Day 183: Canada Day Potluck; my contribution: Maple Butter Tart Squares and Nanaimo Bars
Documenting tonight’s dinner is going to take until tomorrow night’s dinner.
This afternoon was M & A’s awesome second annual Canada Day party, a potluck, which I think needs to come back into vogue.
On the menu: pork kebabs with onions and mushrooms, beef kebabs, D’s Mom’s famous curried chicken, potatoes and chick peas, grilled veg, tomato and pancetta panzanella salad, slivered snow peas with wasabi cream cheese and smoked salmon, noodle salad, and an array of dips, snacks and cupcakes arranged like a giant flag with a beaver in the middle (if you looked at it long enough, you could see it).
My contribution was Maple Butter Tarts (because butter tarts are the most fantastic Canadian food creation ever) and Nanaimo Bars (second most fantastic). OK, the Nanaimo bars got half eaten and then put in the freezer for our drive to Tofino before we left for the party. I have an unnatural infatuation with Nanaimo bars. I go to events in the hopes that they will show up on platters of dainties. Unfortunately, they aren’t any less delicious frozen, and in fact I’ve developed a particular taste for them that way. When I was a kid I ate a whole panful of Nanaimo bars, chunk by chunk, from the freezer, and when I was found out I had to clean my sisters’ rooms for two weeks. It was totally worth it.
This was probably the most difficult recipe I’ve ever had to lighten. These Nanaimo bars have less than half the fat of a traditional one; if you want to go whole hog, here’s a recipe.
Nanaimo Bars
For the record, these originated in Nanaimo, BC, although you’ll see versions in US cookbooks labeled “New York Slice”. Custard powder can be found in tins alongside the pudding at the grocery store.
Base:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3-4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. corn syrup
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/3 cup shredded coconut
pinch saltFilling:
3-4 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 Tbsp. custard powder
2 cups icing sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanillaTopping:
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolateIn the bowl of a double boiler or a medium stainless steel bowl, combine the brown sugar, cocoa, butter and corn syrup. Stir in the egg and set over a pot of simmering water; whisk until the mixture melts and thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, graham crumbs, coconut and salt.
Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of an ungreased 8” x 8” pan and pop it in the freezer while making the filling.
In a medium bowl, beat butter, custard powder, icing sugar, milk and vanilla until creamy and smooth, adding a few extra drops of milk if necessary until you have a spreadable frosting. Spread over the base. Return to the freezer or fridge to chill until firm before covering with chocolate.
Melt chocolate in a medium bowl set over hot water, or on medium power in the microwave. Stir until smooth and spread over the filling. Refrigerate until well chilled and firm. These are easiest to cut at room temperature, using a small, sharp, serrated knife, so pull them out of the fridge and set them on the countertop for about ½ hour before you plan to eat them.
Makes 20 bars.
Per Bar: 213 calories, 8.3 g fat (4.8 g saturated fat, 2.3 g monounsaturated fat, 0.9 g polyunsaturated fat), 33.8 g carbohydrates, 21 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 1.6 g fiber. 34% calories from fat
I’ve made butter tart squares many a time before (far easier than fussing with pastry dough to make tarts) but this is the first time I added maple. The girl who ate the last square at the party this afternoon (not knowing I was right behind her and had made them) said: “OMG! O. M. G. OMG!!” Just like that. I didn’t realize you could actually speak in text message abbreviation.
(Lower-fat) Maple Butter Tart Squares
Base:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch saltTopping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup raisins or currants (if you want to be really authentic)
1/3 cup chopped pecansPreheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add flour and salt and stir until well combined and crumbly.
Press into the bottom of an 8” x 8” pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just barely golden around the edges.
Using the same bowl (no need to wash it), combine the brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and stir until well blended and smooth. Stir in the raisins and pecans.
Pour over the base and return to the oven for 25–30 minutes, until golden and bubbly around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the middle. The topping will puff up a bit as it bakes and then settle again when you remove it from the oven. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Makes 16 squares.
Per Square: 194 calories, 5.1 g fat (2.1 g saturated fat, 2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.6 g polyunsaturated fat), 36.2 g carbohydrates, 34.7 mg cholesterol, 2.2 g protein, 1 g fiber. 23% calories from fat
July 01 2008 10:00 pm | appetizers and cookies & squares and sweet stuff
Bonnie on 03 Jul 2008 at 7:34 am #
Got some yummy maple butter tart squares in the oven as I type. I’ve made a note in my One Smart Cookie cookbook for the maple syrup variation. My husband just loves butter tarts so he’s quite happy that you’ve inspired me to make these (shhh! we won’t tell him these ones are better for him
).
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[…] sauce) and there were platters of sweets everywhere. Sugar cookies, tarts, chocolate bark, Nanaimo bars (on my list for best holiday party food of my childhood); I brought some leftover peppermint […]