To make a Dubai-style chocolate bar from cocoa powder, whisk ½ cup (43 g) of unsweetened cocoa powder with ⅓ cup (75 g) of melted coconut oil, 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of maple syrup and a pinch of salt. Paint half into a bar mold, freeze, fill with pistachio cream mixed with butter-toasted kataifi, cover with the rest and freeze again. It makes about 8 pieces.
The Dubai chocolate bar went viral for a sound: the crunch of toasted kataifi inside a pistachio filling, caught on a thousand videos. Shops sold out, prices climbed, and most people never got to try one. The good news is that the bar is far easier to make than to buy. This home version starts from cocoa powder rather than a ready-made chocolate, which means you set the sweetness and the chocolate tastes of cocoa rather than sugar. It takes patience more than skill, and the only real rule is to keep it cold.
How do you make a Dubai chocolate bar from cocoa powder?
Makes: about 8 pieces · Active: 25 minutes · Freeze: about 45 minutes
Ingredients for the chocolate shell
- ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup (75 g) coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) maple syrup, or to taste
- ½ tsp vanilla extract and a pinch of fine salt
Ingredients for the filling
- 2 oz (55 g) kataifi (shredded phyllo), cut into short pieces
- 1 tbsp (14 g) butter
- ⅓ cup (80 g) pistachio cream or pistachio spread
- 1 tbsp tahini
Instructions
- Toast the kataifi. Cook the kataifi in the butter over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes until golden. Cool completely.
- Make the filling. Stir the pistachio cream and tahini into the cooled kataifi until it holds together.
- Make the shell. Whisk the cocoa, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt until smooth and glossy.
- Line the mold. Spoon about half of the chocolate into a silicone bar mold and tilt to coat the base and sides. Freeze for 10 minutes.
- Fill. Press the filling into the shell in an even layer, leaving a thin border at the edge.
- Seal. Pour the rest of the chocolate over the top and smooth it level. Freeze for 30 minutes, then unmold and break into pieces.
Why is a cocoa-powder chocolate softer than a store-bought bar?
Because of what is missing. Real chocolate is cocoa solids held in cocoa butter, a fat that sets firm at room temperature and snaps when you break it. Cocoa powder is those solids with the butter pressed out, so this shell puts a fat back in, and coconut oil melts at about 76°F (24°C). The bar is therefore best kept cold and eaten straight from the fridge, when the shell snaps and the kataifi is still crisp. If it feels too soft, chill it longer rather than adding more cocoa, which only makes the shell dry and bitter. Swap the coconut oil for the same weight of melted cocoa butter and you get a firmer, more bar-like result.
How can you adjust the sweetness and the filling?
For a sweeter, milder bar, add one more tablespoon of maple syrup to the shell and freeze it a little longer, since extra syrup softens it. For a darker, more bitter bar, use two tablespoons; unsweetened cocoa tastes sharp without enough sweetener, so taste the shell before you pour. For a nut-free version, swap the pistachio cream for sunflower seed butter; it will no longer taste like the original, and every label needs checking for allergens. If there is no kataifi nearby, crushed plain toasted vermicelli or crisp rice cereal gives a different but honest crunch.
How should you serve and store it?
Serve it cold, straight from the fridge. Store small batches in an airtight box for up to 7 days; the kataifi is crunchiest on day one and slowly softens as it absorbs moisture, which is the real reason to make eight pieces rather than twenty. Why this shell behaves so differently from a chocolate bar is explained in cocoa powder vs dark chocolate, and if you would rather drink your cocoa, the hot chocolate recipe with cocoa powder uses the same tin.
Which cocoa makes the best shell?
With nothing but cocoa, fat and syrup in the shell, the cocoa is the chocolate, and a flat one shows immediately. This bar is made with Grevista’s unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa: single-origin Vietnamese Trinitario with nothing else in it, and its lab reports are public on Lab Results & Awards.
If you are deciding which tin to buy for recipes like this one, see our guide to the best cacao powder, which compares options by flavor, processing and published lab testing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make Dubai chocolate with only cocoa powder?
Yes. Cocoa powder, a melted fat such as coconut oil and a liquid sweetener make a simple shell. It is softer than tempered chocolate, so keep the bars chilled.
What is kataifi and where do I find it?
Kataifi is shredded phyllo pastry, sold frozen or chilled in Middle Eastern grocery stores and some supermarkets. Toasting it in butter gives the crunch the bar is known for.
Can I use cocoa butter instead of coconut oil?
You can, and it sets firmer. Melt it gently and use the same weight.
How long does homemade Dubai chocolate last?
Keep it in an airtight box in the fridge for up to 7 days. The kataifi loses its crunch as it absorbs moisture, so make small batches.
More to make and read
Another chocolate project is the cocoa powder brownies; measuring and mixing are in how to use cocoa powder; and there is more to make in all cocoa powder recipes.
Commercial relationship: Grevista distributes this cocoa and earns revenue from sales on Amazon. See our Affiliate & Commercial Disclosure.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central: Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened (FDC ID 169593), portion weights and caffeine, checked September 15, 2026.
Written by the Grevista Editorial Team. Last updated October 22, 2026. How we check facts: Editorial Policy.