Dubai Chocolate Cups Recipe

Inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar, these homemade dark chocolate cups are stuffed with a sweet, nutty, textured pistachio tahini filling and easy toasted phyllo swap. This gluten-free dairy-free version brings all the trendy indulgence with a few healthier swaps!

I’m sure you’ve seen the viral Dubai chocolate bar trend and all its myriad of variations by now (or perhaps it has completely taken over your explore page too? just me?), and while I’m not usually one to jump on trendy desserts this one was too intriguing to me to pass up. Pistachio, tahini, and a creamy-crunchy toasted texture all stuffed inside decadent chocolate…yes please! Honestly anything involving tahini + chocolate gets my attention, but with the additional nutty flavor and gorgeous green presentation I had to try it for myself. But with a few easier healthier swaps, and in cup form instead of bar. Let’s get into it…

What Is The Viral Dubai Chocolate Bar

So first things first, let me explain the original bar that started this whole trend in case you haven’t done a TikTok deep dive yourself. It’s a milk chocolate bar filled with filled with sweet pistachio cream mixed with toasted kataifi – which is shredded phyllo dough that has been toasted until crispy – and a hint of tahini. It is often topped with a swirl of white chocolate, but not essential. I’m not going to get into the origin story of this suddenly-popular bar, you can google that for yourself, but that is the basic concept from an ingredient standpoint.

How To Make Your Own Dubai Chocolate Bar (Or Cups!)

So now that you understand where we are starting, let’s break down how to DIY this yummy nutty treat with a few easier at home swaps and a slightly healthier gluten-free + dairy-free ingredient list.

Healthier Gluten-Free Ingredient Swaps

• Pistachio cream → pistachio butter. Pistachio cream is traditionally a mix of raw pistachios, butter, milk, white chocolate, sugar, and a pinch of salt. It would be almost impossible to find a dairy-free version in a jar, so instead I opted to use raw pistachio butter and add some extra sweetness from maple syrup.
• Milk chocolate → dark chocolate. You can really use whatever kind of chocolate floats your boat – milk, semi-sweet, dark, bitter-sweet. Personally I used dark chocolate, around 50-60% cacao.
• Kataifi pastry → shredded coconut. The texture of this bar is one of the most uniquely delicious elements, so we definitely can’t skip that. But finding gluten-free phyllo pastry would be tricky, so instead I opted for shredded coconut. You can still toast it for extra buttery flavor and crunch, and it still adds a similar texture to the filling. I actually think the natural sweetness and flavor melds really beautifully with the flavors of pistachio and tahini too.

Tips For Making The Perfect Dubai Chocolate Cups

If you happen to have a chocolate bar mold in your kitchen, this recipe will absolutely work in bar form too. Or you could even make it as a chocolate bark spread flat on a sheet pan. But personally I think the Reese’s-style cup is the easiest and least messy to make at home, plus the thicker chocolate snap on the sides and thinner chocolate on the top and bottom adds some delicious textural interest too. Here are a few tips to make the process easier and the results perfect:

1. Paper muffin liners. You can make these as mini of full size cups, but whichever you choose make sure to line your muffin pan with paper liners. It will make getting them out of the pan MUCH easier, and give your cups that classic ribbed edge.
2. Getting the brightest GREEN color. Pistachios are naturally green, but not always a super bright green. Two tricks to getting the filling as bright as possible: 1) use RAW pistachio butter not roasted and 2) add a dash of matcha powder if you really want to bump up the shade. You barely taste it, but if you hate matcha perhaps don’t try it.
3. The proper filling texture. You want the filling texture to be moist but not overly wet, thick but not dry/crumbly. The texture will vary depending on how thick/runny your pistachio butter is, so you may need to adjust a little after mixing. Too thick? Add more maple syrup or a little bit of melted coconut oil. Too thin? Add more toasted coconut.
4. Refrigerate don’t freeze. I know it can be tempting to speed up the chocolate setting process by popping them in the freezer for half the time, but don’t do it. The filling is best at fridge (or even room temperature), freezing will ruin the creamy-meets-coconutty textural mix. And the chocolate will get too snappy too, you want that indulgent mouthfeel. You can eat them straight out of the fridge, or let them warm up for 15 minutes or so to room temperature for an even creamier experience. But I do recommend storing them in the refrigerator.

More Pistachio Recipes You’ll Love

• No-Churn Dairy-Free Pistachio Ice Cream
• Pistachio Pudding Overnight Oats
• Chocolate Pistachio Truffles
• Dairy-Free Pistachio Ninja Creami Ice Cream

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