Friday, January 29, 2010

NANAIMO BARS - THE DARING BAKERS

This month has been quite hectic for me and being able to complete my Daring Bakers' Challenge has been more than testing. Anyway, no matter how things have been for me lately, I was not going to miss the opportunity of letting the healing powers of baking soothe my body and soul...

The January 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen who 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.

"Nanaimo Bars" originate from Canada. This no-bake confection is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. This wonderfully rich dessert item consists of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured butter icing, which is covered in chocolate made from melted chocolate squares.

Just like any bar, "Nanaimo Bars" are not for the faint of heart when it comes to calories. This easy to make chocolaty, nutty, coconutty, vanilla goodness is irresistibly decadent. They are so bad for your cholesterol, but oh so good for your spiritual health!

Many thanks to Lauren for introducing me to the gluten-free world and for making me realise that baked goods which contain no gluten are as delicious as the gluten-ladden ones.

~ Nanaimo Bars ~

Preparation time:

• Graham Wafers:
30 to 45 minutes total active prep, 2 ½ hours to overnight and 45 minutes inactive prep.

• Nanaimo Bars:
30 minutes.


Equipment required:
• Food Processor
• Bowls
• Parchment paper or silpats
• Cookie sheets
• Double boiler or pot and heatproof bowl
• 8 by 8 inch square pan
• Hand mixer or stand mixer (You may use a wooden spoon, but this makes it much easier!)
• Saucepan For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers

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GRAHAM CRACKERS

Ingredients:
1 Cup (138g/4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 Cup (100g/3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 Cup (65 g/2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 Cup (200g/7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 Tsp (5ml) Baking soda
3/4 Tsp (4ml ) Kosher Salt
7 Tbs (100g/(3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 Cup (80ml) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover
5 Tbs (75ml) Whole Milk
2 Tbs (30ml) Pure Vanilla

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 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 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. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
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.

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NANAIMO BARS

Ingredients for the "Bottom Layer":
1/2 Cup (115g/4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 Cup (50g/1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 Tbs (75ml) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 Cups (300ml/160 g/5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe) 1/2 Cup (55g/1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 Cup (130g/4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

Method for the "Bottom Layer":
1. Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler.
2. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove
from heat.
3. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut.
4. Press firmly into an ungreased 20x20cm (8 by 8 inch) pan.

Ingredients for the "Middle Layer":
1/2 Cup (115g/4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 Tbs and 2 Tsps (40ml) Heavy Cream
2 Tbs (30ml) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254g/8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

Method for the "Middle Layer":
1. Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well.
2. Beat until light in colour.
3. Spread over bottom layer.


Ingredients for the "Top Layer":
115g (4 ounces) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tbs (28g/1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Method for the "Top Layer":
1. Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat.
2. Cool.
3. Pour over middle layer and chill.

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REMARKS

These bars freeze very well, so don’t be afraid to pop some into the freezer.
The graham wafers may be kept in an airtight contai
ner for up to 2 weeks.
If making the graham crackers with wheat, replace the gluten-free f
lours (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and sorghum flour) with 2 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp of all-purpose wheat flour, or wheat pastry flour. Watch the wheat-based graham wafers very closely in the oven, as they bake faster than the gluten-free ones, sometimes only 12 minutes.
For the Nanaimo Bars, if making with wheat, replace the gluten-free graham wafer crumbs with equal parts wheat graham wafer crumbs.

***************

Etant donné la longueur du texte original, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur le blog mentionné ci-dessous. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Isa de "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada)

123 comments:

  1. Your Nanaimo Bars look absolutely perfect! Every picture is mouth-watering and lovely! :)

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  2. ..wow de wow!!!!!ils sont parfaits!!tes images sont débiles ma belle Rosa..tu me fais capoter lol!!..

    ..bo week~end chère Copinaute en Or;)

    ~Donalda xx

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  3. Rosa, I've made Nanaimo Bars, from a recipe once shared by a Canadian friend.

    They're very rich (well, just look at them! :) so a bite will satisfy any sweet tooth.

    Happy weekend!

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  4. Rosa,ur sweet little nano's look real good sweety....

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  5. Better late than never, Rosa. So glad you finally to make the bars. They look beautiful! Well done!

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  6. Ces petits gâteaux me sont inconnus, ce que tu me fais découvrir me donne vraiment envie de les goûter. Tes photos sont superbes.

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  7. Good that you managed to pull it off another month.
    Your bars look delicious and are so perfectly layered!

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  8. Yay, you made it ROsa. I figure out you are very busy these days. They look wonderful!

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  9. Hello my friend
    these are some awesome delicous looking bars...
    great challenge Rosa.
    I like the nuts shunks pieces in the dough...

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  10. You've got the layers almost perfectly even...a feat in its own! Nanaimo bars are something I'll never tire of.

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  11. Chère Rosa, tes photos sont "irrésistibles", quel "tuerie" cette barre...un redoutable ami pour les hanches...(lol)
    Bisous et bon WE.

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  12. ils sont magnifiques Rosa ! ils ont quelque chose d'aérien et ils paraissent tous légers ( alors qu'on sait bien que c'est tout plein de sucre )

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  13. That looks perfect! Congrats on completing your challenge.

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  14. Oh, you did a wonderful job, your Nanaimo bars look divine! I've never baked anything gf yet. These bars are a good candidate! :)

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  15. Rosa
    These bars look so professional I would take them to Starbucks and offer to sell them there (the Starbucks chain in the US offers horrible-tasting pastries)
    Beautiful photos!

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  16. As soon as I saw Nanaimo Bars I just had to drop everything and pop over!!! Yours look gorgeous!!!

    I want to thank you for introducing me to Lauren's blog. I am always interested in discovering new gluten free blogs to add to my Hospitality search engine.

    I'm going to "grab" this link to include on a post I did a while back. An informative gluten free Nanaimo Bar recipe is just what it needs.

    Thank you so much for sharing...

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  17. Your bars look amazing! Love the layers!

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  18. Ils sont vraiment taillés au couteau!!

    J'en prendrais bien juste un carré pour goûter, j'adore ces dominos!

    Tes photos sont sublimes:)

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  19. Wow, they look fab - perfect slicing too!

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  20. Glad you got it done. I know you have a lot going on.Have a great weekend.

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  21. Commenting again as my last comment came from an account I didnt mean for it too. Looks great. Hope all is well.Have a great weekend.

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  22. wow looks very pretty and elegant!

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  23. Such a creamy look to your bars! At first I thought you had done a different version, not using chocolate in the bottom. Looks great!

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  24. Your layers look so perfect! The vanilla custard layer is very tempting.

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  25. We are drooling right now. That looks so delicious.

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  26. Gorgeous looking bars I didn't know these beauties, totally outstanding :)

    Happy weekend!

    Gera

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  27. Je reviens de chez Isa. C'est bon la réalisation est à mon niveau. Tu as ajouté les ustensiles au début de ta recette et c'est une excellente idée, surtout en pâtisserie ou tout doit être fait dans la minute. Je vais suivre ton exemple.
    Passe un bon week-end Rosa

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  28. Oh là là... Toute une belle gourmandise. Ils sont franchement bien réussis tes Nanaimo!

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  29. Your bars are just perfect! Great job Rosa.

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  30. Beautiful bars, Rosa! I too believe in the healing powers of baking ;)

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  31. Your Nanaimo bars look amazing - what beautiful photos! Pure decadence - I like :)

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  32. Rosa, these look exquisite ! perfecto ! so well made and look like so much effort went into it. now i feel like grabbing one off the screen :)

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  33. Everything you make is always the prettiest and your bars make me want to eat one, rich and decadent or not. And YES to baking healing and soothing the soul and YES to eating yummy treats for spiritual health!

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  34. I'm seeing these everywhere! They look lovely!!

    Katie xox

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  35. salut rosa
    tu veux nous tuer avec ces barres ! en tous cas elles font trop envie !! ciao à toute la suisse !!Pierre

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  36. Hi dear!
    As always your result is remarkable-
    Love the presentation! and the layers are so clean
    it looks superb! Great job
    Inbal

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  37. Love reading about Daring Bakers! It's such fun to see how everyone's dish turned out.
    Yours is beautiful, Rosa! Very professional and the neatest slicing I've seen! The bars look delish!

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  38. Quelle superbe réalisation et quelle délice gourmand! Très bon week end!

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  39. Perfect little squares Rosa. Yummy.

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  40. How creative, the pics look as delicious as the bars must be :)

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  41. ah yes. despite the calories, i'm with you on taking care of my mental health! lovely as always :)

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  42. Rosa, some of the most gorgeous and absolutely perfect Nanaimo bars I've seen in this challenge and the photos are just spectacular! Worth the wait!

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  43. I am glad you found the time. Great job as usual, the bars are perfect.

    I hope next month will be less hectic for you.

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  44. Tant pis pour les "hanches" !
    Trop bons ces petits gâteaux.
    Bon week end
    paola

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  45. this is calorie bomb rosaaaa :)

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  46. Rosa, these look beautiful. I was planning to make them during Christmas but with so many other things I made I have postponed these for sometime in the future.

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  47. bravo, j'ai croisé cette recette sur plusieurs blogs, et que ca me donne envie de tester !!!
    une douceur bien sucrée et bien parfumée !!!

    bonne soirée

    virginie

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  48. J'ai presque honte de ne pas les avoir fait... moi qui suis canadienne, j'aurais quand même su encorager les DB de ce mois-ci. Mais je connais les barres nananïmo depuis mon enfance, et honnêtement... elles sont réellement devenues trop sucrées à mon goût, en vieillissant!

    Mais vraiment... tu passerais certainement pour une vraie canadienne avec de si belles barres, c'est certain que tu dois avoir des gênes canado-suisse!!! LOL Bravo, Rosa!

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  49. Lovely, rich and perfectly formed bars. Great job!

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  50. Your bars look superb! I'm with you, though, they are decadent :)

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  51. wow bravo! you made gf nanaimo bars! I used to have a canadian room mate that made these - def not for the faint of caloric intake heart!

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  52. Absolutely stunning bars! I'm glad I could introduce you to gluten-free baking - you did a fantastic job on my challenge!

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  53. These bars look great! Gotta love a no-bake dessert : )

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  54. Oh my, those bars look so delicious! They must taste wonderful.

    Greetings,
    Tiina

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  55. I grew yp on these beauties with flavours like maple, mint, peanut butter....

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  56. Tes barres nanaïmo sont magnifiques et absolument parfaites! Bon week-end!

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  57. They look really good! Glad you were able to make them and show us, despite your busy schedule. ;-)

    Paz

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  58. ...not for a faith heart... and not for beginner baker either... but you have very skillful hand to create such professional-looking confection! not to mention your artistic sense in taking these gorgeous fotos! Love 'em!

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  59. Beautiful bars Rosa! And yes, so yummy too :)

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  60. Utterly gorgeous and probably the most perfect ones I've seen Rosa. Work of art...and love! Not for the faint herated but ceratinly very delicious! Thank haevens I'm not faint hearted. I loved them!!

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  61. wow. rosa, your bars are positively perfect. the layers are so defined and so equally appealing. bravo!

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  62. Rosa they are really a chef d'oevre !!! Baci

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  63. Hi Rosa,
    Your Nanaimo bars look splendid!
    Jane

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  64. Rosa, they are beautiful!
    I want some!

    Kisses

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  65. Thank you for the nice compliment, you have an excellent blog. keep up the great passion in your cooking!
    J

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  66. I love the contrast between the chocolate and the creamy layer... it looks very very good :-) Nice work Rosa!

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  67. It looks like your nanaimo bars came out perfect, Rosa! And your pics are gorgeous!

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  68. Ils sont magnifiques !!! Je craque :)

    Bonne soirée, Claire

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  69. Rosa, you have a talent and gift that is unrivaled.

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  70. So glad you enjoyed the challenge! Your bars are PERFECTLY cut!!!

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  71. Whoa!!! I don't care if I'm putting all the calories....bring them on they looked sinfully good on my screen already ;D

    Yummy!!! As if I just ate some Rosa gosh :D

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  72. Wonderful job you did there Rosa! They are perfect! :D

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  73. This look absolutely nice and georeous! gloria

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  74. una golosità irresistibile e tu sei molto brava a realizzare qualsiasi cosa...complimneti e biz

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  75. tes photos sont sublimes et ta réalisation encore plus!

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  76. Ces nanaimo bars fleurissent partout en ce moment! Les tiennes ont l'air excellentes et tellement gourmandes!!

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  77. Amazing, these bars. Delicious photos as well.

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  78. They look absolutely perfect!
    You did a wonderful job on this challenge, delish!

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  79. Rosa, the bars look perfect...love the pictures...YUMMIE!

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  80. C'est vraiment le genre de gourmandise que je qualifie de "pousse au crime " .
    Vite je ferme les yeux et je clique .... J'ai même pas vu, j'ai pas du tout envie de croquer dedans ......Et non je ne suis pas du tout menteuse !

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  81. You're so right Rosa, there's nothing like baking to soothe away all the daily troubles. Your bars are truly exquisite and so perfect,it's just incredible how you can do this time again ,especially with your super busy schedule. Congrats!

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  82. Hmm, mouthwatering, i have never tried this. Yours are a beauty.

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  83. Kudos for getting these done even with all the hecticness you have going on! Hope life settles down for you...SOON!
    ~ingrid

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  84. These bars sound fantastic and no baking is right up my alley.
    Sam

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  85. Quelle légereté dans ces gourmandise, de quoi se reconcilier avec les barres aux céréales.
    bravo, les photos sont vraiment superbes et donnent envie d'essayer.

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  86. Très belles photos, tes barres sont résolument gourmandes, et tentantes :-)
    Bises

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  87. Encore un magnifique chef d'oeuvre, Rosa !
    Bisous
    Hélène

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  88. des nanaimos parfaitement maitrisée , à force d'en voir sur la blogosphère,il va bien falloir que j'en fasse, ils donnent envie

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  89. Looking so yummy !! Would love to try this ! Thanks for sharing..

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  90. Wow, these are simply gorgeous. Your layers are absolutely perfect...I am so impressed.

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  91. Mmm they look very very sweet, but delicious nonetheless!

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  92. Rosa! come over to Natural Selection with your fork!
    I have always found strawberry shortcake to be in a cake texture, instead of a shortbread like texture this is a more traditional recipe hope you like it.

    Ciao Bella!

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  93. Ils sont si parfaits:))

    Bonne soirée!! xxx

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  94. Your bars are the fanciest looking ones I've ever seen. So symmetrical and precise looking. And no, I don't even want to know how many calories each bar has. That would ruin it all. ;)

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  95. Your bars are stunning!! And the photos are mouth watering... would love to try these!!!

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  96. Gorgeous...the more I scroll..the more yummier they look....

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  97. These are just beautiful and look so perfectly delicious!

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  98. Comme j'aimerais l'un de tes carrés, tes photos sont très gourmandes !
    Bisous et bonne soirée,
    Doria

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  99. ben alors, t'as pas honte de pas avoir fait de traduc? je plaisante. et moi j'ai honte d'avouer que je n'ai jamais goute a une barre nanaimo. je sais, je sais...

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  100. Still drooling with these outstanding bars!

    Rosa, an award is waiting for you at my blog :)

    All the best,

    Gera

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  101. Perfect Nanaimo bars with neat layering. Nice contrast between top, middle and bottom layer, simply pretty to look at and delicious to eat!

    Sawadee from bangkok,
    Kris

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  102. By the way, LOVE that giant blackberry at the top of the page. I wish they actually did come in that size! ;)

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  103. Your bars look absolutely perfect!! One of the best I've seen! Congrats!

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  104. moi je l'ai fait et voila le lien fais un tour et dis moi ce que tu en penses
    http://cuisinedesouhila.over-blog.com/article--le-parfait-41450153-comments.html#comment55661706

    merci et @+
    bizzz

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  105. I may be the only person on the planet to never have eaten a nainamo bar. They look fabulous, Rosa!

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  106. Hello, hello...thanks for the link exchange. Your link is on my site now too.

    I love the photography on your site. I can never get food photography correct. I usually use my studio strobes to photo some of my food, but that doesn't seem to get the same crispyness as your shots in natural light.

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  107. Simply gorgeous. The layers are so perfect!

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  108. Ces carrés sont délicieusement tentants!!! vraiment superbes!!! Bises.

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  109. Je file vite voir la recette en francais , tes photos sont magnifiquement appétissantes !

    *** Bises

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  110. Hi Rosa
    Congratulations again.
    Awesome slices. Perfect combination of flavours.
    Beautiful pictures.
    Have a great weekend x

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  111. These bars are stunning and enticing!

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  112. Such gorgeous images, I bet the textures are even better. Drooling!

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  113. Having gathered inventoried my cupboards, I have the necessary ingredients. Now to make them!

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  114. Cela faisait un bon moment que je n'étais pas passée par chez toi et je constate que tu es toujours aussi gourmande et aussi précautionneuse de la beauté culinaire! C'est toujours aussi agréable!

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