Easy Desserts

Dubai Chocolate Bar

Name: Dubai Chocolate Bar
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: One 5.6 × 10 inch bar; slice count varies
Ingredients: 140 g kataifi pastry; 18 g butter; 150 g pistachio cream; 50 g tahini; 30 g white chocolate; 230 g dark chocolate

A dark chocolate shell filled with crisp butter-toasted kataifi, pistachio cream, and tahini, finished with a white chocolate pattern.

By PedroPublished August 24, 2026 · Updated September 14, 2026

MakesOne 5.6 × 10 inch bar; slice count varies

Time1 h 30 min

Estimated total time. This covers the full recipe from start to finish, including preparation and any resting, chilling, baking, or cooling. Some of that time is hands-off.

DifficultyMedium

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Dark chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and crisp kataifi

If you’ve been curious about the green filling inside Dubai chocolate, the crisp strands are kataifi pastry. That crunch is what interests me about this bar. You get a firm dark chocolate shell, then a thick pistachio filling with the toasted pastry running through it.

I like being able to see those strands in a cut piece, rather than having a completely smooth center. The white chocolate pattern on the outside is a nice extra, but the pistachio and kataifi are the reason I’d make it. Set aside some time for this one; there are several short freezes between the layers, so it’s more of a chocolate-making project than a dessert to eat right away.

Ingredients for Dubai Chocolate Bar

I use dark chocolate for the shell and a little white chocolate for decoration. The center combines chopped kataifi, butter, pistachio cream, and tahini; the mold used here is approximately 5.6 × 10 inches.

Kataifi, butter, pistachio cream, tahini, white chocolate, and dark chocolate arranged in bowls — The ingredients for the kataifi filling and the two chocolate layers.

140 g kataifi pastry
18 g butter
150 g pistachio cream
50 g tahini
30 g white chocolate
230 g dark chocolate

From my kitchen

Watch me make Dubai Chocolate Bar

See the recipe come together, then follow the written steps below.

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How to Make Dubai Chocolate Bar

Clear freezer space before you start, because the mold goes in and out four times. Nothing here is difficult, but the sequence works best when the freezer shelf is already free.

Shorten the kataifi

Chop the kataifi pastry with a knife to shorten the strands.

Kataifi pastry being chopped into shorter strands on a wooden board — Chopping the kataifi makes the strands easier to toast and spread inside the mold.

Toast the kataifi

Melt the butter in a pan, add the chopped kataifi, and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Stir often until the strands are evenly golden and crisp.

Golden toasted kataifi strands in a frying pan — The kataifi after toasting in butter until evenly golden.

Mix the filling

Transfer the toasted kataifi to a bowl and let it cool. Add the pistachio cream and tahini, then mix until the filling is smooth and compact. Set it aside.

Toasted kataifi mixed with pistachio cream and tahini in a glass bowl — The cooled kataifi mixed into a compact pistachio and tahini filling.

Make the pattern

Melt the white chocolate over a bain-marie. Drizzle it across the bottom of the mold in irregular lines or patterns, then freeze the mold for about 5 minutes.

White chocolate drizzled in irregular lines across a chocolate bar mold — The white chocolate pattern goes into the mold before the dark chocolate shell.

Coat the mold

Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate until smooth with no solid pieces remaining. Pour some into the mold and tilt it until the bottom and sides are evenly coated. Turn the mold upside down over the chocolate bowl and tap it gently so the excess runs out, then freeze the shell for about 10 minutes.

Dark chocolate coating the bottom and sides of a rectangular mold — The set dark chocolate forms the bottom and sides of the shell.

Add the filling

Spoon the kataifi and pistachio filling into the set chocolate shell. Press it down gently with a spatula and level the top, leaving a little space around the edges. Freeze for another 10 minutes.

Pistachio kataifi filling being spread inside a dark chocolate shell — The filling is pressed gently into the shell while leaving room for the final chocolate layer.

Seal the bar

Briefly remelt the remaining dark chocolate if it has started to set. Pour it over the filling and spread it evenly with a spatula so the surface is completely covered and the bar is sealed.

Dark chocolate being spread over pistachio kataifi filling in a mold — The remaining dark chocolate is spread over the filling to seal the bar.

Set and unmold

Freeze the mold for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chocolate is fully set. Gently press along the sides of the mold to release the bar, then let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes before slicing.

Unmolded Dubai chocolate bar cut into rectangular pieces — The fully set bar after unmolding and slicing.

Tips that make a difference

Stir the kataifi often over medium-low heat so the thin strands turn evenly golden without catching in the pan.
Let the toasted kataifi cool before adding the pistachio cream and tahini so the filling comes together as intended.
Tilt the mold in several directions while the dark chocolate is fluid so both the bottom and the sides receive an even coating.
Leave a little room around the filling so the final dark chocolate layer can reach the shell and seal the bar.

Let the set bar stand for a few minutes before slicing, and use a sharp knife. I like a cut piece that shows the toasted kataifi inside the pistachio filling, with a clear layer of dark chocolate around it.

The Finished Chocolate Bar

I wait until the chocolate is completely firm before unmolding it. When I cut the bar, I look for a clean dark shell around a compact pistachio layer, with the toasted kataifi still visible through the center. A sharp knife and a fully chilled bar make those layers much easier to show.

Hand holding a cut piece of Dubai chocolate to show the pistachio kataifi center — The cross-section shows the crisp kataifi held inside the pistachio filling.

Cut Dubai chocolate pieces arranged on a white plate — Cut the fully set bar into pieces only after the shell feels firm.

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