Dubai Chocolate Cups
- Nicole Collins
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
Dubai Chocolate Cups- the favorite viral candy is bar is transformed into a mini bite sized treat perfect for gifting.
January 31, 2026 by Nicole Collins
Today, we’re making Dubai Chocolate Cups!
It’s Day 10 in our 12 days of treats series, and today we’re taking the internet viral candy bar and transforming it into a little mini bite sized treat that’s perfect for gifting!
I’m not going to lie to you. As is with most mini treats, these are a little bit of a labor of love. But, that’s just the price you pay for having something tiny and adorable!
We’re going to start by making the traditional dubai chocolate pistachio filling. So, we’ll start with some dried kataifi. Dried kataifi is shredded, dried phyllo dough that does need to be toasted before using to help it retain its crispiness. So, we’ll add the kataifi to a nonstick skillet with a little butter, and let it cook for a couple minutes until the color becomes golden and the scent becomes nice and nutty. Then, we’ll transfer our toasted kataifi to a bowl.
Next, we’re going to add some pistachio cream, a little tahini paste, and a pinch of salt to the bowl. You want to make sure to get pistachio cream and not butter for this one, because the cream is slightly sweetened. That’s the vibe we’re going for here. We’ll mix everything together until it’s nice and combined, then set it aside to cool completely. Now in my experience, neither the kataifi nor the pistachio cream are readily available in the neighborhood grocery store. So, I actually order both from Amazon. There are plenty of options, but I’ll add links to the brands I like in the notes of the recipe.
While we’re waiting on our filling to cool, we can get started on our chocolate cups. We’ve got to break out our skills from the beginning of the series and temper the milk chocolate to somewhere between 89-90 degrees. This will help us achieve both the perfect texture and the perfect aesthetics on the candy.
We’re going to use mini candy liners to help make our chocolates easy to assemble and transport, and I like to rest the liners in a mini muffin tin for stability. Then, we’re going to take half of our melted chocolate and drop a dollop into each candy liner. Because I like the inside filling to be hidden, I like to use a clean acrylic/non toxic paintbrush to pull the chocolate up the sides of the candy liners. You could use a small spoon to do this too, but I find a little paintbrush has more control. We’re essentially building the walls of the candy cup by pulling the chocolate dollop upwards.
After our candy cups have been established, we can use our filling to drop little teaspoons of filling into the cups. You don’t want the filling to go any higher than the side of the liner, because we need room to be able to top the cups with more chocolate. I also like to use the back of a spoon to smooth out the top of the filling so it doesn’t poke through the chocolate.
Finally, we’ll use the rest of our chocolate to cover the filling. Give the muffin tin a little tap to help the chocolate ooze into the crevices. And it’s time to let these set. Now this part is optional, but strawberries have been an iconic pairing with all things dubai chocolate. So if you have it in you, you could take some freeze dried strawberries, finely crush them up, then give the top of the cups a little sprinkle before you toss them into the freezer to set. The acidity from the strawberry adds a lovely contrast to the sweet chocolate and the nutty filling!
After these are fully set, they’re ready to serve! The chocolate to filling ratio is just perfection in my opinion…equal parts of both. They’re sweet, they’re rich, they’re nutty, they’re decadent, they’re elegant, and they’re just so darn cute!
They’re totally worth the effort!
Ok, everyone. Tell me if you’ve gotten wrapped up in the dubai chocolate craze. I sure have. And, I have another epic dubai chocolate recipe coming soon (assuming I can get my life back together and start posting more regularly again).
In the meantime, enjoy! And, let’s eat!
Dubai Chocolate Cups
Serves: 24 Print
Ingredients:
½ tbsp unsalted butter
50 grams (about ¾ cup) dried kataifi
100 grams (about ¼ cup) pistachio cream
½ tbsp tahini paste
Salt, to taste
1 bag (12 oz) milk chocolate chips
Freeze dried strawberries, crushed (optional)
Directions:
Melt butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Add kataifi, and toss to coat. Stir constantly until kataifi turns light golden brown, about 5-10 mins. Remove from heat, and transfer to a bowl.
Add pistachio cream, tahini, and a pinch of salt to the bowl. Mix well until completely combined. Cool completely.
Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. Use a microwave to melt and temper chocolate. Start by microwaving for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave in 10-15 second intervals as needed, stirring well between each interval, until the chocolate is melted and the temperature reaches between 89-90 degrees. If the chocolate is warmer than 90 degrees, add a few extra chocolate chips, stir well, and check the temperature again. Repeat as necessary until the chocolate reaches the correct temperature.
Place mini candy cup liners (1.15 in) into a mini muffin pan for stability. Drop about 1 tsp chocolate into each liner. Use a non toxic acrylic paint brush (or a small spoon) to pull the chocolate up the sides of the paper liner. (It doesn’t have to be perfect, but we want to create the sidewalls for the cups.) Dollop about 1 tsp of pistachio filling into the center of each cup. Dollop about 1 tsp chocolate on top of the filling, and spread gently to cover the surface. Tap the pan on the countertop to smooth out the chocolate. If desired, sprinkle with crushed strawberry.
Transfer to the freezer for 15 mins to set. Allow to come back to room temp before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Recipe notes: *This is the kataifi and pistachio cream I use.
*Melting the chocolate to the proper temperature is important for the texture of the candy. If the chocolate is too hot, you won’t get that smooth snap when biting into the chocolate. It will almost feel waxy.
*When tempering the chocolate, stir vigorously between each interval in the microwave, and start checking the temps far before you think you should. The chips might not look like they’re melting, but a hard and constant stir will have them melt right before your eyes. It’s an arm workout, but it’s necessary to keep your temp from getting too hot (which happens so quickly). If the chocolate is too warm, add in fresh chocolate chips and stir stir stir til that temp comes down.
*These are a labor of love, but so worth it!
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