Make your own version of the viral pistachio Dubai chocolate bar without any moulds or special equipment. This Easy Homemade Dubai Chocolate Bar has the most addictive crunchy kadayif filling mixed with pistachio cream and tahini for a unique and delicious sweet treat.
make your own dubai chocolate bar instead of buying expensive bars
Dubai chocolate bars are hugely popular at the minute, but they are not all created equal! A lot of the slightly cheaper (not still expensive) bars don’t have the essential kadayif filling.
And then the bars with the crunchy kadayif filling everyone wants are usually anything from £16! I’ve obviously tried a few for research purposes and although they are delicious, I can’t justify that much for a single chocolate bar.
Which is why I wanted to come up with my own recipe! All of the delicious flavours of the iconic dubai chocolate bar but with a reduced price tag.
The ingredients for this chocolate bar aren’t the cheapest, I won’t lie. But it is far more cost effective and just as delicious to make your own. You will be addicted!
Easy Homemade dubai chocolate bar ingredients
The trickiest part of making this Dubai chocolate bar is sourcing the ingredients. Having said that they aren’t necessarily hard to find as they can all be found online; but that isn’t the most cost effective place to find them.
pistachio spread
Pistachio spread is essential for this Dubai chocolate bar. My favourite pistachio spread for baking is the Pisti brand. I bought it for Costo which is a much more reasonable price than you can buy it for online.
M&S also sell a pistachio creme but it is more expensive as slightly runnier. So if you use this you might end up with a runnier filling. Aldi and Lidl occasionally sell pistachio spreads but I personally don’t like their flavour.
Alternatively you can buy pistachio spread online, but you might have to pay slightly more.
kadayif
Kadayif or kataifi is a shredded filo dough popularly used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes.
I managed to get the kadayif for this recipe from Lidl during one of their themed weeks. This isn’t available year round so if you manage to find it you can stock up.
I would recommend checking your local Middle Eastern and Mediterranean supermarkets as they should stock the pastry. If you don’t live near any of these supermarkets you can buy it online but it will be more expensive.
Alternatively you could finely shred filo pastry. It might not be exactly the same but it should work pretty well.
tahini
Although you can make a Dubai chocolate bar without tahini, I do recommend adding it if you can. It adds a creamy and nutty flavour and helps to balance out the sweetness of the pistachio spread.
You only need a small amount but it is easily available in large supermarkets and you can then use it for other things.
chocolate
I have used milk chocolate as the main chocolate in this bar. I prefer milk chocolate and don’t think that it is too sweet with the pistachio filling. You could definitely use dark chocolate if you prefer.
I have used white chocolate with a small amount of gel food colouring to give the chocolate bar design slightly like some of the chocolate bars you buy.
This is absolutely not essential and you can skip this step altogether or just leave out the food colouring.
A homemade Dubai chocolate bar with no fancy equipment
Most of the recipes for Dubai chocolate bars I came across require chocolate bar moulds. Now I am not going to lie, their finished bars look far more refined and sophisticated than my rustic bar. But I am not a chocolatier and I don’t mind if my chocolate bar looks homemade; because it is!
In my recipe, you just need a loaf tin. If you’re a keen baker you are more than likely to already have one so no need to buy anything new for one specific recipe.
How runny do you like your filling?
I’ve tried a few Dubai chocolate bars and the filling can vary in texture. I personally like the filling to not be firm, but not runny when you break the bar.
If you would like your filling to be runnier, reduce the kadayif by 50g.
Make different sized dubai chocolate bars
Don’t be limited to just your standard loaf tin! You can half the recipe if you want to use a 1lb loaf tin or double it and use a 20x20cm tin.
If you make something larger, you will probably want to cut the chocolate bar into pieces rather than breaking it like I tend to do with the more standard sized bars.
how long will a dubai chocolate bar keep for?
I recommend keeping the chocolate bar in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for at least ten days.
I would recommend taking it out of the fridge around ten minutes before you want to eat it so it comes up to room temperature.
Other recipes you might like
- Pistachio & Vanilla Cookies
- Pistachio Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- Courgette Cake with Lemon Curd & Cream Cheese Frosting
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Easy Homemade Dubai Chocolate Bar
Make your own version of the viral pistachio Dubai chocolate bar without any moulds or special equipment. This Easy Homemade Dubai Chocolate Bar has the most addictive crunchy kadayif filling mixed with pistachio cream and tahini for a unique and delicious sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 20 g white chocolate
- green food colouring {optional)
- 200 g milk chocolate
- 150 g kadayif chopped
- 40 g salted butter
- 175 g pistachio cream
- 1 tsp tahini
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper. If you trust how non stick your loaf tin is you don't need to do this but it does make it easier to left the chocolate bar out of the tin
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In a heat proof bowl, add 20g white chocolate. Melt in the microwave in short bursts, stirring in between
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Add a small amount of green food colouring (if using) and mix to get the desired colour
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Drizzle the white chocolate across the bottom of the loaf tin. Set aside
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Melt 100g milk chocolate in a heat proof bowl in short bursts in the microwave. Make sure you stir the chocolate in between melting
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Once fully melted, pour into the loaf tin and carefully smooth out, trying not to disturb the white chocolate. Using the back of a spoon or a spatula, bring the chocolate up the sides of the tin by roughly 1.5cm. Set to one side
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In a high sided pan, melt 40g salted butter before adding 150g shredded kadayif
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Cook on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown
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In a large bowl add 175g pistachio cream, 1 tsp tahini and ½ tsp sea salt flakes
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Add the toasted kadayif and stir to combine with the pistachio cream
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Tip the kadayif mixture the loaf tin and smooth out
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Melt another 100g milk chocolate in a heat proof bowl in short bursts in the microwave. Make sure you stir the chocolate in between melting
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Pour the chocolate on top of the pistachio filling and spread out making sure all of the filling it covered
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Leave to chill in the fridge for up to 1 hour before serving
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is given as a guide only and may vary.
Karen says
I’d seen this on TikTok and decided to give it a try as o love pistachio. It was much easier to make than I’d thought and I really enjoyed the flavour and texture.
Louise says
Oh my! This is the recipe I’ve been waiting for. You’ve really nailed the authentic flavours and I love how easy it was to make with basic kitchen kit.
Sylvia Salcedo says
Fab recipe. Haven’t tried it yet but looks very easy. HUGE thankyou.
Chloe says
I did have to shred some regular filo pastry because I couldn’t find the proper stuff but it worked perfectly. I did also miss the decoration because I was in a hurry but it set well and tasted great!