Serves 10
This is one smooth flavourful dessert that takes me back to my childhood, bringing back such dear sweet memories. My mother used to make it more often during our religious fasting before Christmas and Easter as it did not include any dairy products and it was a perfect and special treat during the refrainment from eating animal products. She was using margarine for the same reason and butter was used any other time when we did not have to fast. I love playing with the original recipe every now and then and add or replace walnuts with pistachio, raisins with prunes soaked in rum or skip the Turkish delight. The most important secret is to not overcrowd the salami or dice the ingredients in big pieces as that would make the salami crumbly and very difficult to slice. Real rum may come handy in this recipe but if I wish to keep the taste of this dessert as authentic as possible, using rum essence is the one ingredient I cannot afford substituting as it loses its original charming taste.
500 g tea biscuits (Petit Beurre), plus extra for rolling
100 g raisins, soaked in warm water
80 g Turkish delight, diced
80 g walnuts, roughly chopped
10 g cocoa powder
125 g unsalted butter (may substitute with margarine)
100 g granulated sugar
55 g vanilla sugar
250 mL water
125 mL whole milk
10 mL vanilla extract
10 mL rum essence
In a large mixing bowl, break 350 g of the biscuits roughly. Place the remaining biscuits in a blender and pulse until they reach the flour consistency. Set aside.
Soak raisins in warm water and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, mix water, milk and granulated sugar and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add in cocoa powder, vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, rum essence and stir to combine. Add butter and continue cooking until butter melts. Remove from heat and pour over the biscuits, mixing until well combined. Drain water and add raisins, Turkish delight and walnuts to biscuit mixture. Cover bowl and transfer to fridge for about 2 hours.
Sprinkle biscuit flour onto plastic wrap and transfer half of the biscuit mixture over it. Start rolling with your hands and using the plastic wrap, giving the mixture the shape of a salami. While you do that, press mixture so that you do not leave any air pockets. Secure ends with kitchen twine and transfer to fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
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