Chocolate salami is an Italian and Portuguese dessert made from cocoa, broken biscuits, butter and sometimes alcohol such as port wine or rum. The dessert became popular across Europe and elsewhere, often losing alcohol as an ingredient along the way.[1]
Packaged chocolate salami at a supermarket in Évora, Portugal
Chocolate salami is not a meat product. The appellation "salami" stems from physical resemblance. Like salami, chocolate salami is formed as a long cylinder and is sliced across into discs for serving. These discs are a brown, chocolaty matrix (like the red meat of salami) peppered with bright bits of biscuit (like the white flecks of fat in salami). Some varieties also contain chopped nuts, such as almonds or hazelnuts and may be shaped like truffles.
International variations
Asia
In Jordan, it is known as ليزي كيك (lazy cake), which is usually made with Marie biscuit.
In Syria, it is known as سوكسية (Soukseh), and usually made with either walnuts or pistachios.
Europe
In Greece, chocolate salami is called mosaiko (mosaic) or kormos (trunk).[2]
In Bulgaria, it is known as Сладък Салам (Sladuk Salam, meaning Sweet Salami), and like the Russian Chocolate Sausage; uses walnuts.
In Cyprus, it is known as Doukissa (Duchess cake).
In Czech Republic, it is known as vánoční salám or čokoládový salám and is often prepared with grated coconut.
In Denmark, it is known as kiksekage (biscuit cake).
In Estonia, it is known as Kirjukoer (colourful dog), which is commonly made out of cocoa powder, butter, crushed cookies, and jelly cubes (marmelaad in Estonian).[3][4]
In Germany, it is known as Kalte Schnauze (cold snout) or Kalter Hund (cold dog).
In Hungary, it is known in many names such as Keksz rolád (biscuit roll), Keksz szalámi (biscuit salami), Pöttyöske (dotty) or Keksz tekercs (rolled biscuit).
In Italy, it is also called salame al cioccolato (chocolate salami) or, especially in Sicily, salami turcu (Turkish salami).
In Latvia, this dessert goes by many names like šokolādes desa (chocolate sausage), saldā desa (sweet sausage), saldā brunete (sweet brunette), which is made out of cocoa, broken biscuits, butter, sugar, eggs, optionally jelly, nuts or dried berries and oftentimes with a bit of cognac.
In Lithuania, a similar dessert is called tinginys (lit.'lazy'), which is made out of cocoa, broken biscuits, condensed milk and butter, and sometimes nuts, however alternative recipes exist under the same name of the dish.
In the Netherlands, a similar dessert is called arretjescake.
In Poland, a similar dessert is called blok czekoladowy (chocolate block).
In Portugal, it is called salame de chocolate (chocolate salami),[5] and is typically made using Marie biscuit.[6]
In Romania, it is called salam de biscuiți (biscuit salami), and it may have originated during the 1970s or 1980s in the communist era, possibly as a result of food shortages.[7][8]
In Russia, it is called шоколадная колбаса (shokoladnaya kolbasa, meaning chocolate sausage).
In Turkey, it is called mozaik pasta (mosaic cake).[9]
South America
Brazilian palha italiana
In Brazil, it is known as palha italiana (lit.'Italian straw', even though it does not resemble straws). It is usually made with Marie biscuits added to a brigadeiro mixture.[10][11]
In Uruguay, it is called salchichón de chocolate (chocolate sausage).
Similarly, in Argentina, it is called salame de chocolate (chocolate salami, closer to the Italian name).[12]
