Chocolate Salami

Name: Chocolate Salami
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 200 g Butter; 150 g Dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa); 200 g Caster sugar; 4 Egg yolks; 2 tablespoons Honey; 2 tablespoons Amaretto; 2 tablespoons Cocoa powder; 200 g Digestive biscuits (Rich tea, Marie, Graham Crackers, Biscoff are all good substitutes ); 60 g Hazelnuts (blanched); 60 g Candied peel; Icing sugar - for dusting

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Chocolate salami has a charming appearance and tastes divine. It is a rich, multi-textured chocolate dessert that begs to be served with coffee. Best of all it’s fun, easy and cheap to make at home. Of course, a beautifully presented chocolate sausage also makes a thoughtful edible gift at Christmas.

Slices of chocolate salami on a plate with a whole chocolate sausage next to it.

What is chocolate salami? Well, it’s a rich dessert made predominantly from chocolate and crushed biscuits. Although it does not contain any meat, this sweet treat gets its name because it is made to look like actual salami. It is sausage-shaped and best served in slices, just like salami.

My chocolate salami is festive, fun, easy and extremely tasty. It’s the ideal treat to serve at the end of a meal with a coffee or digestif.

This chocolate sausage is rather like a glorified chocolate fridge cake or rocky road dessert, only it’s perfectly festive and suitable for Christmas. If you like the look of it, then don’t miss out on my chocolate mint fridge cake or my Biscoff rocky road. Both have a lot in common with this recipe.

Slices of chocolate salami stacked up on a wooden board.

Why this chocolate sausage is worth making

Aside from looking the part to end a special meal on an impressive note, there are plenty of reasons to make this chocolate salami recipe:

It’s an easy and fun recipe to make
Kids can get involved too as there’s nothing complicated involved
Homemade means you can pick which biscuits, nuts and alcohol to add to make it perfectly in tune with your own preferences
Chocolate salami can be bought but it is generally expensive (around £15 – yikes!) Making your own is so much cheaper (less than £5 – unless you use very posh chocolate)
It can be stored in the fridge for several weeks so it’s a great make-ahead recipe

Ingredients notes

Ingredients for chocolate sausage with text overlay.

Go for dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids. There’s plenty of sweetness from the sugar, so rich and intensely-flavoured chocolate is necessary to balance this. Don’t be tempted to substitute milk or white chocolate, the end result will be overwhelmingly sweet.

In this recipe I’ve used digestive biscuits, which are readily available in the UK. Rich tea biscuits or even Biscoff cookies could alternatively be used. Basically, a biscuit with plenty of crunch and no fancy filling or decoration is best. I’ve also come across recipes using crisp (not soft) Amaretti cookies. So play around and see what works for you.

For the nuts either hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios or a mixture of all three work well.

Amaretto almond liqueur has a relatively mild alcoholic taste and including just a little really does boost the overall flavour of this chocolate salami, so I highly recommend you include it. You could alternatively use dark rum in its place.

Egg yolks help bind all ingredients together and adds a richness of flavour. Honey also adds depth of flavour and improves the texture of this chocolate dessert. Don’t leave either out.

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Finely chop the candied peel, roughly chop the hazelnuts and break the biscuits into small chunks using your fingers

2. Next, melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Take off the heat when the chocolate has melted but there are still a few chunks of butter left

3. Stir until smooth

4. Mix in the egg yolks, cocoa powder, sugar, Amaretto and honey

5. Stir in the biscuits, nuts and candied peel

Collae of images showing chocolate sausage mixture being made.

6. If the mixture appears too soft to hold its shape let firm up for a few minutes

7. Lay 2 large pieces of clingfilm on a work surface and divide the mixture between the 2, placing it in the centre in an approximate log shape

8. Fold one edge of clingfilm over, followed by the other edge

9. Twist the ends to seal then roll into a smooth sausage shape

10. Repeat with the remaining clingfilm and mixture

Collage of images showing dessert sausages being formed using clingfillm.

11. Chill for 15 minutes then roll again. Repeat after another 15 minutes then leave to set for around 6 hours

12. When set remove from the fridge, unwrap and discard the clingfilm then dust in icing sugar

13. Tie with string (optional) – see details on this below

Dusting a dessert sausage with icing sugar and tying with string.

14. Wrap in foil and store in the fridge until required

15. Serve sliced into thin rounds approx ½-3/4 cm thick

How to tie the string on chocolate salami

I’ll be honest, I was a little bit uncertain about my ability to tie the chocolate salami up neatly. However, there are plenty of videos out there to help out on this front and it took me around 2 minutes to achieve. So don’t be put off. I found this cheeky little video to help me – skip to around 3 minutes in for the tying of the salami.

And if you find yourself struggling to tie it neatly don’t worry. Just slice the chocolate sausage up and serve it on a plate to avoid the issue entirely.

Expert tips

The Amaretto is included to add depth of flavour to the overall dessert but, as only a little is used, the alcoholic flavour is hardly noticeable. Swap for rum or leave out completely if desired
The nuts can easily be left out if serving to anybody with a nut allergy
Crystalised ginger makes a great addition – try 1 tablespoon (finely diced)
I don’t recommend adding in marshmallows. They will make it harder to slice the chocolate salami neatly
Don’t overheat the chocolate and butter as the mixture will need a while to firm up before it can be successfully rolled
Don’t forget to reroll several times whilst the log is setting – this will help ensure your salami has the best shape
Once made do store this chocolate sausage in the fridge right up to the point of serving – it’s much easier to slice when chilled

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe for everybody to eat?

This recipe contains raw egg yolks so it is imperative to use eggs that are deemed safe to eat this way. In the UK look for eggs with the British Lion mark – these eggs come from hens that have been vaccinated against salmonella. Elsewhere, opt for pasteurised eggs.

Recipes containing raw eggs, such as this one, are consumed at your own risk. If still unsure about using raw eggs you might be better off using a vegan chocolate salami recipe made without eggs. This is definitely advisable if serving to vulnerable diners such as pregnant women, very young children or very elderly people.

How should it be stored?

Chocolate salami is best stored in the fridge. If left at room temperature for any length of time it will soften and be harder to cut neat into slices.

Once made it can be stored in the fridge for 2 weeks, so it’s a fantastic make-ahead recipe.

It can also be frozen. Ensure it is well wrapped before dropping into the freezer for up to 4 weeks. Let defrost in the fridge overnight. It may be necessary to dust the outside in icing sugar again before serving if it has been frozen.

Can I make it gluten-free?

It is easy to make this recipe gluten-free. Simply ensure that the biscuits used are suitable for a gluten-free diet and proceed with the recipe as otherwise listed.

Variations

I’d always assumed chocolate salami was Italian, as I first came across salami di cioccolato in an Italian restaurant about a decade ago. However, it seems there are versions of it right across the world. Here are a few of them:

In Greece it is called mosaiko
The Portugeuse salame de chocolate is very similar to the Italian version. It is usually made with Marie biscuits
The Lithuanian version, tinginys, is made with condensed milk
Uraguayans call it salchichón de chocolate

Each country seems to have added their own unique twist to it. Some use eggs, some don’t. Some add nuts, others stick with just biscuits. Alcohol, if used at all, varies.

The takeaway is that this recipe for chocolate sausage is one that you can really make your own by varying the nuts, biscuits and booze. Have fun experimenting.

What to serve with it

Chocolate salami is ideal served at the end of a meal either in place of or after dessert. A cup of coffee goes down a storm with it but for a little more indulgence try a glass of Amaretto almond liqueur or Vin Santo.

Children (and big children) might also have room for an Italian style hot chocolate served alongside it.