We took a little time off from our blog this January to rest up and decide what we wanted to post next. Good thing too because we came up with a winner. In our first year of blogging Mom and I created two unique Nanaimo bar recipes, hazelnut which included a chocolate and hazelnut topping, and ginger inspired by one of our favorite chocolates. For today’s version of a Canadian classic we took inspiration from a chocolate bar that just so happens to be Canadian as well, Big Turk.
For those of you who may not know Big Turk consists of subtle rose water flavoured Turkish delight covered in milk chocolate. With it’s chewy texture, rose water flavour and sweet milk chocolate it is uniquely delicious and has always been a favorite of my mother, aunt and myself. My mom was actually inspired by a conversation she had had with her sister and decided she wanted to buy some rose water. For a month or so Mom and I tried to figure out how we could combine the flavour combination of chocolate and rose water and eventually inspiration struck and Mom realized it would make a great version of Nanaimo bar. So that’s what we have for you today.
Now although we have always wanted to use rose water in a dessert Mom and I were both a little frightened by it. A little goes a very long way and can easily make your desserts taste like soap. So we turned to the internet and determined that a safe amount would be ½ a teaspoon of rose water. Still we were nervous and ended up using ¼ of a teaspoon and then added an additional 1/8 of a teaspoon. Now, there has been a bit of a debate between the two of us as to whether this is enough rose flavouring. I like that it is subtle like the chocolate bar I adore so much but Mom feels it could use a bit more. She wants to actually taste the rose water. The point I am trying to make is that this is deeply personal so we are recommending you try both and determine which amount you prefer.
Along with the rose water we tried another new extract, Fiori Di Sicilia which is an extract described as “A pleasingly aromatic combination of citrus and vanilla with a delicate floral and herbal note”. Before I wax poetic I must point out that we are not sponsored to talk this extract up, we are simply in love. It is amazing. We used it once before in a recipe we are still workshopping and now I suggest we add it to almost everything. I can’t wait to use it in a cookie recipe, we’ll keep you posted. You may be asking why we added it to this recipe. Well let me tell you. Mom and I knew that we wanted to use a second extract to ensure there was a depth in flavour and initially decided upon vanilla extract. We then took to the internet once more and while looking up recipes on how to make a homemade version of Big Turk we noticed that a few recipes called for lemon juice. So we changed our minds and thought we would use orange extract as orange and rose pair well together. Shortly after that we realized we had the perfect compromise, why not use an extract that has both citrus and vanilla notes. And there you have it! If you too want to try this extract, you can find it at The Real Canadian Superstore. If you don’t want to go out and get this extract, you could try a combination of orange and vanilla. Mom and I have yet to try it but when we do, we’ll let you know.
Let’s talk about the base of our favourite bar. Traditionally Nanaimo bar calls for walnuts, but we have been known to switch it up. For example our Hazelnut Nanaimo bar we used, you guessed it, hazelnuts. For this bar we knew there was one nut we absolutely had to use for this recipe. If we hadn’t it would have been a hugely missed opportunity so we did not make that mistake. We used pistachios. Often paired with rose it truly was a no brainer and as a cherry on top it is quite something to see the bright green pop out of the base once cut. We also couldn’t help but elevate a few pieces by brushing rose gold luster dust and adding a pistachio on top. Such a simple way to make this bar extra special, especially for Valentines Day.
This recipe was just all-around fun. We loved coming up with the flavour profile, and then just going for it. Photographing it was an absolute joy and Mom and I made some memories together while we were at it. I think this might become another family favourite. Let us know if you try it out, we would love to hear from you!
½ cup salted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1¾ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup shredded coconut
⅓ cup coarsely chopped pistachios
1 egg at room temperature
In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, shredded coconut, and coarsely chopped pistachios.
Melt butter on low heat in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar and cocoa powder whisking until combined.
Quickly whisk the egg into the butter mixture to keep the egg from scrambling and return to heat. Turn the heat up to medium and whisk continuously for 2 minutes until the mixture thickens and becomes glossy. Remove from heat.
Add the dry ingredients to the sauce pan, stir quickly until combined and pour into a prepared 8 inch square pan.
We recommend lining your square pan with parchment paper, you will see why in the last few steps.
To ensure the base is evenly spread we pour the mixture into the pan and then break it up using a spatula. This pushes the mixture on either side of the spatula and the more you do it the more it spreads out evenly.
Using your hands, the bottom of a measuring cup, or an off set spatula gently press down on the base until it is level. Set aside until completely cooled, approximately 20 mins.
Middle Layer Ingredients
½ cup salted butter at room temperature
¼ and ⅛ or ½ tsp Rose Water
½ tsp Fiori Di Sicilia extract
3 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp milk
In a bowl sift the icing sugar , set aside. Cream the butter with a hand mixer until fluffy then add the rose water and Fiori Di Sicilia extract.
We recommend that you do not measure extracts over your bowls in case you accidently pour more than what’s called for. Now with some extracts it’s not the end of the world but if you over pour rose water you could end up ruining your icing. A little goes a long way.
Next add 1 cup of the icing sugar. Once incorporated add a tablespoon of milk and repeat finishing with the last cup of icing sugar.
The icing may seem thick but it sets nicely making it easy to cut the Nanaimo bar once finished.
If you want the pretty colour we got above just add some pink food colouring.
Ensuring the layers are even in a Nanaimo Bar is not easy. For the icing mom came up with this useful trick. Using a cookie scoop we place 9 scoops of icing, 3 across, 3 down over the base.
As you can see I struggled a bit with getting it to come out of the scoop nicely. But it still helped me to get the icing layer even.
Slowly spread each scoop until the icing evenly coats the base. Take your time in this step, there is no rush and you want it to be as even as possible.
Set aside for at least 10 minutes, this allows for the icing to set and will make it easy for to spread the chocolate layer over top.
Chocolate Topping Ingredients
4 oz. milk chocolate chips
2 tbsp salted butter
We have used a few different types of chocolate chips to top our Nanaimo bars but for this recipe we chose to use milk chocolate. We didn’t want the chocolate to overpower the rose water and because we were inspired by Big Turks, we wanted to use the same type of chocolate as the bar. We both think it was successful but obviously you can use whatever type of chocolate you’d like.
Add chocolate and butter into a microwavable wet measuring cup. On 50% power, heat the chocolate and butter in the microwave for 30 second intervals stirring in between until chips are fully melted.
Pour over the middle layer spreading evenly with a offset spatula. If you do not have an offset spatula, you can use the back of a spoon. Cover and place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
Our next step is to score the chocolate before it fully sets, this will prevent cracking when cutting the Nanaimo bar. Lining the pan with parchment paper allows you to remove the bar from the pan. This will give you more room to work with. Our pan is slightly smaller then 8” so we scored the bar in 1½” squares using a ruler to guide us or if we don’t feel like measuring we use the width of our ruler as a guide which works out to about 1”
Drag the knife through the chocolate layer cleaning the knife after each score. Make sure the knife goes all the way through the chocolate layer. Cover and refrigerate until the chocolate has fully set.
To finish cutting the bar remove it from the fridge and allow it to warm up for 10-15 minutes. We do not have a knife that can cut all the way across the bar, so I make the first cut in the second row. This way I only need to cut the remaining pieces over the length of 2 or 3 bars. Store the bar in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Rose Water Nanaimo Bar
Ingredients
Base
- ½ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped pistachios
- 1 egg at room temperature
Middle
- ½ cup salted butter at room temperature
- ¼ and ⅛ or ½ tsp Rose Water
- ½ tsp Fiori Di Sicilia extract
- 3 cups icing sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
Topping
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 4 oz milk chocolate chips
Instructions
Base
- In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, shredded coconut, and coarsely chopped pistachios.
- Melt butter on low heat in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar and cocoa powder whisking until combined.
- Quickly whisk the egg into the butter mixture to keep the egg from scrambling and return to heat. Turn the heat up to medium and whisk continuously for 2 minutes until the mixture thickens and becomes glossy. Remove from heat.
- Add the dry ingredients to the sauce pan, stir quickly until combined and pour into a prepared 8 inch square pan.We recommend lining your square pan with parchment paper, you will see why in the last few steps.
- To ensure the base is evenly spread we pour the mixture into the pan and then break it up using a spatula. This pushes the mixture on either side of the spatula and the more you do it the more it spreads out evenly.
- Using your hands, the bottom of a measuring cup, or an off set spatula gently press down on the base until it is level. Set aside until completely cooled, approximately 20 mins.
Middle
- In a bowl sift the icing sugar , set aside. Cream the butter with a hand mixer until fluffy then add the rose water and Fiori Di Sicilia extract.
- We recommend that you do not measure extracts over your bowls in case you accidently pour more than what's called for. Now with some extracts it's not the end of the world but if you over pour rose water you could end up ruining your icing. A little goes a long way.
- Next add 1 cup of the icing sugar. Once incorporated add a tablespoon of milk and repeat finishing with the last cup of icing sugar.
- The icing may seem thick but it sets nicely making it easy to cut the Nanaimo bar once finished.
- If you want the pretty colour we got just add some pink food colouring.
- Ensuring the layers are even in a Nanaimo Bar is not easy. For the icing mom came up with this useful trick. Using a cookie scoop we place 9 scoops of icing, 3 across, 3 down over the base.
- Slowly spread each scoop until the icing evenly coats the base. Take your time in this step, there is no rush and you want it to be as even as possible.
- Set aside for at least 10 minutes, this allows for the icing to set and will make it easy for to spread the chocolate layer over top.
- Add chocolate and butter into a microwavable wet measuring cup. On 50% power, heat the chocolate and butter in the microwave for 30 second intervals stirring in between until chips are fully melted.
- Pour over the middle layer spreading evenly with a offset spatula. If you do not have an offset spatula, you can use the back of a spoon. Cover and place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- Our next step is to score the chocolate before it fully sets, this will prevent cracking when cutting the Nanaimo bar. Lining the pan with parchment paper allows you to remove the bar from the pan. This will give you more room to work with. Our pan is slightly smaller then 8” so we scored the bar in 1½” squares using a ruler to guide us or if we don't feel like measuring we use the width of our ruler as a guide which works out to about 1”
- Drag the knife through the chocolate layer cleaning the knife after each score. Make sure the knife goes all the way through the chocolate layer. Cover and refrigerate until the chocolate has fully set.
- To finish cutting the bar remove it from the fridge and allow it to warm up for 10-15 minutes. We do not have a knife that can cut all the way across the bar, so I make the first cut in the second row. This way I only need to cut the remaining pieces over the length of 2 or 3 bars. Store the bar in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
