I have vivid childhood memories of eating Nanaimo bars on the BC ferry. I live on Vancouver Island and taking the ferry has always been a fun part of adventure to and from the mainland to visit Vancouver and beyond. The ferry held the promise of watching the scenic view of the windows, reading magazines in the gift shop, watching eagles, seals and maybe spotting the occasional whale if we were lucky. And snacks. I loved ferry snacks.
The ferry cafeteria cold case had little rows of lemon meringue pies, which held no real appeal to me, and some sort of alarming vivid red, wobbly-gelatine-y strawberry pie and little squares of Nanaimo bars. They had coconut, which I didn’t like as a child, and they were cloyingly sweet, even too much for my childhood sweet tooth. But every time I saw them I still wanted them. A thin layer of chocolate ganache, super-sweet, butter yellow custard layer and a chocolatey, coconutty base. I strongly associated them with taking the ferry and I always wanted to get one.
I wanted to revisit my childhood favorite, but slightly reduce the sugar, add some bittersweet elements for balance (dark chocolate & coffee) and make them a little bit festive for the holidays with peppermint extract and smashed candy canes. These are still sweet, but the coffee and dark chocolate help to balance them a bit and slightly veer away from the cloying traditional version (which I still have a soft spot for, even if I wind up regretting it sometimes).
peppermint coffee nanaimo bars
bottom layer:
¾ cup + 2 tbs butter, melted
1 ounce dark chocolate, (melted together with the butter)
2 tbs granulated sugar (up to ¼ cup if you prefer a sweeter bar)
1⁄3 cup cocoa unsweetened
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup flaked almonds or walnuts, chopped
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Line an 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper. Toss all ingredients together until evenly mixed. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set in the fridge to chill while you make the next layer.
custard layer
½ cup butter (room temperature)
3 tablespoons milk or cream
3-4 tsp instant coffee
2 tablespoons custard powder or instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ tsp peppermint extract
In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, mix the butter until it is soft and fluffy. Add all remaining ingredients and mix until everything is evenly incorporated and very fluffy. Spread evenly over the base layer and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
top layer
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
3 tbs cream
1 smashed candy cane or peppermint candy
Using a bain marie over gently simmering water, melt chocolate, butter and cream together until evenly combined. Pour over the custard layer, swirling to evenly coat the top and sprinkle with crushed peppermints or candy canes. Chill until the top layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into squares or diamonds. Serve on a ferry, to a delighted child.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge, though I like to sit them out at room temperature for a bit before eating them.