It tastes sweet, has a satisfying crunch, and isn’t cheap: Dubai chocolate. The trend has long since reached Germany, where it has inspired many imitators. But the real thing still comes from Dubai. We’ll tell the story behind this treat and reveal which ingredients give this sweet sensation its signature flavor.
Why Dubai Chocolate?
By now, just about everyone in Germany has probably heard of chocolate from Dubai. You don’t have to have a sweet tooth to try this treat. How did chocolate actually come to be synonymous with Dubai? Dubai is known as a place of contrasts. Here, the modern life of a cosmopolitan metropolis meets the tradition and culture of a desert nation.
This chocolate bar reflects that complexity. It brings together the traditional flavors of the Middle East with modern Western craftsmanship. As a result, Choco from Dubai is seen as a reflection of the past while also being celebrated as the modern face of Dubai. Dubai is synonymous with luxury. Tasting this chocolate is more than just a culinary experience. It’s a way of life that everyone wants a piece of.
Sweets from Dubai – Just Give Them a Try
Dubai chocolate is popular because it’s different yet still draws on Middle Eastern traditions. Many see this treat as a cultural bridge between East and West. This is thanks to the flavors of pistachios and tahini, encased in a shell of Belgian chocolate.
Dubai chocolate has a story all its own. Its popularity is largely due to social media. Videos featuring the treat spread like wildfire on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Influencers enjoyed Dubai chocolate and made people want to try it for themselves.
It quickly became clear: It’s not just the taste that makes this candy special. It’s also a real eye-catcher. Beneath the glossy chocolate coating lies a creamy and crunchy filling. Both the texture and the green color are unique and special—and you simply have to experience what chocolate from Dubai tastes like.
What ingredients make Dubai chocolate what it is?
Anyone who tries Dubai chocolate will agree: the taste is unlike anything else. It’s chocolate with a unique flavor that’s impossible to resist. The dessert itself is a phenomenon. Millions of people are snacking on this famous chocolate and sharing their culinary experiences with others online.
Anyone expecting a long and elaborate list of ingredients will be disappointed. In fact, the list of ingredients is actually quite short. The milk chocolate coating is impossible to miss. With the first bite, the filling is revealed. Pistachio cream dominates both the appearance and the taste. Authentic Dubai chocolate contains sesame paste (tahini). However, this ingredient is missing from the list in many imitation products. Angel hair provides the necessary crunch. These delicate strands of dough are also an indispensable part of baklava, a sweet pastry from Turkey. And that concludes the ingredient list.
The unique combination of pistachio paste, creamy tahini, and crispy strands of dough gives Dubai chocolate its distinctive character and offers anyone who tries authentic Dubai chocolate a new culinary experience. Intended as an alternative to traditional desserts, this treat now outshines many of them and is gaining new fans almost every day.
Dubai Chocolate: A Story Inspired by Real Life
The buzz surrounding chocolate from Dubai isn’t just about the taste. The story behind it is also capturing people’s attention. Everyone is wondering: Who invented the chocolate, and what circumstances led to Dubai chocolate becoming a symbol of an entire city almost overnight?
Real Dubai chocolate, of course, comes from here and is sold exclusively in Dubai. The “Fix Dessert Chocolatier” factory is dedicated to producing Dubai Choco. The question of where Dubai chocolate comes from leads us to company CEO Sarah Hamouda. With a creative team by her side, she has established a product that has sparked a global craze.
The Beginnings
It all started on a very small scale. Sarah Hamouda experienced intense cravings during her second pregnancy—a problem many women are familiar with. As Hamouda reveals on her Instagram account, she sent her husband into town to buy her chocolate and desserts. They were all good, but they didn’t satisfy her hunger, says the British entrepreneur with Egyptian roots, who has been living in Dubai for several years.
Sarah Hamouda then got creative herself and began working on her own dessert idea. In 2021, the idea took shape. “Can’t Get Knafeh of it” became the prototype for the Dubai chocolate. The name is a play on words that combines the English phrase “Can’t get enough of it” with the kadayif strands—an essential ingredient in the chocolate.
Implementation
Sarah Hamouda was assisted in bringing her sweet idea to life by Nouel Catis Omamalin, a chef originally from the Philippines. The idea behind it: to capture the texture and flavor of künefe—a dessert popular in Dubai—in a modern chocolate creation. When the first bar of Dubai chocolate was created, its creators considered it a sweet experiment. The positive reactions from those around them quickly revealed that there was more to it than that.
Anyone who tried the chocolate confirmed that it was much more than just an ordinary dessert. Tasting this treat was simply an experience. At first, the chocolate remained a local sensation. It took a while for it to gain worldwide recognition. Then, in December 2023, the moment finally arrived. Food influencer Maria Vehera enjoyed some Dubai Choco in a video on TikTok. When the video went viral, the treat’s rise to fame was unstoppable. The video was shared millions of times, and everyone wanted to try the chocolate for themselves.
Is the authentic Dubai chocolate also available in Germany?
Choco from Dubai has also made its way onto supermarket shelves in Germany. However, the real chocolate is still sold exclusively by “Fix Dessert Chocolatier” in Dubai. The company has set up an online delivery service. Various varieties are available, including “Dark Lotus Pistachio,” “Dark Dubai Pistachio,” and “Milc Dubai Pistachio.”
Many candy manufacturers have modeled their products after the original and are bringing chocolates to market that resemble the original but are not the real Dubai-Choco.
The term “Dubai chocolate” isn’t legally protected. So there’s no reason why the original shouldn’t inspire imitators or why creative sweet tooths shouldn’t make their own Dubai chocolate. It gets crunchy when the dough strands are browned beforehand. Don’t skimp on the pistachio cream. The mixture is coated with chocolate melted in a double boiler. That’s all we’ll reveal, because the idea and the unmistakable uniqueness of the flavor belong to its inventor—and remain in Dubai.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.com – EsinDeniz (Esin Deniz)
