The 3 Ingredients Essential For A True Dubai Knafeh Chocolate Bar

If you've been anywhere near social media, you'll have seen countless reels of people cracking open blocks of glossy chocolate splattered in edible paint and filled with an unusual, gooey, green center. This eye-catching confection — originally created by Sarah Hamouda of Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai and the subject of infinite copycats, both store-bought and homemade — is the viral Dubai, or knafeh, chocolate bar. But what exactly is this intriguing treat with the colored center?

There are typically three ingredients in a Dubai chocolate bar, excluding the chocolate itself. These are pistachio cream, tahini, and kataifi (a shredded pastry commonly used in a Middle Eastern dessert, also known as knafeh — more on this in a moment). Together, these make for a deliciously unique, praline-like filling that is both crunchy and creamy, sweet and slightly savory. With these ingredients smothered in a thick layer of milk or dark chocolate, it's not hard to see why this Arabian-inspired treat has gathered such a cult following (according to TODAY, Hamouda's company now receives up to 100 orders for their version of the bar, every minute!).

Without a doubt, the most fascinating aspect of the Dubai chocolate bar is the color of the filling. This is thanks to the pistachio cream, a sweet, vibrant green spread made from blended pistachios to which sugar, oil, and other sweeteners are sometimes added (think of it like a pistachio version of Nutella). However this ingredient isn't entirely for appearances' sake — it's, of course, what also gives the treat its distinct, nutty flavor. The use of tahini, a butter-like paste made from ground sesame seeds and widely used in Middle Eastern cooking (and actually a great addition to cookies and other sweet treats), helps emphasize this.

This brings us to the final component in the filling, kataifi — thin strands of shredded pastry that are toasted until golden and crunchy, then folded through the two other ingredients. As mentioned, this is most famously used in the Middle Eastern dessert knafeh (from which the chocolate bar takes its name), a cheesecake-like creation made from layers of pastry, cheese, and syrup that is cooked in a pan and then topped with ground pistachios. It's also what inspired Hamouda, who is of British-Egyptian origin, to create the chocolate bar in the first place. 

Speaking about her famous confection to TODAY, she said: "It brings back wonderful memories of my childhood, as my mom used to make knafeh at home." And now, thanks to her, the whole world is sharing in those memories.