Enrobed with rich dark chocolate and oozes out from the crispy pistachio cream filling. It is certainly tasty, as sweet treats go.
I’ve never heard of Dubai chocolate, the viral food epidemic that takes away the internet, and actually dominated the nation.
However, this is the popularity of the Middle East-inspired bar and it may have been impossible to taste it.
It is called the “Chocolate Hermes Bag,” a newest middle class essential.
Lidl, where the £3.99 Dubai chocolate bar appeared on the shelves this week, shoppers reportedly waited hours to grab one after 6,000 people sold out at the supermarket Tiktok store in 72 minutes.
Waitrose, which started selling its £10 Lindt version last month, had to impose a two-bar limit to stop bulk purchases.
Meanwhile, on eBay, the bars sell for up to £23.
The snack also has A-list stickers from stars such as actresses Millie Bobby Brown and Brooklyn Beckham who cooked their own versions at home.
This is the popularity of Dubai chocolate bars inspired by the Middle East.
Waitrose, which started selling its £10 Lindt version last month, had to impose a two-bar limit to stop bulk purchases
Tiktok has over 150 million videos on chocolate, but there are 500,000 posts on Instagram with the hashtag #DubaichoColation.
So, what’s all the fuss? And is it worth an eye-catching price tag?
Chocolate consultant Jennifer Earl says the Dubai version is the biggest trend in sweet flavors since salted caramel, which dominated the market in 2008.
According to her, the secret lies in pistachio paste, which is used in filling, giving the bar a distinctive green center.
Frankly, its filling isn’t very appetizing – blurry, grassy mulchy mulch and pastries with pastes and pastries – but it’s a combination of texture and flavor, Jennifer explains.
Far from being produced by gourmet chocolate latiers and famous chefs, the bar has an incredibly humble origin.
Sarah Hamouda, 39, an English Egyptian woman based in Dubai, dreamed of it while pregnant when she began craving the “Knafeh” dessert her mother was making, but in the form of a chocolate bar.
After completing the recipe with Paris-trained Nuel Catis O’Mamarin, she made a revised online shop, Dessert Chocolatier, and sold the bar.
They began sending samples to social media influencers. Several videos went viral, including one that had garnered 121 million views, flooding with 30,000 orders overnight.
The excitement surrounding the UK launch was extraordinary.
Experts compare getting a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory with grabbing the bar.
FIX currently boasts around 400,000 Tiktok followers and over 1.5 million likes, but delivery is available only in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, closing at 500 per day, so if you want to try it, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
This is easier than that, as both my local Lidl and Waitrose were sold out. Of course, you can buy Dubai chocolate online from Amazon, eBay and Lindt Shop, but a quick look at the packet suggests that it’s easy (and certainly cheaper) to make your own.
I start by picking up some ingredients that I don’t find in my local supermarket and looking up recipes online.
Order a jar of pistachio paste for £13.25 and order a box of Kadaif or shredded philopastries.
You will also need a silicone chocolate mold (£8.49 for two thick ones).
After that, we head out to a shop with dark chocolate, white chocolate, coconut oil, butter and tahini. This would be £27.94.
I’m down 63.67 pounds (31.84 pounds per bar) but haven’t even started cooking.
Perhaps supermarket price tags aren’t as scary as they look.
First, toast 150g of Kadayif in a pot with 60g butter.
You can buy it right away or replace it with cheaper cereals, shredded wheat.
When it’s cool, mix in a bowl with 360g of pistachio paste, 20g of tahini and pinch of salt. This is the filling.
Next, melt 30g of white chocolate in 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (thin it melts and thins) and splash it out onto the inside of the mold.
The original recipe and Sarah Hamouda version create the design using green and pink chocolate, but any contrasting colors can be found.
Place this in the fridge and set it.
Next, melt 500g of high-quality dark chocolate and spread half into a mold.
This will drop with a pistachio pastry mixture and return to the fridge before pushing down with a palette knife.
Enter the fridge again before the remaining dark chocolate spreads over the filling.
Before pushing it out of the mold, I leave it in the fridge overnight and set it properly.
It’s huge – more like a dessert than a chocolate bar, but absolutely delicious.
The bitter chocolate is neatly broken, creamy and reveals stuffing with egg whites and stuffed with toast pastries.
At Lidl, a £3.99 Dubai chocolate bar this week reached the shelf, shoppers reportedly lined up for hours to grab one after 6,000 at a supermarket Tiktok shop that sold out in 72 minutes
It’s rich in nuts and is probably the most luxurious thing I’ve ever had to come out of my kitchen. It’s quick, easy and lasts for a week.
A drawback? It took half the week’s shopping budget to make a single bar.
It may taste great, but even this dedicated chocolate holic can’t justify it.
