Salame del Re Umbro

Salame del Re Umbro is one of the area’s best known desserts and a very popular treat in Umbria, especially Perugia. Its roots go back in time, although no one really knows for sure when it was first made. It is thought to have come about first in Umbria, then spread north into Arezzo, but in Tuscany they believe it was the other way around! It’s very popular around Lake Trasimeno, where I was born and raised, and is baked by many mothers and grandmothers for special occasions or important festivities. Everyone has their own personal version, their own family recipe. In a nutshell, it is a bisquit, a dough made of flour, sugar and eggs, soaked in Alchermes, filled with pastry cream and chocolate cream, and then topped with a dusting of cocoa powder. It’s a simple and delicious dessert that you can easily make at home. I will share my professional recipe with you so that the outcome is guaranteed! Enjoy it!

Recipe by Marco Giudizio, pastry cook – PG

Ingredients

For the bisquit (roll): 250g of eggs (whole), 100g caster sugar, 120g flour (type 00, sifted).

For the lemon pastry cream: 200ml of fresh cream, 300g of milk, 3 whole eggs, 30g corn starch (maizena), grated lemon peel, a pinch of vanilla powder, 130g caster sugar.

For the chocolate cream: divide the pastry cream you’ve made into two equal parts and while it is still warm add the 100g of quality grated dark chocolate to one of the halves.

For the soaking liquid: 100ml of quality Alchermes diluted with 50ml water.

For the final dusting: 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar

Preparation

To make the roll (bisquit): Beat the egg with the sugar until you have a thick, clear foam. Gradually fold in the sifted flour in an upwards motion. Spread the mixture on oven paper in a baking dish. It  should be about 0.5cm deep. Bake for more or less 9 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C. Let it cool and then turn it upside-down to remove the paper, then wrap it in a clean, slightly moist dishcloth.
To make the cream: warm fresh cooking cream with the milk and the lemon zest in a non-stick pan. Put the cornstarch, vanilla powder, sugar and egg in a bowl and whip until completely smooth. Add the warmed cream and milk mixture gradually (in three steps) and blend it well with a whip. Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook until thick. Divide the cream in two equal parts and add the grated dark chocolate to one of them. Chill the creams and cover with film.

Brush the Alchermes onto the surface, then spread the cream on it, followed by the chocolate cream over the entire surface to get another layer.  Using a clean kitchen cloth, gently roll the biscuit into a proper roll and place it in the freezer for an hour. Dust it with the powdered sugar and delicately place it on the serving dish. Keep cool in the fridge.