Coconut Lovers Need To Try This Classic Canadian Dessert At Least Once

If you love coconut but don't like baking, there's a perfect Canadian treat that doesn't require the oven to be turned on. Sitting amongst classic Canadian foods like poutine, Nanaimo bars are a rich, layered dessert that originated in the province of British Columbia. Named after the seaside city where it was born, the decadent Nanaimo bar features three layers: a chocolatey coconut and graham cracker base, a creamy center, and a topping of chocolate ganache. It's custardy, crunchy, silky, and chocolatey, so it's no surprise that, alongside butter tarts and BeaverTail pastries, Nanaimo bars are one of the country's favorite desserts.

The ratio of the layers does matter; when the dessert was featured on Canadian stamps in 2019, there was feedback that the image did not represent the correct thickness of each layer. The cream layer was far too thick, looking like the center of an ice cream sandwich.

Instead, the base should be the thickest layer, sturdy enough to support the following creamy, rich layers. Made from graham crackers, nuts (like walnuts or almonds), and shredded coconut, all of the ingredients are pulsed together in a food processor to create a fine texture. Then, they are bound together with chocolate and butter. It's similar to a graham cracker crust for pies, except it doesn't need to be baked.

We know custard as a pudding-like dessert made from eggs, sugar, and milk or cream cooked together. Nanaimo bars instead feature what is called a "custard-like" middle layer. The creamy layer actually uses custard powder, which is basically cornstarch and used to thicken desserts. This is then mixed with salted butter, heavy cream, and powdered sugar, resulting in a creamy filling with a texture similar to custard.

Finally, the top layer: This is the simplest layer, consisting only of semi-sweet chocolate and butter melted together to create a rich chocolate ganache. After cooling, it is poured on top of the creamy layer, and then Nanaimo bars are left to set in the fridge. They are cut into squares and should be served cold.

While the classic Nanaimo bar recipe remains the most popular, there are many variations. Reverse Nanaimo bars feature a creamy chocolate filling and a white chocolate ganache top, while some recipes eliminate the dark chocolate completely, focusing on vanilla and white chocolate. If you keep the traditional chocolatey base and ganache top layer, a ton of flavor additions pair well here. Consider adding orange, raspberry, mint, or coffee to the creamy layer. Sometimes peanut butter or maple is added, and during the holidays, you'll likely find eggnog and pumpkin spice varieties.

It's tricky to nail down the exact origins of Nanaimo bars, particularly the original creator or the year it was first made. It's agreed upon that Nanaimo is certainly the birthplace and that the recipe for the bars was first documented in the 1952 "Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook." They were first labeled a chocolate square. The layered desserts, however, certainly existed before the publication of the cookbook.

In 1953, the recipe for the bars was published in the Vancouver Sun, but this time with the name Nanaimo bars. Around this same time, for reasons unknown, the bar was also referred to as a Smog bar or London smog (perhaps the layering of colors?). It seems that the first time the bar was sold commercially was in the early 1970s by a woman named Susan Mendelson; she later sold the bars in her café The Lazy Gourmet.

To define this dessert, the city of Nanaimo hosted a contest for the best recipe in 1986. Joyce Hardcastle won, and her recipe is what we know today. Since then, Nanaimo bars have become a Canadian culinary icon, appearing in coffee shops (even Starbucks Canada sold it at one point), bakeries, movie theaters, and on the ferries that stop in the seaside city. If visiting Nanaimo, don't miss the Nanaimo Museum or the Nanaimo Bar Trail — it's a self-guided tour through the city that shows where to try classic and gourmet versions of the bar.