Homemade Dubai Chocolate with Sicilian Pistachio Cream

Dubai chocolate is the most viral bar of recent years: chocolate that snaps, a pistachio-cream filling and the unmistakable crunch of kataifi pastry. The good news is that it's easy to make at home — and one thing makes the difference: the quality of the pistachio cream.

Ingredients for one bar

• 200 g chocolate (dark or milk, good quality)
• 150 g Sicilian pistachio cream
• 100 g kataifi pastry (the fine dough strands, also called “angel hair”)
• 25 g butter
• One teaspoon of tahini (optional, for a deeper note)

Method

Break up the kataifi and toast it in a pan with the butter over medium heat, stirring, until golden and crunchy: 5–7 minutes. Let it cool, then fold it into the pistachio cream (and the tahini, if using). It should stay crunchy but well combined.

Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave in short bursts. Pour half into a mould (a loaf tin or bar mould works well) and spread it over the base and sides. Chill for a few minutes to set.

Fill with the pistachio-kataifi mixture, level it, then cover with the remaining chocolate. Tap the mould on the counter to remove air bubbles and chill for at least 1 hour, until solid. Turn out and snap: the “crack” is part of the show.

Which pistachio cream to use

This is where it's won or lost. For a rich, spreadable filling our 60% Suprema is ideal; for an even more intense, sugar-free taste, the 100% version. Steer clear of the 5–8% supermarket creams: in Dubai chocolate the pistachio has to come through. More on that right next door.

Read also: 100%, 60% or 30%: which pistachio cream to choose