Name: Eggless Nanaimo Salepi (Sahlab) Bars
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 4 h 10 min
Yield: 28
Cuisine: Canadian Cuisine
Ingredients: 125 grams butter; 204 grams (3 packets by 68 g each) Amaretti Chocolate Wafers*; 100 grams (1/2 cup) dark brown sugar; 30 grams (about 4 tablespoons) cocoa powder, sifted; 10 drops vanilla extract; 100 grams (1 cup) shredded coconut; 115 grams (1 cup) toasted walnuts (chopped); ½ cup leftover melomakarona filling (optional)*; 4 cups milk; 100 grams salepi (sahlab) starch powder; 1 tsp citrus blossom water; 1 sheet gelatine soaked in water; 200 grams chocolate; 50 grams butter; Freshly grated black pepper

Jump to Recipe

Nanaimo bars are British Columbia’s (Canada) most popular chocolate dessert.

There are many stories about the origin and name of this confection.

According to Wikipedia the oldest recipe appearing in a cookbook goes back to 1953.

However, as I read in the official website of Nanaimo (where you will also find the recipe), the confection became more popular when the Canadian mayor initiated a contest in 1985 to find the ultimate Nanaimo bar and Joyce Hardcastle’s recipe was the one which won.

As you scroll further down, you will find two of my own recipes. The classic recipe is at the end of the post.

How I made my Nanaimo Bars

In order to create my own recipe I read a few recipes on the web to understand what this dessert was about.

The dessert consists of three layers, each one needing time in the refrigerator before proceeding to the next one:

Biscuit Base:

The base is a layer of Graham Crackers Wafers, butter, sugar, cocoa powder, walnuts (I’ve also seen it with almonds), shredded coconut and an egg combined together.

In Greece we do not have Graham Crackers Wafers, which actually have nothing to do with wafers, but in other recipes calling for this biscuit, I used to substitute it with Digestive biscuits.

However, I chose to use real chocolate wafers. I made my own crust using dark brown sugar and did not add egg as I considered it redundant.

I used dark brown sugar and I urge you not to use any other type of sugar (although you can) as this particular one gives a crunch in the biscuit base as well as a lovely caramel flavour.

Note: If you have leftover Christmas cookies, such as Melomakarona or Kourabiedes, you can use them to make the base.

The filling:

The middle layer is a rich pastry cream, made of butter, sugar, custard powder (or vanilla pudding powder) and milk.

This part was a bit confusing to me as regards the custard powder. My thought at the time was to make a creme anglaise. However the original cream is more like buttercream, so I was thinking to add gelatine to thicken it.

Instead I made the filling using Salepi Powder. (You will find information about salepi at the end).

Chocolate layer:

The third layer is the simplest to make.

Chocolate and butter are melted over a double boiler. I love adding black pepper to chocolate but if you don’t like pepper, you can leave it out.

By mere coincidence, a few days before, my friend Joumana posted about Sahlab drink, which is a popular drink introduced by the Ottamans in the countries they ruled.

Greece and Cyprus were, of course, ruled by the Ottomans and it used to be very popular here as well.

A few days before Christmas my husband and I went to Athens for some Christmas shopping and passing from Plateia Dimarhiou, I remembered a nearby Middle Eastern store and I decided to buy a packet of sahlab to try it.

Of course, this is not the real thing but just a pudding, flavoured with Sahlab.

When we tried it, we loved its taste and that is why I decided to use this pudding to make my middle layer.

However, as it is possibly hard to find sahlab, you can substitute the pudding with a pastry cream or a Diplomat cream (which is a pastry cream mixed with whipped cream) or any other filling you prefer.

I followed the instructions on the package but although the pudding thickens, it’s supposed to be a drink which will not set.

I don’t know if it would set if I added more powder but I decided to add some gelatine so that it would set.

When I made the drink it seems that sugar was added to the starch as it was sweet, so I did not add any sugar to the cream.

What is Sahlab (Salepi in Greek)?

For those who don’t know this drink, “Salepi” is a drink made from the tubers of a kind or orchid which is powdered into starch.

It is then thickened and flavoured with rose or citrus water and drank as a beverage to warm you up during winter.

This beverage is sold by street vendors and it is good to relieve the cough, asthma, stomach pain etc.

You can still find some Sahlab vendors in Athens, usually at Ermou Street, near Syntagma square. The picture was taken during a visit to Thessaloniki.

Salepi vendor image — Salepi vendor in Thessaloniki

It is sweetened either using sugar or honey and flavoured with citrus or rose water, ginger and cinnamon.

This profession will be extinct in a few years here in Greece, as there are only a few old street vendors left.

In Cyprus I am not sure if there are any left.

As in Greece it is sold only by street vendors, I was reluctant to try it but if I see one again, this time I will definitely try it.

Update 2020:

White Chocolate and Chestnut Nanaimo Bars

I’ve made Nanaimo Bars endless times since 2005, when I first made it but instead of the Sahlab filling, I now use pastry cream and it is always a great hit.

Nanaimo bars with white and dark chocolate image

Below, you will find a recipe I made adding chestnuts to the biscuit base, the filling is a Diplomat cream, which is a pastry cream combined with whipped cream and it is topped with white chocolate and dark chocolate.

It is served with a homemade candied chestnut on top.

Nanaimo bars served with chestnut preserve image

Scroll further down to find the Eggless Nanaimo Salepi (Sahlab) Bars and the classic recipe.

White Chocolate and Chestnut Nanaimo Bars

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 5 hours

Scroll further down in the post, to find the Eggless Nanaimo Salepi (Sahlab) Bars and the classic recipe.

This is a twist to the classic Nanaimo bars featuring chestnuts in the biscuit base, the filling made with diplomat cream, topped with white and dark chocolate and served with a candied chestnut on top.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

First layer:

100 g of butter
40 g of cane sugar
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
136 grams chocolate wafers
50 g of roasted almonds
50 grams of walnuts
50 grams candied chestnuts
100 g of grated coconut
¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Second layer:

Diplomat cream:
2 cups milk
2 heaped tbsp corn flour
2 heaped tbsp crystal sugar
1 orange flavoured vanilla sugar
A pinch of salt
3 large eggs
2 sheets gelatin soaked in water
100 ml heavy cream, whipped
A few drops of vanilla essence

Third layer:

200 g of white chocolate
3 tbsp milk
50 ml of whipped cream
100 grams couverture chocolate
50 ml whipped cream
Candied Chestnuts to serve on top (optional)

Instructions

Base:

You can line your container with parchment paper, but this is only necessary if you want to transfer it into a platter.
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave, 1 minute each time, until melted.
In a food processor, add the waters, chestnuts, almonds and walnuts and pulse them
Put them in a bowl and add all the remaining ingredients
Add the butter and mix to wet the ingredients.
Spread the biscuit base on a 18 x 28 cm Pyrex.
Press to make it even and refrigerate until you prepare the pudding.

Filling:

Heat the milk.
Place the gelatin sheets in a bowl and cover with tap water. Set aside for
5 minutes until they soften.
Put the eggs, corn flour, sugar, vanilla and salt in a pot and whisk until combined Add the hot milk and whisk on the heat continuously until it thickens.
Add the gelatin leaves and mix until they dissolve.
Remove from the heat and cover the cream with cling film Set aside until
it cools.
Whisk 200 ml heavy cream with a few drops of vanilla essence until peaks form
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Whisk the cooled cream with a hand mixer and add half of the whipped cream
Mix until well combined.
Spread it on top of the biscuit base and refrigerate it until it sets.

Topping:

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, one minute each time, until it melts. Add the milk and keep mixing from time to time, until it cools Add half of the leftover whipped cream and mix until well combined Pour the chocolate on top of the filling and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
In the same container add the dark chocolate and melt it in the microwave, same way as above.
Mix until it cools
Add the remaining whipped cream and mix until incorporated.
Cut a piece of parchment paper and make a cone Put the chocolate in and
make the criss-cross pattern or decorate as you like.
Refrigerate for a few hours before cutting.
Serve with a candied chestnut on top

Nutrition Information

Yield 10 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 571Total Fat 35gSaturated Fat 18gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 101mgSodium 292mgCarbohydrates 56gFiber 4gSugar 36gProtein 11g

"These values are automatically calculated and offered for guidance only. Their accuracy is not guaranteed."

Collage White chocolate and chestnut nanaimo bars image

This recipe goes to Zibaldone Culinario who is hosting this month’s event ABC Culinario. This month we shall be travelling to Canada.

The New Year begins, so let us pray that it will be a year with worldwide Peace, and to you my readers, may God bless you through out the New! Happy New Year!

Eggless Nanaimo Salepi (Sahlab) Bars

Yield: 28

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Chilling time: 3 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes

Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian Christmas dessert. They are made with a chocolate biscuit base, coconut, and walnut crust then topped with a layer of custard and topped with chocolate.