Pistachio Chocolate Bars
Homemade version of the viral Dubai chocolate bar. Toasted kataifi mixed with pistachio cream, enrobed in tempered chocolate. The filling is sweet, nutty and crispy against the snap of the chocolate shell. You need chocolate moulds or a silicone bar tray.
Ingredients
- 300 gdark or milk chocolate
- 150 gkataifi pastry
- 2 tbspbutter
- 200 gpistachio cream
- 1 tbsptahini
- 0.5 tspflaky sea salt
Method
- Toast the kataifi. Chop into 2–3cm pieces with scissors. Melt butter in a wide pan over medium heat and add the kataifi, stirring constantly for 5–8 minutes until evenly golden and crispy. It burns fast once it starts colouring. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely.
- Make the filling. Mix the cooled toasted kataifi with the pistachio cream and tahini until everything is coated. The tahini adds a slight earthiness that makes the filling more complex. Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed. Set aside.
- Melt the chocolate. Chop finely and melt two-thirds in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, stirring until it reaches 45°C. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining third of chopped chocolate until fully melted. This is basic tempering — it gives the bars a glossy finish and a clean snap. Before filling the moulds, check the temper: dark chocolate should be at 31–32°C, milk chocolate at 29–30°C, and a little smeared on a knife tip should set glossy within a few minutes at room temperature. If it is warmer or stays soft, keep stirring and test again.
- Coat the moulds. Spoon a layer of melted chocolate into each bar mould, tilting to coat the bottom and sides. Tap out any excess. Refrigerate 10 minutes until set.
- Fill. Spoon the kataifi-pistachio filling into each mould, pressing gently to about three-quarters full. Leave space for the final chocolate layer.
- Seal. Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the filling to cover completely. Smooth the tops. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until fully set.
- Unmould by pressing gently from behind. Store at room temperature for up to a week, or in a cool place. Don't refrigerate after unmoulding — the chocolate surface gets condensation and loses its shine.
FAQ
The Dubai chocolate bar was created by Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai. It's a milk or dark chocolate shell filled with toasted kataifi pastry mixed with pistachio cream — a combination of flavors and textures that hadn't been widely packaged as a chocolate bar before. Videos of people breaking the bar open went viral on TikTok in 2024, showing the crunchy green filling inside the chocolate shell. The bars were priced at around 20 USD each and sold out repeatedly, which fuelled more interest.
Technically no, but practically yes. Untempered chocolate sets soft, develops a white bloom and doesn't snap cleanly. The basic seeding method in this recipe — melting two-thirds of the chocolate to 45°C, then stirring in the remaining third — stabilises the cocoa butter crystals and gives you bars with a glossy surface and proper snap. It's a 5-minute extra step. If you skip it, the bars still taste the same but look and feel more like refrigerator fudge than a proper chocolate bar.
Dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa) gives a bitter counterpoint to the sweet pistachio cream — this is closer to the original. Milk chocolate is sweeter and more approachable for people who find dark chocolate too intense. White chocolate is unusual here but works; the bars look more dramatic with the contrast of the pale shell and green filling. Couverture chocolate — the kind sold in blocks or discs rather than supermarket bars — melts and tempers more reliably because it has a higher cocoa butter content.
Yes. Line a small baking tray or loaf tin with baking paper. Pour in a layer of melted chocolate, spread flat and refrigerate until set. Spread the kataifi-pistachio filling over the chocolate base in an even layer. Pour the remaining chocolate over the top and smooth it out. Refrigerate until fully set, then lift out using the paper and cut into bars or squares with a sharp knife. The bars won't have defined edges but the texture and flavor are the same.
Up to a week at cool room temperature, stored in an airtight container away from direct sunlight. Don't refrigerate — the temperature change causes condensation on the surface which makes the chocolate bloom and go dull. If your kitchen is warm, a cool cupboard works better than the fridge. The kataifi filling stays crispy for several days inside the sealed chocolate shell, then gradually softens.
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Comments (1)
Ingredient temperature matters enormously for pistachio chocolate bars. Unless the recipe says otherwise, everything should be at room temperature. Cold dark doesn't cream properly, and the texture suffers throughout.