Chocolate Salami

Chocolate Salami is a traditional Portuguese dessert made from dark chocolate. It is also known as Salame al Cioccolato in Italy and chocolate chouriço in Portuguese with broken cookies, butter and eggs being the other ingredients used to create it. The dessert also makes use of port wine or rum which is not considered to be essential in other parts of Europe.

The dessert is believed to be of Italian origin having been created in Sicily.

The suffix, salami is used to highlight the similarity in appearance and not because of the ingredients which remains meat-less. The chocolate-based dessert is formed into a long log-like structure like the meat product and cut into circular discs while serving. The dark red colored chocolate, mottled with bits of white cookie portions, resemble the meat and fat of salami slices respectively. A few of the variations contain nuts like the hazelnuts or almonds and are truffle-shaped. The chocolate can also be prepared with honey which is used as the binder instead of eggs.

The chocolate salami is now available commercially and is extremely popular in Europe.  It is usually served with coffee at rustic Italian eateries.

Ingredients and Preparation Overview of Chocolate Salami

Dark chocolate, rum, and sugar are the main ingredients required for preparing the dessert. A portion of unsalted butter and some tea biscuits is used as well. The quantity of the biscuits  is usually thrice the amount of the chocolate used. A couple of eggs that are added in the raw form complete the list of ingredients.

The traditional recipe involves melting chocolate bars and cutting the butter into small pieces before allowing them to warm at room temperature. The biscuits are broken into coarse crumbs and the ingredients are whisked thoroughly until it becomes similar in consistency to a dough. It is then shaped into a log like structure and refrigerated.

The log is cut into thin, circular slices before serving.

Chocolate Salami Variations

• Chocolate Saucisson- It is a sausage shaped chocolate dessert that contains hazelnuts and citrus peels as additional ingredients.
   
• Raw Chocolate Mousse- This is an Australian dessert prepared by blending cocoa and carob powder whisked together with maple  syrup, stevia and vanilla extract. The dessert is chilled in the refrigerator after adding a few drops of coconut oil to it.
   
• Chocolate Avocado Pudding –It is a blended pudding containing avocado, cocoa powder, agave and vanilla extract, along with cold milk or water, to bring it to the desired consistency.

Trivia

The traditional chocolate salami recipes make use of raw eggs which are replaced by the more acceptable, pasteurized egg whites in America.