The Dubai Bar's Cooler Younger Sister

Goodbye Dubai Bar, hello Dubai Cup! This ratio of chocolate to pistachio butter kataifi filling is unmatchable.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you know that I’ve been hyper-fixated on Milk Dubai Chocolate Bars this spring. It is no easy feat to find a good one in New York City, so I have resorted to making my own.

Last month, I made bars, and thoroughly enjoyed them, but have found myself craving a more pistachio-friendly ratio of filling to chocolate that the small bar molds I have can’t deliver. I didn’t care to invest in a set of larger chocolate bar molds, so I decided to use my jumbo muffin tins to make Dubai Cups, and this is how I’ll be doing it from here on out.

Normally, baking is a science and recipes should be followed to a tee, but when it comes to Dubai Bars (or cups!) you can be a bit flexible. I’ve adjusted the filling recipe here to have a gooier consistency, but know that you can play around with the olive oil, tahini, and/or kataifi proportions to create the consistency that’s most desirable to you. I personally don’t need the filling to be very sweet, so I reduced the sugar. If you prefer a sweeter filling, add an extra tablespoon or two.

Must-Have Tools:

• jumbo muffin tins (I used these)

• jumbo muffin tin liners (I used these)

• food processor (I love the Cuisinart mini prep)

Yield: 6 large cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup roasted, salted shelled pistachios

• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

• 3 tbsp cup olive oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tbsp tahini

• 1.5 cups roasted kataifi (I used Alki’s)

• 15 oz chopped milk chocolate (I used Lindt)

Directions:

1. Line 6 jumbo muffin tins with liners, and set aside.

2. Prepare the pistachio butter by placing pistachios, sugar, olive oil, vanilla, and salt into food processor. Pulse for 6-8 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary. The mixture should be smooth and creamy. Add in the tahini, and pulse for another 30 seconds.

3. Pour the pistachio butter into a large bowl, and add in the roasted kataifi. Mix until combined. Set aside.

4. Chop the milk chocolate bars into small pieces, and melt 2/3 of it over a double broiler (glass bowl over boiling water) or in the microwave.

   1. You should temper the chocolate so that it is shiny, snappy, and hard, and there are different methods for doing so. Since I was just making these for my own enjoyment, I took an imperfect shortcut for tempering by melting 2/3 of the chopped chocolate, and then stirring in the remaining 1/3.

   2. If you don’t feel like tempering the chocolate, you can proceed without doing so, but should keep your cups refrigerated.

5. Pour ~2 tablespoons of chocolate into each muffin liner, and use a spoon to evenly coat the bottom half of each liner. Place mold in fridge for 8-10 minutes so that the chocolate hardens.

6. Take the mold out of the fridge, put about 1/4 cup of the pistachio mixture into each mold. Use a fork to spread it out evenly across each bar.

7. Pour chocolate over each cup until the pistachio mixture is fully covered.

8. Refrigerate for 2+ hours or until fully hardened.

9. ENJOY!