Who doesn’t love chocolate salami? It’s an indulgent and fun dessert enjoyed by both adults and children. It takes very little time to prepare, requires no baking and is really easy. So easy that I remember when I was a kid, maybe 13 years old, on a trip for sports competitions with my best friend we decided to make it back at the hotel after a match!!!!! We bought the few ingredients needed and without tools we managed to make it… I won’t tell you the reaction of our coach when he came into the room and realized what we had done — the hotel room wasn’t exactly the most suitable place, but as soon as he tasted it a smile appeared on his face. Well luckily we can make it in the kitchen! My version of chocolate salami has no eggs, so it can be safely enjoyed by children and by pregnant women. In the tips at the end of the recipe you’ll also find the GLUTEN-FREE version. Make it during the upcoming Christmas holidays too, much better than any store-bought chocolate nougat!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6-8 people
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 627.53 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 67.08 (g) of which sugars 28.60 (g)
- Proteins 9.89 (g)
- Fat 39.20 (g) of which saturated 16.91 (g)of which unsaturated 18.02 (g)
- Fibers 9.05 (g)
- Sodium 178.95 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain dry cookies (macine or galettes)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 4.2 oz dark chocolate
- 7 tbsp butter
- 10 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts
HOW TO PREPARE CHOCOLATE SALAMI WITHOUT EGGS
First, break the cookies roughly — they should not become powder but should remain in small pieces. You can do this by hand, or using a food processor at the lowest speed, or to avoid mess and as an “anti-stress” method (this is my favorite!) put them in a freezer bag and hit them with a rolling pin! Roughly chop the toasted hazelnuts as well with a knife. Put both the cookies and hazelnuts into a large bowl.
At this point chop the chocolate with a knife so it will melt more easily, and melt it in a bain-marie or in the microwave. Let it cool slightly.
In the bowl with the cookies and hazelnuts add the powdered sugar and the sifted cocoa powder and mix with a spoon so the dry ingredients combine well. Melt the butter in the microwave and add it together with the melted, lukewarm chocolate to the dry ingredients, mixing everything with a spoon — but it’s even better to use your hands! You’ll get messy with the mixture but it will be fun and will give a better result.
Place the resulting mixture on a sheet of parchment paper and try to shape it into a cylinder as evenly as possible, helping yourself with your hands. Once you have shaped it, roll it up in the parchment paper to form a large cylindrical “candy.” Tighten the ends well and then wrap it the same way in a sheet of aluminum foil. Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Once it has hardened, take it out of the fridge, remove the foil and parchment paper and dust it with powdered sugar to give it the classic salami look. Serve it in slices on a wooden board as if it were a real salami.
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
CHOCOLATE: You can also use milk chocolate if you prefer; in that case, since milk chocolate contains more cocoa butter than dark chocolate, reduce the butter amount to 90 g (approx. 6 tbsp).
HAZELNUTS: You can also replace the toasted hazelnuts with toasted pistachios or walnuts.
CHOCOLATE SALAMI USING LEFTOVER EASTER EGGS: This recipe can also be considered a recycling recipe to use up leftover cookies or chocolate, as often happens around Easter. The chocolate from Easter eggs works perfectly.
GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE SALAMI
To make the chocolate salami gluten-free, simply choose gluten-free cookies and ensure that at-risk ingredients are labeled as suitable for celiacs, in particular the cocoa powder and the powdered sugar.
