Chocolate Biscuit Balls
These chocolate biscuit balls are so moreish and the absolute perfect afternoon snack. Crunchy, chocolatey, filled with nuts and dried fruit, topped with flaky salt. They are so intense and delicious with a cup of coffee or tea.
This recipe is based on a dessert I used to love in Italy. It is called “salami al cioccolato” and it was shaped and cut to resemble, you guessed it, a salami. A biscuit base combined with a delicious chocolate syrup is shaped as a log and chilled. It keeps a long time in the fridge and it’s so easy to sneak a slice or two with your cup of coffee.
I figured the only thing that could make it better would be to coat this in chocolate. A whole “salami” would have been quite challenging so I figured making them bite sized would make things easier. Adding chopped pistachios and apricots adds layers to the texture, while the sprinkle of flaky sea salt rounds up the flavours so nicely.
It’s easy to swap the dried fruit and nuts with whatever you fancy: figs, sour cherries, blueberries, cashew nuts, walnuts all work really well here. If you want to, you can skip the rum and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead. Personally, I love the flavour it imparts to the dessert.
I am giving an easy method for tempering chocolate for the coating. This will give the end result its beautiful, shiny, crisp look. Should you not feel like it, roll the biscuit balls in icing sugar or cocoa powder. They will still be incredibly delicious!
Ingredients (makes about 15 golf sized chocolate balls)
160g plain petit beurre biscuits (for me it was 1 pack)
70g butter
70ml whole milk
60g sugar
20ml rum
1 tbsp cocoa powder
60-80g pistachios, toasted and chopped
60-80g dried apricots, chopped
For the chocolate coating:
300g finely chopped dark chocolate (I used 64%), divided 200-100
1 tsp coconut oil (optional)
Note that the base needs to chill overnight in the fridge, 1 hour after the chocolate balls have been formed and another hour or so after being dipped in chocolate.
Start by crushing the biscuits in a large bowl. Use your hands and don’t worry about the bits being different sizes. Set aside.
In a pan set over medium heat add the butter, milk, sugar and cocoa powder. Mix well until they combine and form a syrup. Add the rum.
Pour the chocolate syrup over the biscuits. Stir until well combined. Add the chopped pistachios and dried apricots and give it one more good mix.
Let the mixture chill for 4 hours or ideally, overnight.
Scoop golf ball sized bits of mixture and quickly shape them into little spheres of deliciousness. Place on a tray lined with parchment paper. Chill for another 1-2 hours.
At this point you could easily coat the balls in cocoa powder and sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt. Should you wish to coat them in chocolate though, here is an easy way to temper it so that it gets shiny and crisp.
Prepare the chocolate coating. Gently melt 200g of the chocolate in a medium bowl over a pot of boiling water. Optionally , add the teaspoon of coconut oil (this will kind of foolproof the tempering process).
Take the bowl off the heat and add the remaining 100g of finely chopped chocolate.
Mix well until the “seed” chocolate is melted s well and the chocolate reaches about 32 degrees C. It should feel slightly less than body temperature to the touch.
Dip the chilled biscuit balls in the chocolate and place them back on the parchment paper. Quickly sprinkle with the salt.
Chill another 30 minutes or so - as the chocolate is tempered it should become crisp and shiny.
These are now ready to serve. I love them as an intense end to a meal or a delicious afternoon pick me up.
Do let me know if you make them and don’t hesitate to leave a comment!