Make the viral Dubai Chocolate Bar at home. Rich and creamy chocolate bar with a crunchy pistachio cream filling, the perfect sweet treat! This recipe also has 3 other variations of chocolate bars.
Can’t get enough of this viral Dubai chocolate?! Try the Dubai chocolate strawberries or my Chocolate Pastries that were inspired by this chocolate bar.
DUBAI CHOCOLATE BAR
Indulge in the viral luxurious Dubai chocolate bar by making it at home! This rich and creamy chocolate bar is loaded with a crunchy pistachio cream that has taken the internet by surprise. Make this simple chocolate bar at home for a sweet treat, a gift or for your next gathering! This homemade Dubai chocolate bar will have you stop buying chocolate bars all together!
WHAT IS DUBAI CHOCOLATE
Dubai chocolate is a chocolate bar that went viral on social media. The chocolate bar is filled with a unique filling made with kataifi, pistachio cream, and tahini. This chocolate candy bar is also known as Pistachio Knafeh chocolate bar and is only sold in some stores.
DUBAI CHOCOLATE INGREDIENTS
- Chocolate– The key to making these chocolate bars without any problems is to use a high-quality chocolate that melts great! You can make these chocolate bars milk chocolate, dark chocolate or even white chocolate, whichever you prefer. I like to use melting chips for this recipe.
- Pistachio Cream– The signature element of viral Dubai chocolate is its rich pistachio filling. This recipe uses pistachio butter or cream, as they’re essentially the same. It’s available at some stores, but I ordered mine from Amazon.
- Kataifi– Kataifi, which is just shredded pastry phyllo dough that is popular in Middle Eastern desserts. You can buy it pre-chopped or whole and chop it yourself. Some grocery stores carry it, but I usually get the Alkis brand on Amazon—it comes in a large bag and is already chopped.
- Butter– For toasting the kataifi, adding butter helps give this shredded pastry dough a golden brown! It’s best to use unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, that works too.
- Chocolate Bar Mold– This recipe uses a chocolate bar mold, so that you can achieve a beautiful, perfect chocolate bar. I got mine from Amazon that came with packaging for the bars!
HOW TO MAKE DUBAI CHOCOLATE BAR
With just a few steps, you can have your own homemade Dubai pistachio chocolate bars!
- Melt the chocolate using your preferred method.
- Carefully pour the melted chocolate into the molds and spread it to cover the bottom and sides. Gently tilt and rotate the mold to help the chocolate cover the sides, or you can use a pastry brush to coat the sides. (Be sure not to add too much chocolate—you’ll need to leave room for the filling.)
- Add the mold to the freezer to harden the chocolate.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a skillet, melt butter and then add the chopped kataifi and cook until golden and crispy. (Careful not to burn the shredded pastry.)
- When crispy and golden, remove from heat and add pistachio cream and mix until well combined.
- Remove the mold from the freezer, the chocolate needs to be fully hardened! Add the filling into the molds, using a spatula, be sure to pack the filling in. (Keep in mind you will need to close the chocolate bar with more chocolate, so leave room for it!)
- Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the filling. With a scraper or spatula, gently go over the top to level and remove any excess chocolate. (You might need to reheat the chocolate a little bit if it hardens.)
- Add the mold back to the freezer or fridge until the chocolate bar is fully hardened. Once the chocolate is set, remove from the molds and enjoy!
HOW TO MELT CHOCOLATE
There are several ways to melt chocolate, you just want to be sure not to burn the chocolate. Here are my 3 go-to ways to melt chocolate that are easy and give me no problems!
Stove Top-
- Add water to a saucepan or pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to keep the water at a simmer.
- Place the chocolate chunks or chips into a heat-safe bowl and set the bowl over the pot, ensuring it fits snugly without touching the water.
- As the bowl heats up, the chocolate will begin to melt. Be sure to continuously stir the chocolate, until it is fully melted. Carefully remove the bowl from the pot and use the melted chocolate as desired.
Microwave-
- Add your chocolate chunks or chips into a microwave safe bowl. (Make sure the bowl is fully dry!)
- Microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing every 5-10 seconds, until the chocolate has melted. (Use the melting chocolate option if your microwave has it.)
Fondue Machine-
- If you love chocolate and always find yourself using melted chocolate for recipes, I highly recommend getting a chocolate melter!
FILLING VARIATIONS
Although this recipe is for the popular nutty Dubai chocolate bar, you don’t have to just keep it as a pistachio filling! Have fun with your fillings for a variety of fun chocolate bar flavors! Here are some of my favorite chocolate bar flavors:
- Smores– Swap out the crunchy pistachio filling for marshmallow fluff and a layer of graham crackers for a delicious Smores Chocolate bar!
- Nutella– You can’t go wrong with Nutella! Swap out the pistachio cream for hazelnut spread and mix it in with the toasted Kataifi for the ultimate filling.
- Biscoff– Instead of the pistachio butter/cream, use Biscoff cookie spread and mix in with either the toasted kataifi or crushed Biscoff cookies.
- Peanut Butter– For a Reese’s vibe, use a nut butter like peanut butter or almond butter for the filling. Use crunchy butter or mix it in with the shredded pastry dough.
- Oreo– Use crushed Oreos and cookies and cream spread for a delicious Oreo Chocolate bar!
- Dulce de Leche– Using dulce de leche instead of the pistachio cream might be just as good, if not better! Mix the crunchy kataifi with dulce de leche for a delicious chocolate bar filling.
| You can be creative with your chocolate bar fillings! Swap out the crunch and the creamy spread for a delicious filling idea. Comment Below your favorite filling idea! |
HOW TO DECORATE CHOCOLATE BARS
Although having plain chocolate is totally fine, you can have fun and decorate your chocolate bar! Have the top of the bar decorated with different options!
- Chocolate Drizzle– Using a different color melted chocolate, drizzle the mold with chocolate and allow it to harden. Then continue with the instructions. You can use colored chocolate chips, this is great for theme parties or just for a pop of color.
- Crushed Nuts– Add some crushed pistachios into the molds before pouring in the melted chocolate. You can also add the crushed nuts on the bottom, just sprinkle on top of the melted chocolate, gently press down and then allow the chocolate to harden.
- Gold– Use edible gold dust and add it to the bottom of the molds, before adding the chocolate!
- Dried Fruit– For a Dubai chocolate strawberries effect, add freeze-fried crushed strawberries or raspberries for a fruit kick to your chocolate bar!
- Spray– Use an edible decorating spray and once the chocolate bars are set, remove from the molds and top with colorful spray.
- Sprinkles– Add colored sprinkles on the bottom of the mold before the chocolate for a fun décor idea! This is great for birthday party favors.
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
You can use your favorite chocolate bar or chocolate chips! I find that Aldi chocolate chips melt great and the Lindt chocolate bars are great. I also prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate, so I always make my bars with dark chocolate.
Yes, some recipes use tahini in the pistachio filling to balance out the sweetness. While it’s commonly used in many versions of this recipe, it’s completely optional!
You want to be sure you add the bars into bags or an airtight container. Store them in a cool area or for best results in the fridge.
For the best results, enjoy these bars fresh! But they will keep their crunch when stored in an airtight bag or container in the fridge for 7-10 days.
These chocolate bars freeze great! Place them in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months!
Yes! If you don’t want to spend money on a chocolate mold, no worries! Use a 9 by 9 baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
You can totally make different shapes of chocolate bars, either mini bars, Reese’s cup style, or even personalized chocolate bars.
This usually happens when you overheat the chocolate or it was exposed to moisture. Be sure to slowly melt the chocolate to avoid burning.
OTHER DELICIOUS DESSERT IDEAS-
If you have a huge, sweet tooth, check out some other delicious and easy dessert recipes:
Dubai Chocolate Bar Recipe
Equipment
- chocolate bar mold 3, 11.1×7.1x.85 chocolate bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups high-quality melting chocolate dark or milk
- crushed pistachio optional topping
Pistachio Filling-
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cup chopped kataifi pastry dough
- 1 1/4 cup pistachio cream
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate using the microwave method or the double boiler method.
- Carefully pour the melted chocolate into your molds, spreading it to cover the bottom and sides. You can gently tilt and rotate the mold to help the chocolate coat the sides evenly or use a pastry brush for more control. (Avoid adding too much chocolate—you’ll need room for the filling.)
- Add the mold to the freeze to set the chocolate, for about 10 minutes.
- In a skillet, melt the butter on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the chopped kataifi to the skillet and cook until golden. (Careful not to burn the shredded pastry.)
- Once toasted, remove from the heat and add the pistachio cream and mix until well combined.
- Remove the mold from the freezer, the chocolate needs to be fully hardened! Add the filling into the molds, using a spatula, be sure to pack the filling in. (Keep in mind you will need to close the chocolate bar with more chocolate, so leave room for it!)
- Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the filling. With a scraper or spatula, gently go over the top to level and remove any excess chocolate. (If the chocolate has begun to set, gently reheat it to soften.)
- Return the molds to the freezer or fridge until the chocolate bars are fully set. Once hardened, carefully remove them from the molds and enjoy!
Notes
- 1/2 cup chopped kataifi pastry dough
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup dulce de leche
- 1/2 cup chopped kataifi pastry dough
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup Nutella hazelnut spread
- 1/3 cup marshmallow fluff
- 1 graham cracker
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