These no-bake cookies or chocolate salami are neither made with any cookie dough nor meat! Instead they are made with a blend of luscious chocolate ganache with crushed, crunchy biscuit that is rolled into a perfect log or sausage shape and sliced.
This scrumptious dessert transports me back to my childhood. At the time, my sister and I didn't know what we were making. We just used to mix together broken biscuits with some milk and melted chocolate to form little clusters, calling them ‘cookies’. And they used to taste delicious! Little did we know, we had (almost) all the ingredients to make the perfect chocolate salami.
Not only is it easy to make, it just requires a few simple ingredients that can be found in your kitchen pantry. Having the ideal combination of creamy and crunchy, they are perfect to be served for any occasion or even gifting or selling.
Origin
This dessert hails from Italy, where it is known as salame dolce. It is quite famous in Russia and Portugal too. These cookies are known by many other names, from chocolate salami, salami cookies to chocolate biscuit roll and even salami cake. They are called so on account of its sausage-like shape and the terrazzo tile like design that comes from the crushed biscuits.
Everyone has their own recipe for this sweet treat and here I am sharing with you, my peppermint version of it.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Setting time: 2 hours
Servings: 10-12 pieces
Ingredients
130 gms fresh cream (25 per cent fat)
150 gms 55% dark couverture chocolate (chopped) (Couverture chocolate is a chocolate that contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter 32–39 per cent compared to baking or eating chocolate)
1 tbsp butter (room temperature)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
80-100 gms crackers (or tea biscuits)
1/2 tsp peppermint essence (optional)
For coating, milk powder or icing sugar
Method
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave and warm up the cream in a separate bowl.
Now mix the two together till you have a smooth, homogeneous ganache.
At this stage, add the butter and fold it in using a spatula, until it has melted and completely emulsified with the mixture.
While the ganache reaches room temperature, crush the crackers or biscuits in a ziplock bag. Make sure the crushed pieces are not too big nor too powdery.
Finally, incorporate in the cocoa powder, crushed biscuits and peppermint essence into the ganache. Make sure the biscuits are dispersed evenly in the ganache.
Once the mixture is ready, transfer it on a sheet of cling film and wrap it neatly.
Twist the ends tightly to secure it and roll it a couple of times, to form a uniform-sized log.
Place it in the refrigerator to firm up, for at least 2 hours.
Once the chocolate log is set, unwrap it and roll it in some icing sugar or milk powder to make it look more aesthetically pleasing.
Slice it in equal portions (about 1/4 in or 1 cm slices) and serve chilled.
Tips
1. Use hard biscuits like tea biscuits, wafers or graham crackers and not soft cookies as they provide texture to the final product. Cookies tend to become soft and mushy when added to the ganache mix.
2. Don’t blend the biscuits in the blender as using powdered biscuits will lead to the ganache cookie crumbling, when you try to slice them. Instead of crushing the biscuits, you can choose to chop them with a knife to make sure they don’t crumble.
3. Always use room temperature ingredients. They are easier to work with when making this dessert.
4. Nuts, like walnuts or cashews can be added to this cookie along with the biscuits. Even the peppermint essence can be substituted with other flavourings like orange, or caramel.
3. Make sure the roll is packed tightly and there are no air bubbles in it. This will ensure an even and properly shaped final product.
4. After slicing it, let it sit on the counter for a couple of minutes before serving them.
5. They are great for gifting, so these can be individually packed in butter paper or even as a whole log.
6. They can be stored in an airtight container for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator or for one month in the freezer.
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