“For the longest time I only ever knew them as Mrs. Assad’s Chocolate Slices,” says Lorna Krawchuk, long-time Leasider, publisher of Leaside Life, and former East York Councillor for what was then called Ward 4, encompassing Leaside and Thorncliffe Park.
Once she moved to Toronto in the ’60s, Lorna soon discovered they were much better known as Nanaimo bars, the chocolate, coconut wafer, and custard confection that requires no baking.
Krawchuk explains that she was born and raised in a gold mining company locale called Virginiatown, population 2,167. Her dad worked as a geologist for Kerr-Addison, one of the most successful gold mining companies in Canada. When it came time for her to attend high school, she had to travel by school bus to Kirkland Lake Collegiate and Vocational Institute (KLCVI), the closest secondary school.
Her mom decided that for her daughter to have the best school experience, the family would need to relocate to the bigger town. “It meant I could participate in after-school events and join clubs. It also meant for my mom that she could enjoy the social life of a town 10 times more populous than Virginiatown, something that she appreciated since she was a city girl at heart,” adds Krawchuk.
And it was in Kirkland Lake, at St. Peter’s on-the-Rock Anglican Church, where Lorna first encountered Mrs. Assad’s Chocolate Slices. “Mrs. Assad was a regular church goer just as we were, and was famous for her sweet chocolatey treat. My mom enjoyed baking cookies and squares and so got the ‘chocolate slice,’ recipe, which has been in the family ever since,” explains Krawchuk. “The Assads were originally from the Middle East; one of the sons, Norm, was in my grade and lived down the road and on my route to school. I remember his being tall and always happy to help carry my books to class at KLCVI. And Mrs. Assad would always show up at a social event in town with her chocolate slices.”
It is rumoured that the Nanaimo bar originated in that town on the east coast of Vancouver Island in the 1930s, but the first written record is from a tome called The Women’s Auxiliary to the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook, published in 1952. Alongside butter tarts (featured in Leaside Life’s May 2025 issue), it is known as THE Canadian dessert. Its popularity is such that in 2019 Canada Post featured the bar in a series of stamps dedicated to Canadian desserts and sweets.
Lorna’s – or more correctly Mrs. Assad’s – treats are easy to make and precisely the right sweetness and consistency. And just in time for July 1. Happy sweet Canada Day to all!
Mrs. Assad’s Chocolate Slice – aka Nanaimo Bars
STEP 1:
½ cup butter
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
Mix in a bowl over hot water – add vanilla at end.
ADD 2 cups graham wafer crumbs – or 2 cups almond flour (for gluten free )
And 1 cup coconut
Can add nuts – but I don’t
Press into a greased 9” x 9” pan.
STEP 2:
Mix together in mixmaster
¼ cup butter
2 c icing sugar
2 tbsp custard powder
Add a bit of cream as necessary to make it sticky.
Spread over base.
Let stand for at least an hour.
STEP 3:
Melt 3 or 4 squares of semi-sweet chocolate – and spread on top.
Refrigerate.
