Chocolate Salami may conjure up a whole host of images in your mind. But take it from us, once you try making this at home there will be no going back. There is no meat in this salami but, instead, it has chocolate as its base and makes a great accompaniment to your coffee or tea. It's also a complete dessert by itself and even makes a great addition to an ice cream sundae. This sweet dessert roll has its origins in Italian and Portuguese cuisine and is primarily made of easy ingredients that can be found in your pantry. The name 'salami' comes from its physical appearance. Just like meat salami, it is rolled up into a tight cylinder and served sliced into discs. The chocolate salami is a rich chocolatey brown in colour with flecks of biscuits or nuts that resemble the white flecks in meat salami.
Also read: Indulge In Chocolatey Desserts With These 5 Quick Recipes Ready In 30 Mins
Photo Credit: iStock
Chocolate salami is a wonderful option to make ahead and freeze so you can pull it out to cut up a few slices whenever you have a sweet craving with your coffee or when you have unexpected guests and want to impress them with a delicious, sweet treat.
The best part about this chocolate salami is that you only need 2-3 basic ingredients, after which the variations are endless. You can make it with or without egg and even alcohol like rum or chocolate liqueur. You can make it chunky or keep it smooth. Add nuts to make it more wholesome, cut out the sugar or bump up melted dark chocolate to lighten it up. But the one thing you must do is make it this weekend and find out for yourself.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
What is Chocolate salami?
Chocolate salami is a chocolate dessert originating in Italian and Portuguese Roman Cuisine. There is also a Russian version which is quite similar. It contains no meat but, instead, is a chocolate-based dessert that is rolled into a cylinder-like meat salami and served sliced into discs.
What is Chocolate salami made of?
Chocolate salami is primarily made of biscuits and chocolate or cocoa. The rest of the ingredients are very flexible and the recipe lends itself very well to variations and personalisation. It can contain butter, sugar, eggs, nuts, rum or chocolate liqueur and any other variations that strike your fancy. To make it fancier, you can roll it in some powdered sugar or roughly ground nuts.
What can I substitute the eggs with?
If you would like to make an eggless version, you can swap out the egg whites for a splash of milk or a few tablespoons of canned condensed milk. The whipped egg whites in this recipe add a lightness whereas the condensed milk will add a little richness to the recipe.
Cocoa powder or melted chocolate, what works better?
Good quality cocoa powder has a more concentrated chocolate flavour but it is a dry ingredient. Melted chocolate, on the other hand, may have a less concentrated flavour depending on how dark or milky the chocolate is but is a more moist ingredient and can add silkiness to the mix. This recipe, however, has enough butter to make up for the dryness of cocoa and so the short answer is that both work well. The final decision may be up to availability and personal preference. You could even try a version with half cocoa and half melted chocolate for the best of both worlds.
Also Read: 13 Best Chocolate Recipes | Easy Chocolate Recipes
Now that you know everything you need to, let's dive deep into the recipe and help you make a few logs of the chocolate salami this weekend.
How to make chocolate salami | Step-by-Step Recipe for Chocolate Salami
First, crush the biscuits by hand, in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or in a blender depending on how fine or chunky you would like them. You could even powder most of the biscuits and hand-crush a few for texture. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
Mix in the sugar and cocoa until well combined.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
Add in the melted butter and stir. If you are using melted chocolate, then add it at this point.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
Whip the egg whites and fold them into the mixture. At this point, you may want to get in there with your hands to make it easier. You can add a splash of cold milk if the mixture seems too dry.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
Divide the mixture into two parts and scoop onto 2 pieces of parchment paper or butter paper.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
Shape into logs, roll up the paper like a long toffee and freeze for 2-3 hours.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
Slice and serve.
Photo Credit: Praerna Kartha
These can be kept in the freezer for 3-4 weeks and pulled out whenever you crave a few slices. The only problem with this recipe is that if you have 2 logs in your freezer, just waiting to be sliced and eaten, we guarantee that they won't last that long!
Click here for the full recipe with ingredients.
Try this chocolate salami recipe this weekend and tell us what you think in the comments.