Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free Nanaimo Bars

Found on The Copy Cat Cook

Nanaimo Bars
Adapted from Madcap Cupcake

Bottom layer
1/2 cup earth balance (or other vegan margarine)
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp flax meal
3 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups crushed gluten-free graham crackers or crumbs (I used store-boughtSmoreables)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Middle layer
1/2 cup earth balance (or other vegan margarine)
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 tbsp vanilla custard powder
6 tbsp plain almond milk

Top layer
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp earth balance (or other vegan margarine)

Assembly:

To make bottom layer: Grease a 9-inch square cake pan. In a small bowl, beat flax meal and water together until frothy, set aside. In a saucepan over low heat, combine 1/2 cup earth balance, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Add flax mixture and stir constantly until mixture thickens.

Add graham crackers crumbs, coconut, and chopped nuts, stirring to combine. Press the mixture into the greased pan.

To make middle layer: In a large bowl, beat together earth balance, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla custard powder and almond milk until creamy. Spread custard mixture over graham cracker base in pan. Refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.

To make top layer: Melt semi-sweet chocolate and one tbsp earth balance. Pour over chilled bars and spread over top. Return to refrigerator to chill until firm (at least one hour).