Traditional in our family, this chocolate salami is the perfect crunchy treat to snack on alongside coffee, and the best part is it’s so easy to make!
Growing up my mom used to make us chocolate salami all the time, but it was actually my friend’s mother’s chocolate salami that was my real favorite. At some point, the fact her mom regularly kept a few salami rolls in the freezer even became the main reason I hung out at that friend’s house so often. I honestly thought she was the most genius and sophisticated mom on the planet because of that.
Childhood memories aside, a few notes about the recipe. First, I started with my mom’s recipe as the base and tweaked it a bit. Her recipe uses only biscuits, but I’ve found that the more nuts I add, the better it tastes to me. You can replace the hazelnuts with your favorite add-ins such as other nuts, coconut, or raisins. If you don’t want to add anything, use an additional 70g biscuits (250g in total). Also, when I don’t make this for children, I like to add just a bit of alcohol as it really upgrades the flavor.
- 180g digestive biscuits/vanilla wafers
- ¾ cup (70-80 g) toasted hazelnuts (or your favorite nuts), coarsely chopped
- 200 g/7 oz dark chocolate
- 90 g/3.2 oz (about ¾ stick) unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons (90 ml) whole milk
- A splash of alcohol (Kahlua, Amaretto, brandy, rum), optional
- Powdered sugar, for coating
- Place biscuits in a large ziplock bag and crush them using a rolling pin until you have small and coarse crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a large bowl and stir in nuts.
- In a medium bowl place chocolate and butter. Heat in the microwave or in a double boiler until melted and smooth. Add milk and alcohol, if using, and stir. Add chocolate mixture to crumb mixture and mix until combined.
- Spread the mixture out on parchment paper or plastic wrap and shape it into a log using a spatula or spoon. Roll up the paper and wrap it like candy. Place in the fridge for several hours until firm.
- After chilling, remove log from the paper, dust with icing sugar from all sides, and remove any excess sugar with a brush—or your fingertips if you don’t mind getting messy. Cut into pieces and serve.
- Keep in the fridge or freezer. If kept in the freezer, place at room temperature for a few minutes before cutting or serving.
10 Comments
Gayatri
December 26, 2016 at 7:12 amThis was amazing, Shiran! I added rum and orange zest and it’s the perfect recipe, thank you 🙂
Shiran
December 27, 2016 at 3:35 amThank you Gayatri! 🙂
Nurit
January 17, 2017 at 3:29 pmKnew you wouldn’t mind I added some Nutella… Made it as a “thank you” present for a chocolate lover, I’m sure she will love it
Shiran
January 18, 2017 at 4:34 amI’m sure she will! Nutella is always a good idea 🙂
Bruno
September 18, 2017 at 4:37 amThis is a great recipe. Chocolate salami is very popular in Portugal, but I like how less sweet this variation is. We tend to do it with milk chocolate and Marie biscuits, both much sweeter than dark chocolate and digestives. The hazelnuts are a great touch as well.
I made this recently and published the recipe on my blog, with full credits to you. And I’ll surely be trying a few others from here as well, you have published some amazing look recipes 🙂
Shiran
September 19, 2017 at 4:30 pmThank you so much Bruno! I’m visiting Portugal next month, I hope I’ll have the chance to try it there!
Bruno
September 20, 2017 at 5:30 amThat’s great news – hope you have a great time, Shiran! You can probably find chocolate salami in most cafes (and certainly in supermarkets), though we have such a rich pastry tradition in the country that you will no doubt have a lot of other choices as well. Not sure if it will be your first time there, but if it is then make sure you try a Pastel de Nata. That is probably our most famous pastry – and rightly so.
Shiran
September 20, 2017 at 5:42 amIt’s my first time there actually, and I’ve tried this pastry before but can’t wait to try it there. If there are any specific places where it’s the best or other bakeries you recommend, I’d love to hear! Thank you so much Bruno!
Bruno
September 20, 2017 at 5:54 amWell, assuming you’re going to Lisbon, then you should go to Pastéis de Belém, who have been selling them since 1837 using a secret recipe (http://pasteisdebelem.pt/en/ ). You might need to wait for a table (it’s very popular with tourists), but it’s worth the wait and you will get delicious pasteis still warm from the oven. Having said this, a lot of people swear that the best ones are from Manteigaria (http://lisboacool.com/en/shop/manteigaria). My suggestion? Try both! 🙂
Wherever you go, do make sure to ask for some cinnamon to sprinkle on top though – that makes all the difference!
Shiran
September 24, 2017 at 9:09 amThat’s perfect! Thank you for taking the time to answer me! I’ll try both of them as I’ve already heard they’re really good. I’ll definitely ask for the cinnamon topping 🙂 Thank you so much again!