Chocolate Faux Salami

Chocolate Salami

This is not a real salami, but it sure looks like one. This appeared on the BritishLarder, a website you should absolutely check out. No raw meat in this salami, and no baking! How cool is that? BritishLarder is, of course, a British website, so here's a link to a converter. You'll get the hang of it, and this recipe doesn't have to be absolutely precise, as long as it holds together and tastes good. Icing sugar is powdered sugar (confectioners sugar). I like McVittie disgestive biscuits that I find in local markets, Cost Plus or British importers.

• 80g unsalted butter
• 200g bitter chocolate, 70%
• 100g icing sugar
• 150g digestive biscuits
• 40g flaked almonds
• 40g dried cranberries
• 40g pistachios
• 2 egg yolks
• 120g Port Wine
• 2ml vanilla essence
• 80g Condensed milk
• Pinch of salt
• Cocoa powder

Crush the Biscuits into small pieces, but not crumbs. Add the almonds, cranberries and pistachios and sprinkle half of the port wine over the mixture, set aside.

Put the chocolate and butter in a metal bowl, place over a pot of boiling water, allow to melt.

Once the chocolate is melted add the icing sugar, salt, egg yolks, the rest of the port wine and the condensed milk, mix well and continue cooking over the bain-marie (water bath) for a further 4 minutes to cook the eggs, stir regularly.

Add the biscuit mixture. Mix well.

Let the mixture cool for 10 - 15 minute, as it starts to thicken and it's easier to work with.

Shape in to a salami shape with a double layer of cling film. Let the salami set in the fridge.

Remove the cling film and then roll the salami in cocoa powder. Its now ready to serve and you can wrap it again in the paper and tie it with string to mimic a classic salami.

Tip: Remove the salami at least one hour before serving from the fridge.

Chocolate Salami Photo credit: The British Larder

New Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

Chef2Chef has been linking gluten-free recipes on Twitter recently, and chocolate is gluten-free! Their website has a lot of Gluten-free recipes, but the one that stood out for me was this recipe for Flourless Cake. Totally different from mine, and I can't wait to try it. Let's face it my flourless cake is a lot easier, but this looks delicious and much more elegant.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

=== FOR THE CAKE ===
8 oz Bittersweet or semisweet-chocolate
1/2 c Rum, brandy or strong coffee
1/2 c Unsalted butter - (1 stick)
6 Egg yolks
1/3 c Granulated sugar
6 Egg whites

=== FOR THE ICING ===
10 oz Semisweet or bittersweet-chocolate; chopped
1 c Heavy cream
12 oz Chocolate Snaps - (to 16-oz); see * Note
(or other coating chocolate)

Instructions

* Note: Available at baking and cake decorating departments of cookware
stores or on-line.

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (300 degrees for convection oven). Grease and flour an 8-inch or 9-inch cake pan.
In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, rum, brandy or coffee and butter. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and lemon-colored.
Fold chocolate mixture into yolk mixture.
In clean grease-free glass or metal bowl, beat whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the whites. Pour batter into cake pan, transfer pan to middle of preheated oven and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on pan size and type of oven. Cake will be firm at edges, but will seem under-baked in center. Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan. Put cake in pan in the refrigerator, overnight if possible. Cake must be cold to successfully remove it from the pan.
To remove cake from pan:
Cut 2 cardboard circles the same size as the pan used. Put one circle on top of cake still in pan.
Heat the bottom of the cake pan on top of the stove over high heat for approximately 20 seconds. Remove from heat and invert cake onto cardboard, gently tapping pan on table if necessary. Cake will fall out of pan. Put the other cardboard circle on bottom of cake and invert cake. Remove cardboard from cake top. Keep cake in refrigerator until ready to use.

For the icing: In the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over simmering water melt the chocolate, stirring, until smooth. In a small saucepan bring cream just to a boil. Remove pan from heat, add melted chocolate and stir until smooth. Transfer melted chocolate to a bowl and let cool completely at room temperature.

This is called Ganache and can be made and stored in the refrigerator for up
to one month. To assemble the cake: Ice the top and sides of the cold cake with the ganache. If ganache becomes too cold to spread, soften it in a microwave oven or on top of stove for a few
seconds and stir to blend. Use as much or as little of the icing as your taste desires. The extra can be stored as stated in the recipe. Put the iced cake on a serving platter. Refrigerate if desired.

To decorate the cake: Cut 3 to 4 strips from a new (one-gallon size) freezer bag, each 10 1/2 inches long and approximately 5 inches wide. There should be enough strips to cover an 8- or 9-inch cake. Melt chocolate as described in above instructions. Spread the melted chocolate over the entire surface of one strip. While the chocolate is still wet, pick up the strip and place it
with the chocolate side to the cake, aligning the bottom of the strip to the bottom of the cake. Allow the top to fold over the top of the cake -- just like a piece of fabric. Refrigerate until the chocolate strip is cold (this should be about a minute or less). Remove cake from the refrigerator and peel away the plastic strip from the chocolate. The chocolate will adhere to the cake.
Repeat the process with the next strip, and then the third strip. The cake will be "wrapped" in a free-form blanket of chocolate. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
This recipe yields ?? servings.

Recipe Source:
COOKING LIVE with Sara Moulton
Recipe courtesy of Madeline Lanciani
From the TV FOOD NETWORK - (Show # CL-9075 broadcast 02-27-1998)

May 5: Chocolate Custard Day/Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding

Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations pointed out that May 5 is also Chocolate Custard Day. Here's her link to a Chocolate Sponge Custard.

So since it's Cinco de Mayo, I did a quick search for specific Cinco de Mayo Chocolate Custard. How esoteric is that? Not very, I found out. The Food Network has a recipe for Chocolate Custard Corn Pone, and Triple-Chocolate Custard.

I'm a big Bread Pudding fan, so here's a recipe for Cinco de Mayo, Chocolate Custard Day, and every day. (Recipe from Erika Kerekes) This serves 20, so it's a great treat to take to a party. You can always make less, but be sure to figure out the right measures before you do it. Baking is rarely about halving. I thought it might be fun to use this recipe for muffins.

Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding
1 large loaf challah, cut into 1-inch cubes (no need to remove crust)
1 lb dark chocolate, broken into pieces
12 eggs
3 cups heavy cream
4 cups milk
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp ground pure chile (not chili powder - New Mexcio chile or ancho chile or California Chile)
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pile the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 15 minutes. You want them to dry out a bit before mixing them with the custard so that they absorb as much of the liquid as possible. Remove them from the oven and let them cool a bit. Raise the oven temperature to 375.

While the bread is toasting, put the chocolate pieces in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate on high for 1 minute, let it rest, then zap it for 1 minute more. Remove the chocolate and stir it with a spatula or spoon until it is smooth and melted.

In a very large bowl, mix together the eggs, cream, milk, sugar and spices. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Put the bread in the bowl, toss well, and let the bread soak in the custard mixture at least half an hour and up to two hours, tossing occasionally to make sure all the bread cubes are well coated.

Spray a very large baking pan (or two medium baking pans) with cooking spray (I don't use spray, so you can always butter the pans-JR). Turn the bread-custard mixture into the pan(s) and smooth out the top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour, until the pudding is set. Remove the pudding from the oven and let it sit at least 15 minutes before serving.

Cinco de Mayo Chocolate Desserts

Cinco de Mayo Chocolate Part II: Desserts.
Be sure and check Dying for Chocolate yesterday for entrees, chips, and Tequila.

To celebrate this Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) we pay homage to the Mayans and the original, authentic taste of chocolate. Pairing chocolate and cinnamon in desserts and beverages is classic Mexican. Many Mexican dishes also use chiles, both dried and fresh. Besides chocolate and cinnamon, there are lots of brownie recipes that use chipotle chile powder. Don’t use chili powder in these brownies: Chile powder is composed of dried chile peppers. Chili powder is a mixture of chile powder and other spices such as garlic, oregano, coriander, cumin and cloves. Definitely not for the brownies.

Cinco de Mayo Chipotle Brownies
1 cup sweet butter
4 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons ground chipotle chile pepper (not chili powder)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup Mexican chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Grease and flour an 11 x 7 inch baking dish.

1. Heat the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over another pan containing water for about 2 minutes; stir until melted.
2. In a bowl, mix the sugar, salt, flour, chile powder (ground chipotle), and cinnamon,
3. Add the chocolate/butter mixture, vanilla, and eggs.
4. Mix well, then stir in the walnuts.
5. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake at 350° 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Easy Cinco de Mayo Brownies
Don’t have time to mix up your own brownies? Here's an easier way to get that Cinco de Mayo taste.
Prepare your favorite boxed brownies, adding 3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the batter (for a batch that fits a 9-by-13-inch pan).

Spicy Chocolate for Cinco de Mayo. To buy and eat**

Painter Girl Chocolate has Tribute Bars. Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, there's a portrait of her (she was known for her self-portraits) and her motto is on the bar. Viva la Vida. Long Live Life. These bars are made with 70% dark chocolate, dried chilies and cinnamon. Six 5 ounce bars to a package.

One of my favorite bars is Chuao's Spicy Mayan chocolate bar. Chuao uses a single origin dark Venzuelan chocolate, a hint of Pasilla chile, cayenne Pepper and cinnamon. Dagoba has an organic chocolate xocolatl with 74% cacao, chilies and nibs. Poco Dolce (made in SF) creates an aztec chile square that is very hot. Thanks to Kelli Stanley, mystery writer par excellence, for her recommendation on the Poco Dolce. Xocolaterre has Chili Pepper Chocolate Shapes laced with chili, ginger & cinnamon.

Need some Mexican Hot Chocolate to go with that? After all the original chocolate was used in a hot drink. O.K., this isn't that drink, but you can make your own Mexican hot chocolate.
2 cups milk
4 tbsp dark chocolate powder (I use Scharffen Berger or Valhrona)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp orange zest
1/2 tsp chile ancho powder
Sugar--to taste
Heat up the milk. Stir in the chocolate powder and whisk to combine. Add the ancho power, orange zest, and cinnamon and stir. Add sugar to taste. Makes 2 cups.

Or, you can buy some hot spicy chocolate from Jacques Torres Hot Chocolate.The Wicked Hot Chocolate has dark chocolate, allspice, cinnamon, ground sweet ancho chile peppers and smoked ground chipotle chile peppers. Dagoba makes a Xocolatl Hot Chocolate that contains evaporated Cane juice, 100% cacao powder and unsweetened cacao chunks, chiles and spices. And, Chuao makes a Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate to die for...

Have a great Chocolate Cinco de Mayo.

So there you have it. Chocolate, Chocolate and Chocolate for Cinco de Maya.