Chocolate Salami
lakelurelady
Photo by Mark Weinberg
- Serves
- one log
- Prep Time
- 2 Hours
- Cook Time
- 30 Minutes
This easy, no-bake chocolate confection came about after seeing several recipes for it. The original recipes in "Artisan Patisserie for the Home Baker" were too complicated, so I simplified by eliminating the candied orange peel, and I added my own twist to it with orange zest, crystallized ginger, and orange liqueur-soaked cranberries. What I love about this Italian chocolate log is the playful way that it mimics a salami with its marbleized fat. I will be making several of these logs for the holidays and freezing them.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoon orange liqueur
- 9 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup whole almonds
- Zest of one orange
- 1 cup butter cookie crumbs
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger slices, chopped
- 2 egg yolks, beaten
Featured Video
This is really excellent -- not too sweet, with the orange, ginger, and tart cranberries working well with the dark chocolate. I used a sleeve of crisp and rather plain honey cookies as the cookie component, but any crisp butter cookie or plain tea biscuit would work well.
The recipe is supposed to make one giant confection, but you could get two very nice gift-sized salamis out of it. You could also dust the exterior of the chilled log with confectioner’s sugar to increase the resemblance to a real salami.
Directions
- Step 1
Soak dried cranberries in water and orange liqueur for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Step 2
Melt chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and combined, 3 to 5 minutes. When melted, add the sugar, almonds, orange zest, drained cranberries, cookie crumbs, and crystallized ginger. Stir to combine and remove from heat. Cool for a few minutes. Add the beaten egg yolks and allow the mixture to come to room temperature.
- Step 3
Form the chocolate mixture into a log, smoothing the surface to be sure none of the filling is sticking out. Wrap the log in wax paper and refrigerate until firm. Slice and serve.