When I was a kid, my mother used to make salame dolce quite often: it was usually filled with homemade jam or Nutella, and just a dusting of icing sugar to make it prettier. It was, hands down, one of my favorite treats. In much more recent times, back at the beginning of the summer, my neighbor offered me a slice of her own version of it with my coffee: fresh strawberries and cream.
This is to say that salame dolce has been a very consistent sweet companion of my afternoons for time immemorial, but also that it’s an incredibly versatile dessert, as you can fill it with pretty much whatever strikes your fancy. Little did I know, however, that my fellow country women and men in central Italy had a version of it with a very peculiar name, where the key ingredient is the most quintessential of all dessert liqueurs, alchermes. I’m talking about the salame del re.
Salame del re and salame dolce: they are both shaped like salami, they are both rolled and filled, they both come with a liqueur layer (not compulsory for the salame dolce), and they are both popular and relatively simple to prepare. Yet, they are not the same!
The salame del re, or “the king’s salami,” is traditionally associated with the regions of Lazio, Umbria, and Tuscany, and is known for its rich flavors and elegant presentation. Food historians think that the first version of it was made in the 17th century, a time when Italian cuisine was deeply influenced by the opulence of the courts and the culinary traditions of the aristocracy. Likely, salame del re emerged in the kitchens of noble families, where it was made on special occasions to show the wealth and creativity of the household. Over time, the cake spread beyond the courts and became popular among the rural communities of Central Italy. In Tuscany, more specifically in the city of Arezzo, salame del re is known as gattò all’Aretina.
The King’s salami, as we said, has a very close relative, popular in every corner of Italy: the already-mentioned salame dolce, or sweet salami. What differentiates them is the stricter selection of ingredients for the first, which must be made with alchermes and biscuit cake only.
But if the recipe for salame del re is set in stone, salame dolce can be adapted to one’s taste and creativity quite easily. It can be made with both sponge cake and biscuit cake, and there is more freedom about the type of liqueur to use, with popular choices being — beside alchermes — rum and marsala. However, you can omit liqueur altogether if you want, and just use a sugar syrup instead.
A recipe to make salame del re
The recipe below was originally featured in a recent issue of La Cucina Italiana and authored by Mariella Caruso, who emphasized in her interesting article the historical and cultural significance of salame del re in the regions where it is traditionally enjoyed.
Ingredients for 8 people:
For the roll
- 120 g granulated sugar (about 1/2 cup)
- 75 g all-purpose flour (00 flour) (about 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon)
- 50 g cornstarch (about 1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon)
- 8 g baking powder (about 1 3/4 teaspoons)
- 3 eggs
- Grated zest of 1 organic lemon
- 1 pinch of salt
- Powdered sugar, as needed
For the Alchermes syrup
- 100 ml Alchermes liqueur (about 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon)
- 50 ml water (about 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)
For the pastry cream
- 500 ml whole fresh milk (about 2 cups + 2 tablespoons)
- 150 g granulated sugar (about 3/4 cup)
- 25 g cornstarch (about 3 tablespoons)
- 4 egg yolks
- Zest of 1 organic lemon
Instructions:
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the yolks with 3 tablespoons of boiling water, 80 g of granulated sugar taken from the total amount, the pinch of salt, and the grated lemon zest. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until very stiff, then add the remaining granulated sugar.
- Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture, then sift in the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Incorporate everything with gentle movements, lifting from the bottom to the top. Line a baking tray (30cm x 40cm) with parchment paper and pour the mixture on top. Bake in the middle of a preheated oven at 190°C (375°F) in static mode for about 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle a kitchen towel with powdered sugar. Remove the base for the roll from the oven and gently flip it onto the towel. Carefully peel off the parchment paper, roll the cake up in the towel, and let it cool completely.
- Make the pastry cream. In a saucepan, pour the milk and add the lemon peel, then heat it up. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar with the cornstarch and egg yolks until well combined. When the milk is very hot and almost boiling, remove the lemon peel and pour the milk into the bowl with the yolk mixture. Stir, then return the mixture to the heat and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, transfer the cream to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap in contact with the surface, and let it cool completely.
- In a separate bowl, mix the alchermes and water for the soaking syrup.
- To assemble the salame del re, unroll the cooled cake and brush the inside of it with the alchermes syrup. Spread a generous layer of pastry cream over it, then roll the cake up again and brush the outside with more alchermes syrup. Before serving the “Salame del Re,” sprinkle the surface with powdered sugar as desired.
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