5 ways to savor the Dubai chocolate craze

Pregnancy cravings inspired British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda’s creation of a chocolate bar stuffed with a gooey, crispy mix of pistachio cream, tahini and knafeh, a dessert made from shredded phyllo pastry, cheese and sugar syrup.

That was in 2021. Four years later, her viral concoction that came to be known as “Dubai chocolate” is seemingly everywhere and available in every conceivable form.

Here are five places — and five ways — to try it in Las Vegas.

Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cup

Described as “luxury in a cup,” it consists of nearly a pound of strawberries that are delivered fresh daily, along with semisweet chocolate and high-quality pistachio butter from Italy.

$20; Blooming Buns Bakehouse, 7785 N. Durango Drive

Dubai Chocolate Beignets

Three of the patisserie’s freshly fried, French Quarter-style beignets are filled with toasted kataifi and pistachio cream, then topped with powdered sugar, chocolate drizzle and pistachio powder.

$17; Saint Honoré, 5020 Blue Diamond Road

Dubai Ring Ding

Is there such a thing as “double viral”? The Ring Ding, Whiskful Thinking’s take on traditional cake sandwiches made in-house each day, was popular. Then came the Dubai version. It’s a fluffy pistachio cake filled with house-made pistachio kataifi crunch mix and dipped in dark chocolate.

$7; Whiskful Thinking Cakes, 5035 S. Fort Apache Road

Dubai Chocolate Cookie

This cookie is filled with creamy pistachio butter and toasted kataifi, then dipped in chocolate and topped with a drizzle of pistachio butter.

$8; Bake the Cookie Shoppe, 6430 S. Decatur Blvd.

Dubai Chocolate Pancakes

It starts with chocolate pancakes — never a bad beginning — then adds pistachio cream, crispy kadayif (similar to kataifi), fresh strawberries, warm chocolate sauce and roasted pistachios. This one’s only available during brunch, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, so plan accordingly.

$26; Flanker Kitchen + Sports Bar, Mandalay Bay