An exotic delicacy is spreading throughout the internet and influencing thousands to try it on their own. Dubai chocolate is a milk chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and a shredded phyllo dough called kataifi. The founder of the chocolate company, Fix Dessert Chocolatier, created the original recipe in 2021 before it rose to fame in 2024. Now, while people began by DIYing it at home, you can find it in stores such as Lune Cafe in Seattle or even Costco. “It’s good, I love the crunch and the texture and flavor combo. It’s like different from other desserts I’ve had, and I think making it is fun too,” Audrey Andahl said. 

The chocolate’s popularity sky-rocketed through TikTok, with many users posting videos making it on their own. Popular creator Nara Smith uploaded a tutorial on her homemade Dubai chocolate, which amounted to 1.5 million likes. In addition to creating her own, she also posted a review of her and her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, tasting the dessert from the original company. This shows the impact that Dubai chocolate has had on the TikTok community and even the popular influencers. “I’m actually so surprised. I thought I would absolutely hate it. The inside is so crunchy and so good,” Nara Smith said. 

Along with TikTokers, students have attempted to make this delicacy on their own. Creating this chocolate includes freezing chocolate molds, toasting kataifi pastry, and combining these with the pistachio paste. Kataifi is an essential ingredient in this dessert because it is commonly used in most Middle Eastern and Mediterranean desserts. Thus framing Dubai chocolate as a small representation of their culture. “I’ve never used kataifi or toasted anything like it, so it was fun to make with my friends. And the chocolate tasted pretty good in the end,” Andahl said.