Dubai Chocolate Recipe: Make the Viral Bar at Home (From a Shop That’s Been Doing Chocolate Since 1972)

You already know the video.

Someone picks up a thick chocolate bar. They grip both ends. The snap happens — a clean, audible crack that hits different through phone speakers. And then the camera finds it: threads of golden, butter-toasted pastry stretching between the two halves, tangled up in a thick, almost obscene pull of bright green pistachio cream. It oozes. It stretches. It holds on. The internet collectively loses its mind.

That’s Dubai chocolate. And in 2024, it broke the food side of TikTok wide open.

We watched it happen from behind our counter in Culver City. Customers started coming in — first a few, then a wave — asking for chocolate molds, pistachio paste, coating wafers. “I’m making the Dubai chocolate,” they’d say. Every single time.

Here’s the thing: we’ve been selling the supplies to make this since before the internet existed. Merckens coating wafers, chocolate molds, candy thermometers — these have been on our shelves since Gloria opened this shop in 1972. The trend is new. The craft isn’t.

So let us give you the recipe that actually works. Not the one with a voiceover and a ring light. The one with the right temperatures, the right chocolate, and fifty years of “trust us on this one.”

Quick Recipe Overview

Dubai Chocolate Bars Yield: 6–8 bars | Active time: 30 minutes | Set time: 20 minutes

Shell: 1 lb Merckens Cocoa Lite wafers (milk) or Merckens Coca Dark Filling: 6 oz kataifi pastry · 3 tbsp unsalted butter · 1 cup pistachio paste · 2 tbsp tahini · ¼ tsp kosher salt

Melt chocolate to 115–120°F. Coat molds. Toast kataifi in butter until deep golden. Mix with pistachio paste, tahini, and salt. Fill molds. Cap with chocolate. Refrigerate 15–20 minutes. Unmold. Try not to eat all of them standing over the counter.

What Is Dubai Chocolate? (The Real Story, Not the TikTok Version)

Dubai chocolate is a chocolate bar filled with knafeh — shredded phyllo pastry toasted in butter — and pistachio cream, created by Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai. That’s the definitive answer. Not “a trending chocolate treat” or “a viral sensation.” It’s a specific bar from a specific shop.

Here’s how it actually happened.

Sarah Hamouda — British-Egyptian, living in Dubai — founded Fix Dessert Chocolatier and created the bar in 2021. She was pregnant. She was craving knafeh (the Middle Eastern dessert made with kadayif pastry, sweet cheese, and syrup) and pistachio. She put the two together inside a chocolate shell, called it “Can’t Get Knafeh of It,” and sold it locally to a loyal following.

For three years, it was a Dubai thing. A local obsession. Tourists would bring bars home in their carry-ons.

Then in early 2024, food creator Maria Vehera filmed herself snapping one open on TikTok. The ASMR crack. The slow, almost elastic pull of green pistachio filling tangled with golden threads of toasted pastry. That video got tens of millions of views. Fix sold out overnight. They couldn’t restock fast enough.

Within weeks, every chocolatier, home baker, and content creator on earth was trying to reverse-engineer it. Knockoffs appeared in every country. Dubai chocolate became the most-searched food trend of the year.

We know this because our phone started ringing.

“Do you carry chocolate molds?” Yes. “Do you have coating chocolate?” Yes — we have since 1972. “What about pistachio stuff?” We have emulsion right here.

The same supplies we’ve been stocking for decades suddenly had a TikTok backstory. We weren’t surprised by the trend. We were surprised it took this long for people to realize how satisfying chocolate work is.

Why This Isn’t as Hard as It Looks

Most people watching the videos think: I could never make that.

You can. Here’s why.

The reason Dubai chocolate looks professional is the mold, not the technique. You pour chocolate into a mold, it looks like a professional made it. That’s the whole trick. The filling is just toasting pastry and stirring it into pistachio paste. No piping, no layering, no decorating skills required.

The other reason it’s doable at home: coating chocolate doesn’t need tempering.

This is the insider knowledge that saves you. Real chocolate — couverture, the kind with cocoa butter — needs tempering. That means heating it to 115°F, cooling it to 82°F on a marble slab, then reheating to exactly 88–90°F. If you’re off by two degrees, you get dull, streaky chocolate that melts in your hand. Tempering is a skill. It takes practice.

Merckens coating wafers skip all of that. They use vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter, which means they set firm, snap clean, and release from molds beautifully — every single time. No marble slab. No seed method. No anxiety. Melt to 115–120°F, pour, done.

This is why we recommend them for home Dubai chocolate. Not because they’re cheaper (though they are). Because they’re reliable. After 50+ years of selling to home candy makers, we can tell you: the number one reason people give up on chocolate work is a bad tempering experience. Merckens removes that variable entirely.

One LA-specific note: Humidity matters. If you’re making these on a muggy day (rare in LA, but it happens), your chocolate can sweat when it comes out of the fridge. The fix: let your molds and your chocolate come to room temperature in the same space before you start. Cold molds + warm air = condensation = dull finish. Your Culver City kitchen is usually dry enough, but on those weird coastal moisture days, give the bars an extra five minutes at room temp before unmolding.

What You’ll Need

Equipment

• Chocolate bar molds — deep rectangular cavities. We carry several styles. The ones with clean, geometric lines give you that polished, Fix-Chocolatier look. Ask us which ones are in stock — they’ve been moving fast since this trend hit.
• Candy thermometer — non-negotiable. “I eyeballed the temp” is the first line of every chocolate horror story we hear in the shop.
• Medium saucepan or microwave-safe bowl
• Skillet (for the kataifi — cast iron is perfect)
• Offset spatula or bench scraper for leveling

Ingredients

For the chocolate shell: - 1 lb Merckens Cocoa Lite coating wafers — milk chocolate, classic Dubai bar look, smooth and creamy - OR 1 lb Merckens Coca Dark coating wafers — bittersweet, more intense, pairs beautifully with the sweet pistachio filling

For the filling: - 6 oz (about 2 cups loosely packed) kataifi pastry — also sold as kadayif or shredded filo/phyllo. Middle Eastern grocery stores always have it. In LA, you’re never far from one. - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter - 1 cup (8 oz) pistachio paste or pistachio cream - 2 tablespoons tahini (this is the secret depth — don’t skip it) - ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Optional upgrades: - 1 teaspoon rose water — adds a floral whisper that takes the filling from “good” to “wait, what is THAT?” - A handful of white sesame seeds, toasted with the kataifi - A few drops of pistachio bakery emulsion — if your pistachio paste is mild, this amplifies the flavor without changing the texture. We keep it in stock for exactly this kind of situation.

The Recipe, Step by Step

Step 1: Toast the Kataifi Until It Sounds Like It’s Talking to You

This is the step that makes or breaks everything. The crunch. The ASMR. The entire reason people share this video instead of scrolling past. It all comes down to how far you push the kataifi.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the kataifi pastry — right now it looks like a pale, tangled mess of raw pasta threads. Break it up with your hands before it hits the pan. You don’t want a matted clump; you want loose, individual strands.

Now cook it. Stir constantly. For 8–10 minutes, you’re going to watch it go from white to blonde to golden to — and this is where most people chicken out — a deep, toasty amber. The color of a well-done croissant. Your kitchen will smell like a European bakery having an affair with a Middle Eastern pastry shop.

When it sounds crispy when you stir it — that light, scratchy whisper against the pan — it’s done.

Pull it off the heat. Let it cool completely. Five minutes minimum. If you mix hot kataifi into pistachio cream, the cream melts, the filling turns to soup, and you’ll DM us asking what went wrong. (We know because people have.)

Pro tip from behind the counter: Toast extra. You’ll snack on it. Everyone does. It tastes like buttered, toasted heaven and you’ll eat a third of the batch before it makes it into the filling.

Step 2: Build the Filling

Combine the cooled kataifi, pistachio paste, tahini, and salt in a bowl. Fold it together — not aggressively, just until every strand is coated in that glossy green paste. The texture should be crumbly-sticky. If you grabbed a fistful, it would hold together but crumble apart when you bit into it. That’s the target.

Too loose? Another spoonful of pistachio paste. Too stiff? A teaspoon of neutral oil.

Now taste it. Seriously — stick a spoon in there. It should be nutty, a little earthy from the tahini, just salty enough to make the sweetness interesting. If it tastes flat, it needs more salt. If it tastes one-note, a few drops of pistachio emulsion will wake it up.

This is the filling that people will see when they snap the bar. This is the money shot. Get it right.

Step 3: Melt the Chocolate (Not Nuke It)

Pour your Merckens wafers into a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave method: 30 seconds. Stir. 30 seconds. Stir. 15 seconds. Stir. You’re looking for 115–120°F on your thermometer. The wafers will hold their shape even when they’re melted — don’t trust your eyes. Trust the thermometer and the stir. When it moves like warm honey, you’re there.

Double boiler method: Inch of simmering water in a pot, bowl on top. The bowl should NOT touch the water. Stir until smooth, 115–120°F.

The one rule: Never go above 130°F. Overheated coating chocolate gets thick, grainy, and refuses to set properly. If it seizes, it’s because water got in. One drop. One splash from the double boiler. One wet spoon. That’s all it takes. Dry everything first.

Step 4: Paint the Shells

Pour about 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate into each mold cavity. Now tilt. Rotate. Roll the chocolate up the sides until you have an even shell about 3–4mm thick. You’re building a cup — a little chocolate house for the filling to live in.

Tap the mold on the counter — firmly, twice — to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Scrape the top edges clean with an offset spatula.

Refrigerate 5–7 minutes. When the shell is firm and has gone from glossy-wet to matte-opaque, it’s set.

Step 5: Fill Them Generously (But Not Greedily)

Spoon the pistachio-kataifi filling into each chocolate shell. Press it down with the back of the spoon — you want it packed, not airy. Air pockets mean the filling shifts when you unmold, and you get an uneven snap.

Leave 4–5mm of space at the top. This is for the cap. If you fill to the brim, the cap layer will be paper-thin and crack when you try to unmold. Self-control. You can do it.

Step 6: Cap and Seal

Pour melted chocolate over the filling. Spread level with the offset spatula. The cap should completely cover the filling with no pastry threads poking through — those threads will wick moisture and compromise the crunch.

One more tap on the counter.

Refrigerate 15–20 minutes.

Step 7: The Moment

Flip the mold over. Press gently from behind each cavity. If you did everything right, they’ll release with a soft pop. The bottoms (now tops) will be glossy and smooth. They’ll feel solid in your hand. They’ll have weight.

Pick one up. Grip both ends.

Snap.

You’ll hear it. That clean, satisfying crack. And inside — the golden threads of toasted kataifi tangled through bright green pistachio cream, just barely stretching between the two halves.

That’s the shot. That’s the one for your group chat with “we’re making these this weekend.”

Four Variations That Are Worth Your Time

1. Dark Chocolate Dubai Bars

Swap the Cocoa Lite for Merckens Coca Dark wafers. The bittersweet shell against the sweet pistachio filling creates this beautiful tension — like a really good espresso with a pastry. More grown-up. Stunning in a gift box. We’ve had customers make these for holiday gifting and come back saying people thought they bought them from a boutique chocolatier.

2. White Chocolate + Matcha

Use Merckens white coating wafers for the shell and fold 1 teaspoon of matcha powder into the pistachio filling. Green on green on green. Visually unreal. The bitter matcha cuts through the sweetness of the white chocolate and the pistachio cream in a way that makes you take a second bite before you’ve finished chewing the first. If you can find ceremonial-grade matcha at a Japanese market in LA (and you can — we’re spoiled for options here), the flavor difference is worth the splurge.

3. Hazelnut-Tahini

Replace half the pistachio paste with hazelnut cream (straight hazelnut paste, not Nutella — though we won’t judge). Keep the tahini. The filling becomes richer, more universal, and deeply nutty. This is the version for the friend who says “I don’t really like pistachio.” They’ll eat three and stop saying that.

4. No-Mold Sheet Bark (For Tonight)

No molds? No problem. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Pour a thin layer of melted chocolate. Refrigerate 5 minutes. Spread the filling on top — spread it thick, be generous. Pour another chocolate layer over everything. Refrigerate until solid. Break into jagged, beautiful pieces.

Same flavors. Same crunch. Same filling ooze. You just trade the clean bar silhouette for something more rustic — which honestly photographs better on a plate anyway. Make the bark tonight, order the molds for next time.

Troubleshooting (We’ve Heard It All)

“The filling lost its crunch.” Two possible culprits. One: the kataifi wasn’t toasted dark enough. Pale kataifi = soggy kataifi. Two: you mixed it warm. Cool it completely before it touches the pistachio paste. Once the filling is assembled, the clock starts — the pastry stays crunchy for about 24 hours before it absorbs moisture. Fill, cap, and set the bars the same day you make the filling.

“The chocolate looks streaky or dull.” With coating chocolate, this usually means the molds were cold. Cold molds cause condensation when the warm chocolate hits them, and that moisture creates bloom (those chalky white streaks). Keep your molds at room temperature. In fact, everything should be room temp before you start — molds, spatulas, your working surface.

“The bars won’t come out of the mold.” They’re not done. Give them more time. Don’t force it. Also check your shell thickness — too thin and it flexes instead of releasing. 3–4mm minimum. Patience is a chocolate skill.

“The chocolate seized into a thick clump.” Water. Even a single drop of moisture turns melted chocolate into a grainy, unworkable paste. Dry everything before it touches the chocolate. If it already happened, you can sometimes save it by adding a tablespoon of vegetable oil and stirring aggressively — but prevention is easier than rescue.

“The filling fell out when I unmolded.” Your cap layer was too thin. The cap is structural — it’s the floor of the bar when you flip the mold. It needs to be thick enough to hold everything in. Cover the filling completely, make sure no pastry threads are poking through, and let it set fully.

Storage

Finished bars keep 3–4 days in an airtight container at room temperature — as long as your kitchen stays below 70°F. Above that, refrigerate them, but always bring them back to room temp for 10–15 minutes before eating. Cold chocolate is muted chocolate. You made these to taste incredible. Let them.

Don’t freeze. The kataifi crunch doesn’t survive a freeze-thaw cycle. That beautiful texture turns sad and chewy.

The filling (before you put it in the molds) keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring it to room temp and re-stir before using.

What You Actually Need (From the Shop That’s Stocked It All for 50 Years)

There’s a lot of noise on TikTok about specialized equipment and hard-to-find ingredients. Here’s what you really need — and what you don’t.

The essentials (we carry all of these): - Merckens coating wafers — milk or dark. The no-temper reliability is the whole reason this recipe is doable at home. - Chocolate bar molds — deep cavities, clean release. We’ve been selling these to candy makers for decades. - Candy thermometer — because “it looks melted” isn’t a temperature. - Pistachio bakery emulsion — the flavor boost that takes homemade from “pretty good” to “wait, you made these?”

What you don’t need: - A marble slab for tempering (coating chocolate doesn’t need tempering) - A professional chocolate melter (microwave works perfectly) - A piping bag (a spoon is fine) - Pistachio paste imported from Dubai (any pistachio paste works — LA has incredible Middle Eastern grocery stores) - Edible gold leaf, silk flowers, or anything from the “aesthetic” aisle of TikTok Shop

The magic isn’t in the props. It’s in the toast on the kataifi, the ratio of paste to tahini, and the temperature of your chocolate. Get those right and the rest is just pouring into a mold.

FAQ

What is Dubai chocolate?

Dubai chocolate is a chocolate bar filled with knafeh (shredded phyllo pastry toasted in butter) and pistachio cream, created by Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai. The original bar, “Can’t Get Knafeh of It,” was created by founder Sarah Hamouda in 2021 and went globally viral in 2024 after a TikTok ASMR video of the bar being snapped open accumulated tens of millions of views.

What chocolate should I use for Dubai chocolate at home?

Coating chocolate — also called compound chocolate — is the best choice for home Dubai chocolate because it sets with a clean snap and glossy finish without tempering. We recommend Merckens Cocoa Lite wafers (milk) or Merckens Coca Dark wafers (dark). If you want to use couverture chocolate (real cocoa butter), you’ll need to temper it: heat to 115°F, cool to 82°F, reheat to 88–90°F for dark chocolate. Coating chocolate skips all of that.

What is kataifi pastry and where do I buy it?

Kataifi (also spelled kadayif or kadaif) is shredded phyllo dough — thin, hair-like strands of pastry used across Middle Eastern, Greek, and Turkish cuisine. You’ll find it in the freezer section of any Middle Eastern grocery store. In Los Angeles, it’s widely available. It’s the same product regardless of spelling. Thaw it before using.

Why is the kataifi filling not crunchy?

The two most common reasons: the kataifi wasn’t toasted long enough (it needs to reach a deep golden-amber color, not just blonde), or it was mixed with pistachio paste while still hot, which melts the cream and softens the pastry. Toast darker than you think you need to. Cool completely before mixing. Once the filling is assembled, use it within 24 hours — after that, moisture from the pistachio paste will soften the strands.

Can I make Dubai chocolate without a mold?

Yes. Make it as bark — pour a thin layer of melted chocolate on parchment-lined sheet pan, refrigerate until set, spread the pistachio-kataifi filling on top, then pour another chocolate layer over everything. Refrigerate until solid, then break into pieces. Same flavors and textures, different shape. Pick up molds for next time if you want the classic bar look.

How long does homemade Dubai chocolate last?

3–4 days in an airtight container at room temperature (below 70°F). The kataifi filling begins to soften after that. Refrigerate in warm weather, but always bring bars to room temperature before eating — cold chocolate tastes flat. Don’t freeze; the kataifi texture won’t survive thawing.

Who invented Dubai chocolate?

Sarah Hamouda, the British-Egyptian founder of Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai. She created the “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” bar in 2021 while pregnant, craving the combination of knafeh and pistachio. It sold locally for three years before going globally viral in early 2024 when TikTok food creator Maria Vehera posted an ASMR video of herself snapping the bar open. The video’s combination of the audible crack and the visual of the pistachio-pastry filling stretching between the halves made it one of the most-shared food moments of the year.

Can I make Dubai chocolate without tahini?

Yes, though tahini adds a subtle earthy depth that balances the sweetness of the pistachio paste. Without it, the filling is sweeter and more one-dimensional. Sunflower seed butter (1–2 teaspoons) works as a substitute if tahini isn’t an option. Or skip it entirely and add an extra tablespoon of pistachio paste — the bars will still be excellent.

What’s the difference between coating chocolate and baking chocolate for Dubai chocolate?

Coating chocolate (like Merckens wafers) uses vegetable fats and sets without tempering — melt it, pour it, done. Baking chocolate uses cocoa butter and requires precise tempering to set properly. For home Dubai chocolate bars, coating chocolate is the better choice: consistent results, reliable snap, easy unmolding. Professional chocolatiers use tempered couverture for a more complex chocolate flavor, but for most home kitchens, coating chocolate produces a bar that looks and tastes professional without the technique barrier.

We’ve been helping LA bakers and candy makers work with chocolate since 1972. Dubai chocolate is the latest trend to walk through our door — but it won’t be the last. Stop by our Culver City shop to grab Merckens wafers, pistachio emulsion, bar molds, and everything else you need. Or just come in and tell us what you’re making. That’s still our favorite part.