Introduction to Dubai Chocolate
The Dubai chocolate trend has taken South Florida by storm, with bakeries, chocolatiers, and candy stores clamoring to get in on the action. At the center of the craze is the viral candy bar, a bricklike, hollow milk chocolate bar bursting with pistachio cream and kataifi (or shredded phyllo dough).
Last fall, hordes of customers swamped the phone lines and social media at Plantation’s Sultan Nut House, clamoring for a viral candy bar that manager Amr Ibrahim had never heard of before: Dubai chocolate.
The Making of Dubai Chocolate
Now each morning, he oven-roasts and grounds 15 pounds of Turkish-imported pistachios in a blender to create the shop’s hottest-selling treat ever — making just enough to yield 100 chocolate bars, which he says promptly disappears off the shelves in a single day.
“I’ve never seen people go crazy over a chocolate bar,” Ibrahim tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It’s $13 for a small bar, but customers say they don’t mind the prices because they spent way more at other shops.”
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
Owner Awni Dirdis, left, and manager Amr Ibrahim hold a tray of Dubai chocolate bars at Sultan Nut House in Plantation on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. The recipe, developed by Dirdis’ wife, includes roasting and grinding pistachios, adding roasted and shredded phyllo dough and a touch of coconut oil before filling the chocolate bars with the mixture. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The Rise of Dubai Chocolate
The year-old Dubai chocolate TikTok trend is stronger than ever across South Florida, where bakeries, chocolatiers and candy stores have started carrying the hard-to-find confection — or making it themselves. While Sultan Nut House has reverse-engineered its own recipe, other spots like Damn Good Sweets in Delray Beach and To the Moon in Wilton Manors are shipping bars in from other states and countries.
For those living under a social-media rock, the crunchy-creamy confection — yes, born in Dubai — is a bricklike, hollow milk chocolate bar bursting with pistachio cream and kataifi (or shredded phyllo dough). The hashtag #DubaiChocolate has been white-hot since December 2023, with countless videos of home cooks crafting versions of the bar and TikTok influencers feeding the sweet-treat craze with videos where they’re biting into the bar’s snappy shell.
A Lot of Trial and Error
The global sensation started with Sarah Hamouda, owner of Dubai’s FIX Dessert Chocolatier, who invented the bar known as “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” to satisfy her pregnancy cravings back in 2021. After a period of sluggish sales, one TikToker’s video in December 2023 changed her fortunes. That video — which now stands at 121.2 million views and 6.7 million likes — triggered fast sellouts at FIX and launched thousands of imitators.
Because FIX’s bar is handmade and unavailable outside of the United Arab Emirates, the confection has spawned a robust cottage industry of dupes aiming to profit off the trend, selling the bars under a generic “Dubai chocolate” label with no reference to the original.
Making Dubai Chocolate from Scratch
Sultan Nut House owner Dirdis and his wife, Khadija Abdelaziz, spent three weeks reverse-engineering the Dubai chocolate recipe from heaps of TikToks and YouTube how-tos, according to Ibrahim.
In the kitchen, Ibrahim says he blends 1,000 oven-roasted pistachios with a touch of coconut oil, melted white chocolate and other ingredients to create the signature pistachio cream. Then he transfers the cream and shredded phyllo dough into a milk-chocolate mold before sealing it shut.
“We went through a lot of trial and error to get the flavor profile right,” Ibrahim explains. “We don’t want to sell premade stuff because it might not be authentic. This is much fresher — the pistachios were just roasted.”
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
At Sultan Nut House in Plantation, a filling made of roasted ground pistachios and shredded phyllo dough with a touch of coconut oil is smoothed into a chocolate mold to make Dubai chocolate bars. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The Price of Dubai Chocolate
Their Dubai-style chocolate bars range from $12.99 (3 ounces) to $35 (18 ounces), and Sultan also sells Dubai strawberry cups, a viral variant that incorporates layers of crispy phyllo, pistachio cream, chopped pistachios, fresh strawberries, chocolate and Nutella into one parfait.
Premium prices are common across South Florida, where customers might pay anywhere from $9.99 for a small bar at To the Moon in Wilton Manors up to as much as $45 for a large imported bar at Chocolate on Tap, a kiosk inside Aventura Mall.
They’re Selling Like Wonka Bars
But Jimmy Anderson, owner of Sweet Aloha Ice Cream in Davie, is just getting started. In November, influencer Praschnik and friend Rachel Samson stopped by Sweet Aloha to shoot a social video spotlighting its Hawaiian shave ice. After sampling Anderson’s flavors, they recommended he also try incorporating the viral Dubai chocolate.
“I was like, ‘Dubai chocolate’? They showed me all these TikTok videos and said I could sell a lot,” Anderson recalls. “So I started researching the flavors and layers on TikTok and made sample batches of pistachio cream.”
The result? In January, he released a Dubai chocolate sundae, layering drizzles of chocolate sauce, pistachio cream, crushed pistachios, crispy kataifi, Dubai chocolate ice cream and more chocolate. Anderson says it tastes just like the “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” bar.
Carline Jean / South Florida Sun Sentinel
The Dubai-style chocolate sundae from Sweet Aloha Ice Cream shop in Davie. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Where to Find Dubai Chocolate
Here are a few places in Broward and Palm Beach counties:
- Sweet Aloha Ice Cream, 8600 W. State Road 84, Davie (sundaes and milkshakes)
- Sultan Nut House, 1836 N. University Drive, Plantation (housemade bars)
- To the Moon, 2205 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors (imported bars)
- Dua Gelato & Coffee, 2484 N. Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point (sundaes)
- Tasteful Thoughts, 8692 Griffin Road, Cooper City (housemade bars)
- Icy-N-Spicy 12567 Miramar Parkway, Miramar (housemade Dubai chocolate ice cream, milkshakes)
- Macamochi (inside Sistrunk Marketplace food hall), 115 NW Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale (housemade bars)
- Damn Good Sweets, 8854 W. Atlantic Ave., Suite B2, Delray Beach (imported bars)
- Bulk Candy Store, 235 N. Jog Road, West Palm Beach (imported bars)
Conclusion
The Dubai chocolate craze shows no signs of slowing down, with new shops and restaurants jumping on the bandwagon every day. Whether you’re a fan of the original "Can’t Get Knafeh of It" bar or one of the many dupes on the market, there’s no denying the allure of this sweet treat.
FAQs
Q: What is Dubai chocolate?
A: Dubai chocolate is a type of milk chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and kataifi (shredded phyllo dough).
Q: Where can I find Dubai chocolate?
A: Dubai chocolate can be found at various shops and restaurants in Broward and Palm Beach counties, including Sweet Aloha Ice Cream, Sultan Nut House, and To the Moon.
Q: How much does Dubai chocolate cost?
A: The price of Dubai chocolate varies depending on the shop and the size of the bar, but it can range from $9.99 to $45.
Q: Is Dubai chocolate worth the hype?
A: Whether or not Dubai chocolate is worth the hype is a matter of personal opinion. Some people love the unique flavor combination, while others find it overpriced and overhyped.
