Article content

The Nanaimo bar, arguably B.C.’s most famous contribution to the pantheon of sweet treats, has received the stamp of approval from Canada Post.

The Crown corporation plans to release stamps of the West Coast confection and four other Canadian desserts from across the country next week: butter tarts from Ontario, sugar pie from Quebec, blueberry grunt from the East Coast, and Saskatoon berry pie from the Prairies.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Nanaimo bar gets Canada Post stamp, but critics question base-to-filling ratio Back to video

“Rich and chocolatey Nanaimo bars have been associated with their namesake Vancouver Island city since the no-bake recipe first appeared there in the 1950s,” Canada Post announced on its website, in advance of the stamp set’s April 17 issue date.

But is it really a Nanaimo bar? Images of the eminently lickable stamp were released Thursday, and while all three layers of the classic dessert are accounted for — the crumbly base, the custard filling, and the chocolate ganache icing — many were quick to point out that the ratio is all wrong.

“These are awesome, although the Nanaimo bar ‘filling to crust’ proportions are off,” tweeted Nova Scotia author Tom Ryan, one of several Canadians to weigh in.

Toronto illustrator Tyler Clark Burke agreed. “Seems like the middle layer is too thick, and the bottom layer is too thin? The top layer is kind of weak too,” she said.

David Reevely, news editor at The Canadian Press’s Ottawa bureau, even suggested the filling looked more like peanut butter than custard — anathema to Nanaimo bar purists.