The Dubai chocolate bar is a phyllo/tahini/pistachio stuffed confection that has taken the internet by storm. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the chocolate bar comes from Dubai (as you may have guessed) and is made by Fix Dessert Chocolatier. It has gained popularity due to its exclusivity, price, and the fact that it’s a beautiful-looking chocolate bar. Considering the ingredients, it seems to me it can’t help but be delicious.
However, the one drawback is that it can only be purchased in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the hefty price of $18 per bar. Although pricier than other chocolates for sure, each bar features an abstract design painted on it, has the shine you get from properly tempered chocolate, and delivers an array of different textures and flavors. Snappy, crunchy, creamy, sweet, nutty, and roasty, with a little bitterness from the tahini, this confection offers a unique combination of flavors for a chocolate bar.
Since it’s so difficult to get (and few have the time or budget to travel to Dubai for a chocolate bar), many have attempted to make it at home—so here we are!
There are various versions of the Dubai chocolate bar, but the one we’ll be making here is filled with kataifi (shredded phyllo dough), pistachio cream, and tahini, all encased in a dark chocolate shell. At Fix Dessert Chocolatier, they call this one “Can’t Get Knefeh It” (i.e., “can’t get enough of it”) after Knefeh, a delicious Middle Eastern dessert that I made in this video. The dessert is made with kataifi, butter, and flavored syrups, so this candy bar is inspired by that.
How Does It Taste?
This homemade Dubai chocolate bar is delicious. The dark chocolate exterior is rich, the pistachio flavor is subtle, and the kataifi is buttery. The tahini, on the other hand, is more pronounced than the pistachio, giving it a nutty, toasty earthiness — creating a very nice chocolate bar overall. However, I must say the texture is the star of the show for me. The combination of snappy chocolate shell, crunchy kataifi, and oozy pistachio/tahini makes for an amazing textural complexity in the mouth.
Dubai Chocolate Bar
Equipment
- 1 silicone chocolate mold slick type, not matte
Ingredients
- ½ box kataifi makes 1 cup when toasted
- 3 pats butter, or ghee
- ½ cup pistachio cream Pisti brand
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1/4 cup white vanilla melting wafers Ghirardelli
- food coloring (optional) or edible gold leaf
- 10 oz dark chocolate wafers Ghirardelli
Instructions
- Cut the kataifi into quarter-inch pieces to make it easier to toast.
- Add a few pats of butter to a medium frying pan over medium heat.
- Once the butter melts, add the kataifi and toast until crunchy and golden brown.
- Combine cooled toasted kataifi with the pistachio cream and tahini in a large bowl. Stir until well combined.
- Transfer the white chocolate melts to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. This will take about 1 minute. You can also melt the chocolate using a double boiler.
- Dab the mixture into the silicone mold. If you wish to skip the white chocolate, add bits of gold leaf to the mold.
- Refrigerate to set the chocolate.
- Using the same method, melt the dark chocolate until runny.
- Pour the dark chocolate over the swirled white chocolate (or gold leaf). Use enough to cover the entire bottom and sides of each mold cavity. Don’t move it around too much, or you’ll disturb the chocolate underneath.
- Swiftly tap the mold on the counter to work out any air bubbles, then refrigerate until set. The chocolate shouldn’t be too hot here, or it will run off the sides and pool at the bottom.
- Once the chocolate is set, add the filling, leaving a tiny bit of space around the perimeter so that when you add more chocolate, it will run along the sides and reinforce them to improve structure.
- Pour the remaining dark chocolate over the filling. Smooth it to cover the filling completely, then swiftly tap the filled mold on the countertop to work out air bubbles.
- Return to the fridge for an hour to set.
- Unmold and enjoy.
