Canada Day Nanaimo Bar Cheesecake

What a nice cheesecake this is! I was not able to find custard powder. I Goggled it to see what this was and then substituted instant vanilla pudding. I did make mine in a 9x13 and served as bars. Next time I would use a spring form pan, the first bars would have been easier to get out.

This is a brilliant take on the classic Nanaimo Bar recipe. This version isn't as rich as the original recipe, which is great for someone like me who isn't a total fan of the bars (it's still rich as far as cheesecakes go, though). I chose to make this in a 9" springform pan for the classic good looks of a cheesecake, thus I halved the filling, but kept to the orginal scale for the crust and topping. I may not have crushed my cookies as much as the recipe intended, as there was just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. There was just enough ganache to top the cheesecake as well. Turned out very impressive looking on the serving table and was definitely enjoyed by all.

Oh Canada! Great recipe. Bird's Eye custard is a little tough to find and NO - don't substitute instant pudding - it is not the same and will not give you an authentic Canadian Nanaimo Bar.

LOW FAT VERSION. but just as good- made in pie plate- 1 sleeve of cookies and chopped pecans and added enough coconut to cover the pie plate and added just enough melted butter to coat. For the center I only had 1 PKG of cream cheese so while i mixed that up with 1/2 c sugar I added 3 TBSP of sour cream and then a bit of milk and 3 TBSP of the birds custard powder. baked for 30 min...took it out of the over and right away placed a cup of chocolate chips on top and let them melt on their own about 15 min and then smoothed it over. was fantastic!!

This was pretty good! Next time I'll probably put it in a smaller baking dish because I'd like to have a thicker choc crust! :p

I couldn't find custard powder at my grocery and googled it to find out you could sub equal parts corn starch. I did this, plus added some vanilla bean and 1 tsp vanilla extract b/c I read that custard powder is vanilla flavored. It turned out delicious! Makes an impressive dessert and great because you can cut up beforehand. Also, I topped half the pan with toasted almond slivers, which turned out to be preferred. I agree with another reviewer though- next time I think I will use milk chocolate for the top as I think the semi-sweet was a bit much. Thanks for sharing!

Yummy! Instead of custard powder, I used sfff cheesecake flavored pudding mix. I didn't use coconut because we are not fans. Perfect! Thanks for sharing :)

This was a good cheesecake, but not my favorite. Bird's Custard Powder was available in my Cub Store, but in the International Foods aisle and not by the puddings.

I'm struggling not to eat the entire cheesecake as I write this :P The only changes I made were doubling the coconut to compensate for leaving out the nuts (I'm allergic), and I made it in a springform pan. It has a wonderfully creamy, almost fluffy texture, but I don't find it has a strong nanaimo taste- definitely not as sweet, which is perfect for those who don't like super sweet desserts. I do wish it had more custard flavour to it and I think I'll use milk chocolate for the top next time because I found the semi sweet a little too overpowering. Delicious recipe, Jowolf2! Thanks for submitting! And also a thank you to CC for the beautiful pictures of your cheesecake which inspired me to make my own :D

just wonderful! very thick, tastes like cheescake should! good texture

This is PHENOMENAL. I love to bake and my husband loves to try my creations. After trying this he told me that it might be the best thing I've ever made. I made it for a bbq this weekend and everyone raved about it. EASY to make, too. I made it exactly as the recipe suggested.

I wanted to let you all know that Birds Eye custard powder is available from Amazon.

Get Bird's Custard mix on the international food aisle of larger grocery stores. It's a British import. Also available at Cost Plus.

Perfect (Den to sizito!!)

Good recipe. I made it as a traditional cheescake in a springform pan and kept all the amounts the same. The flavour wasn't a true nanaimo taste, the crust wasn't the same as the bottom of a square and the yellow layer didn't remind my of namaimo, even with the use of custard powder. Yummy but not as good as ttrue nanaimo

great recipie!!

I followed the recipe exactly. I didn't find the taste came close to a real Nanaimo Bar to warrant the name. If I make it again, I will try doubling the custard powder and perhaps add some vanilla extract. Might also add a bit more cream. It was a good cheesecake but I made it because of the name.

Such a wonderful recipe to have. Tastes wonderful and pretty easy to make. Follow the recipe exactly and you get a delicious dessert. I couldn't find heavy cream anywhere so I used whipping cream and it turn out pretty good.

This was a really cool idea for a cheesecake and it worked out really well. The only thing was I was expecting more of a nanaimo bar taste, but it gets 5 stars for looks!

This was SO good! I did everything as written but I used French Vanilla pudding mix in place of the custard powder since I could not find it. YUM!Thanks.

I liked the idea, but part of the joy of nanaimo squares is the super sweetness, and this cheesecake just didn't have it. I rated it 4 as everyone else liked it, the idea is awesome, just my personal opinion differed from everyone elses.

WOW!!! These were fantastic, everyone raved about them...

Made these for Canada Day and my mother cried tears of joy

I like the cheesecake idea! I did not use Oreo cookie crust recipe though. I used the traditional Nanaimo bar crust recipe. With milk chocolate chip and a little less cream for a firm top. Delicious!

followed the recipe exactly. it looks just like the photo. it tasted pretty good, but was absolutely nothing like a nanaimo bar, except in looks. so that was quite disappointing. it's more just a chocolate topped cheesecake. i didn't bother checking while baking and just pulled it out at 40 minutes. it was a bit overbaked, so check around 30-35 minutes. also, i had no problem finding custard powder, maybe it's not something normally stocked in american grocery stores? (i'm in canada.)

I love it! I add a bit more custard powder for more flaver and only use 2 packs of cream cheese and 2 eggs. It makes a thinner and cheaper snack. Tastes like a mellowed nanaimo bar! Thank you! It's my new fave!

Great recipe although after following the guidelines to a "T" I would defo make some adjustments. Add more custard powder, make the topping more like a ganache as it did not set after 60mins. Cooking time for me was way under as after 40mins the middle was super runny, now it could be that I'm not the greatest baker but if I'd taken it out at 40mins it would have ended up like a puddle. I left mine for 90mins and it could have been left another 20/30 to ensure it was the desired consistency???? Absolutely use a spring form tin - made life so much easier!!