Dubai chocolate
What is the âCanât Get Knafeh of Itâ candy bar?
Why did the Dubai chocolate bar become popular on social media?
What effect did the Dubai chocolate trend have on pistachio prices?
What are some variations of the Dubai chocolate bar made at home?
Dubai chocolate, chocolate candy bar filled with toasted, shredded phyllo dough (kataifi) mixed with pistachio cream and tahini. It was first produced and distributed in 2022 by the Dubai-based FIX Dessert Chocolatier (and marketed as the âCanât Get Knafeh of Itâ candy bar). The satisfyingly crunchy Dubai chocolate bar became a social media sensation after an ASMR-triggering TikTok videoâa type of social media content that uses auditory and visual stimuli to provoke a sensory responseâfeatured the confection and went viral in December 2023. Numerous brands and bakeries quickly began marketing variations of the bar and creating spin-off confections, including ice cream treats, lattes, cakes, and doughnuts.
The United States and Iran are not only two of the worldâs top producers of oil, but they also account for most of the worldâs pistachio production. Fighting between Israel and Iran in 2025 forced some of Iranâs pistachio exports to be rerouted through Turkey (TĂŒrkiye), raising the transportation costs by nearly 20 percent for at least one company in Dubai. When the United States became involved in the conflict in June (see Israel-Iran Conflict), Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point through which about one-sixth of global pistachio exports passâa staggering market share not far behind that of the oil that passes through the strait. The move, in which Iran would have stopped its own shipments of pistachios from reaching the world market, would have presumably led to the price of the other black goldâDubai chocolateâskyrocketing.
The candy barâs creamy filling combined with crunchy toasted kataifi is reminiscent of regional variants of knafeh, a traditional Middle Eastern pastry distinguished by its soft cheese filling. The name of the original bar, âCanât Get Knafeh of Itââa playful blend of the English phrase âcanât get enough of itâ and the colloquial Arabic kfayeh (from ÙÙۧÙŰ© kifÄyah, âenoughâ)âcalls to mind the texture of knafeh and other kataifi-based Middle Eastern sweets.
The Dubai chocolate social media trend included videos of attempts to re-create the candy at home using its four main ingredients: chocolate, kataifi, pistachio cream, and tahini. Some variations exclude tahini or substitute the pistachio cream with more readily available nut creams like peanut butter or Nutella. The yellow and green splotches that decorate the original candy bar are also often excluded from Internet recipes. Although the original bar is made from milk chocolate, some variants use dark chocolate or white chocolate. The popularity of the trend caused a sharp increase in demand for pistachios and a worldwide shortage, leading pistachio prices to nearly double in 2024 in the wholesale market in Turkey (TĂŒrkiye), the worldâs third largest producer.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">