!

    Reply
  8. A. C. Parker says

    January 27, 2010 at 4:11 pm

    Nice job with your bars! I'm so glad to be in great company for my first DB challenge. Now that I know about your blog, I'll happily return again. Cheers! ~ Allison

    Reply
  9. Deeba PAB says

    January 27, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    Nadia, your Nanimos are as pretty as they are perfect! Well done on your first challenge!! Welcome to the Daring Bakers!
    You have a beautiful blog!!

    Reply
  10. bush says

    January 27, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    one of the best posts so far…love the details of recipe and photography! sis, u rock big time!!

    Reply
  11. shelley c. says

    January 28, 2010 at 2:33 am

    Awesome job! Your bars look fantastic, and I love your photos!
    Can't wait to see what the next challenge brings us! 🙂

    Reply
  12. bakefresh says

    January 28, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Thanks Sophie,
    @ Allison,welcome to DB, it is amazing 🙂
    @ Deeba, not my first but third, u were mentioned in my first one which was macaroons, do check that too, :)glad u visited and commented
    @ bush, 😀 thankooo
    @ shelly, yes m looking forward too 🙂

    Reply
  13. LittleRed says

    January 28, 2010 at 11:47 pm

    Very nice looking Nanaimo Bars:) and I love your photos!

    Reply
  14. Jill @ Jillicious Discoveries says

    January 29, 2010 at 5:05 am

    Your bars look so delicious! Well done! 🙂

    Reply
  15. Sharon Graves says

    January 29, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yours is lovely! Congrats on getting such beautiful bars out of the challenge!

    Reply
  16. Marcellina says

    January 29, 2010 at 9:39 pm

    Great bars! And photography. I agree with you the Daring Bakers is a wonderful supportive group of like minded people and I have learnt so much in my short time with them. Thanks for stopping by on my blog.

    Reply
  17. Lauren says

    January 30, 2010 at 5:23 am

    Your bars look amazing! I love the "food lover's challenge" very cool thoughts about my challenge =D.

    Reply
  18. Jenny Tan says

    January 30, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    Your bars looks great! Love your photos too! I did cut down on my icing sugar for the middle layer, but I think I just felt there were too much butter! Using freshly grated coconut flakes also help balance out in my case.

    Reply
  19. Noor says

    January 31, 2010 at 5:46 am

    HI how are you love the blog. I have one as well, love to cook. I am in Saudi as well <3….

    Reply
  20. bakefresh says

    January 31, 2010 at 11:47 am

    Thanks Little Red, Jill, Sharon, Marcellina, Lauren, Jenny and Noor.
    @ Noor,i love your middle eastern blog, now i have someone to discuss ingredients availability and learn arabic cuisine 🙂

    Reply
  21. Stranded says

    May 4, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    I am so trying this. How wonderful of you to put those up there in the gluten free version too!

    Reply

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Hello, I’m Nadia. I am the cake decorator, blogger, a fanatic mom and a home maker, passionate about all things sweet and pretty.


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"We had joy , we had fun, we had seasons in the su "We had joy , we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the hills that we climbed were seasons out of time"

Rasha my friend , I will miss you, our crazy hangouts, exploring, fun night outs, shopping and ofcourse when we worked together!

This is not a goodbye, it is just beginning of us meeting at new destinations.

@rashayoussif @shaziahassan10
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Let me know if I passed the test of describing our very own desi besan ki naan khatai, brought in for dearest friends who never let me make tea!

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There wasn't any eid we didn't had jars full if these spritz cookies !

Sharing my family recipe that has been absolute favourite!

Full video tutorial on my YouTube channel!

Ingredients 
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2/3 cup Sugar (grinded) 
2 teaspoons vanilla essence 
1 egg 
2 cups flour 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
 
Method 
1. Cream butter and sugar 
2. Add in egg 
3. add in vanilla 
4. Sift in flour and baking powder 
5. Beat until combined 
6. Fill the dough in cookie press or just make balls by hand. 
7. Place on an ungreased tray and bake in a pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes at 350 F until golden brown. 

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If you want to make an impressive and indulgent ca If you want to make an impressive and indulgent cake for celebrating an important day at home,  do give this a try.

Flourless chocolate cake that is a cross between brownies, chocolate bar and mousse!

Topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream, and any seasonal.fruit, this is sure going to win hearts.

Detailed recipe on my YouTube channel.

Linked in stories. 

A quick version of coming up in reels today.

INGREDIENTS 

250 grams Dark Chocolate 
125 grams butter
2 tablespoon Cocoa Powder 
50 ml Cream

Heat all above on double boiler (or super slow heat stirring continuously) till melted and combined.

Separate 4 eggs.

Whisk egg yolks lightly and stir in cooled Chocolate mixture.

Make.meringue from.4 egg whites and 125 grams of sugar.

Fold in the chocolate mixture.

Pour in 9 inches spring foam pan (greased and dusted with cocoa powder)

Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes until set.

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The brand I use the most is beryl's chocolate.(sw The brand I use the most is  beryl's chocolate.(swipe to see the packaging)

It's a Malaysian brand and I find it pretty easily here from @moltaqa.alkhabbazeen as well as in Pakistan from empress market karachi.(not sure about the current status,  will.update when I go in summers)

If you ask me one chocolate you should buy go for this brands 62% one either in coins or blocks. Coins are just easier to use. The 1.5 kg bag or 2 kg block is more than enough and has good price point. 

Therir 41% milk chocolate is great as well nut not recommended for baking. 

I use it for ganache, brownies, icecream, chocolate chip cookies, mousse and mousse cakes and in general great for dipping, coating etc.

I use milk chocolate 28% white one inky for white chocolate mousse or sometimes in cookies.

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