SALAME DI CIOCCOLATO (CHOCOLATE SALAMI)

This is a decadent desert and biscuit log that is incredibly easy and allows for plenty of customisation with other flavourings. I originally created this recipe as part of a food forum competition over on Cookingbites.com to use dark chocolate in a recipe. So made sense for me to enter a salami right? 

The base of this recipe traditionally uses just cocoa and broken biscuits and many countries have variations on this....
In Greece, chocolate salami is called mosaiko or kormos.
In Turkey, it is called mozaik pasta (Mosaic Cake).
In Romania, it is called salam de biscuiți (biscuit salami)
In Jordan, it is known as lazy cake, which is usually made with a brand of biscuit called Marie.
In Uruguay, it is called salchichón de chocolate (chocolate sausage).
In Portugal, it is called salame de chocolate (chocolate salami).
In Italy, it is also called salame al cioccolato (chocolate salami) or, especially in Sicily, salami turcu (Turkish salami).
In Lithuania, a similar dessert is called tinginy , (lazy cake) which is made out of cocoa, broken biscuits, condensed milk and butter, and sometimes nuts,
In Poland, a similar dessert is called blok czekoladowy (chocolate bloc)
In Hungary it is known in many names such as “Keksz rolád” (Biscuit Roll), “Pöttyöske” (Dotty) or “Keksz tekercs” (Rolled Biscuit).

But to ramp up the decadence a bit I've added dried cranberries soaked in Amaretto (a sweet flavoured liqueur that uses apricot kernels, almonds and peach stones (all high in benzaldehyde) to create an almond flavour) - it's gorgeous over ice! You can use any biscuits you want but I opted for a 50/50 mix of Amaretti biscuits and Almond Cantuccini biscuits. The base recipe lends itself to lots of additions with dried fruits, nuts, and biscuits types. (I did a version with popping candy that went down a storm with the kids.

Prep time - 10 Minutes
​Cooling time - 3-4 hours

 INGREDIENTS
​
200g dark chocolate (anything >70%)
150g softened butter
300g dry biscuits (My mix is 150g Almond Cantuccini and 150g Amaretti)
2 eggs
100g sugar
Small handful/small cup of dried cranberries (optional to soak these in Amaretto for an hour before)
Amaretto Liqueur
​Icing suger for dusting
Baking parchment paper and silver/tin foil

METHOD

1. Break up the biscuits into decent chunks. Don't use a blender  or be tempted to bash them up in a bad - we don't want loads of crumbs. We good sized chunks.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (in a bowl over near boiling water) and set aside.
3. Now in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar so you have a soft mix.
4. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly.
5. Now add the melted chocolate slowly to the mix and stir through.
6. Now add the broken biscuits and cranberries. Optional here to add any liqueur - I use a dash or 2 of Amaretto, but you can use rum or brandy or your spirit of choice. Mix through well being careful not to break the biscuits.
7. Pour out on the baking paper and start to roll it to give the cylindrical shape with a diameter of 2.5"-3" (6-8cm) and twist the ends to stop the mixture from shifting. Don't worry if its not perfectly round at this stage.
8. Once in rough desired shape, wrap in tin foil. At this point you will have more purchase and ability shape, tighten, and round the salami.
9. Pop in the fridge till set firm - which takes around 3-4 hours.
10. You can unwrap and serve as is, but I like to dust some ice sugar all over. As well as adding a light sweetness to the flavour profile this does 2 things. Firstly it makes it easier to handle as the heat from your hands swiftly melt the chocolate surface giving you brown finger tips ;  and secondly it makes it look like the mould on a salami.
11. Slice prior to eating - at least 1/2" (2cm) thickness.