Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Decadent Crackers and Bars **Daring Bakers**
The Daring Bakers did Graham Crackers and Nanaimo Bars for this month. The bars were something I have made because they are no-bake bars and this challenge was all the more interesting because the graham crackers were to be made from scratch. I usually make do with the ready-made crackers available in plenty at the stores. This challenge asked for gluten-free crackers which I so wanted to do but owing to the non-availability of the varied flours I had to make mine using AP Flour. The dough was a breeze to put together but mine was very sticky. It was easier to handle with a further 1/4 C of Flour. It was easy to roll out and cut into roundels, a shape I am most familiar with. The shape really doesn't matter in this case because they were in any case being crumbed to serve as the base for the bars. With the first tray in for baking with the required heat and time set, i set about watching Tv only to return to a tray full of charred crackers. So for the further trays, I stood there by the oven watching them bake. The crackers were nice to eat while it was cooling down. It was nice to bite into the sugar crystals. I still have some left after using the required amount for the base which will serve my cravings in the next few days.
For Graham Wafers (Adapted from 101 cookbooks)
2 1/2 C + 2 T all-purpose flour (I had to add a further 1/4 C )
1 C dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 t baking soda
3/4 t kosher salt
7 T unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 C mild-flavored honey
5 T whole milk
2 T pure vanilla extract
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
- Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
- Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
- Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
- Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
- Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
- When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.
Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:
These are bars that originated from Canada and is named after the city, Nanaimo.These are no-bake bars. They contain a base of cracker crumbs, a layer of custard cream and finally a layer of melted chocolate.
I made vanilla custard filling playing it safe but made the regular bars as well in floral molds. The heat played the melting factor here. I had to freeze them but soon the custard filling would ooze out. So it was freezing all the way. Mine were 2"x2" a piece so it wasn't too filling. I had reduced the sugar in the middle layer by 1/2 a C and used unsweetened coconut to suit our palates.
I made vanilla custard filling playing it safe but made the regular bars as well in floral molds. The heat played the melting factor here. I had to freeze them but soon the custard filling would ooze out. So it was freezing all the way. Mine were 2"x2" a piece so it wasn't too filling. I had reduced the sugar in the middle layer by 1/2 a C and used unsweetened coconut to suit our palates.
For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)
For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar
For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter
Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.
For a non-coconut loving family, these decadent bars were a treat.
The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.
The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.
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Enjoyed this challenge immensely :) Your grahams look so cute :) Good one
ReplyDeleteDK
http://chefinyou.com
Wow!!! your crackers and the nanaimo bars look really good... yummm
ReplyDeleteI loved the graham crackers too and will be sad when they're all gone. Glad your family enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteThe crackers came out perfect.Tasty challenge :)
ReplyDeleteSarah G (All Our Fingers in the Pie)
ReplyDeleteS
Good for you for doing this challenge! Round graham crackers, what a good idea! And I never thought to put the Nanaimo bars into a mold. What I do is chill each layer before adding the next. It really helps! I now dub you an honourary Canadian!
I like the idea of making the graham crackers round. They would make delicious cookie sandwiches. With the leftover cracker that I had I made a simple orange cream cheese frosting and filled the cookies to make sandwiches. They were delicious and gobbled up by my friends in moments.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of making the graham crackers round. They would make delicious cookie sandwiches. With the leftover cracker that I had I made a simple orange cream cheese frosting and filled the cookies to make sandwiches. They were delicious and gobbled up by my friends in moments.
ReplyDeleteYour bars look great! I agree, they are definitely easier to handle when refrigerated or frozen!
ReplyDeleteVery well done! Your crackers and nanaimo bars look awesome!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job...Love them.
ReplyDeletePretty!
ReplyDeletelooks awesome..the crackers have come out so good too..
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous and good...
ReplyDeleteYour crackers and bars are very pretty. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWow beautiful crackers, nanaimo bars looks awesome Rachel..
ReplyDeleteI loved the graham crackers by themselves too and like you I ate them while they were cooling down. Good job with your bars too! :D
ReplyDeleteLove the round grahams, a great idea because the leftovers are easier to eat! I loved this challenge!
ReplyDeleteGrahams look perfect...yummy bars,gr8 job dear..
ReplyDeleteYour graham crackers are lovely, I like the sparkley crystalized sugar inside them! Well done!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job on my challenge! I love the shapes you made - very cute!
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteyour crackers are really awesome, and nanaimo bars really good. Enjoyed the challenge
You did a wonderful job on your Nanaimo Bars! I ended up using more flour too as my dough was a mass of goo. An extra 1/2 cup of flour did wonders for it though.
ReplyDeleteNatalie @ Gluten a Go Go
Your graham crackers are so pretty! Mine were a big old mess, so I'm really impressed with all the perfect-looking ones.
ReplyDeleteI love the shape of your Nanaimo bars too. They look yummy. (I think my cravings might be starting again...)
Too bad about the first batch of crackers burning, but the second batch looks fantastic! :)
ReplyDeleteFinally a perfect recipe foe graham cracker !! Loved your blog and big hug for dropping by my blog :)
ReplyDeleteSimi
itsallaboutfood.wordpress.com
hi Rachel thanks for visiting my blog and leaving lovely comments too.., you have a done a good job as well, lovely pics., graham crackers look very tempting, and nanimo bars too, I did have a lovely time baking eating, and kids eating it, the minute it came out from the oven!!, they were too sweet for me
ReplyDelete