Dubai chocolate delight: Uncovering the viral craze

Many of you have undoubtedly seen videos showcasing the challenges of making Dubai chocolate. Recreating the recipe for this delicacy has become a fresh viral trend on social media. The puzzling part appears to be one ingredient that looks like angel hair pasta. This is kataifi pastry, a product of Middle Eastern cuisine and the base for many desserts. It is not available in all stores, but it can be easily substituted.

Kadayıf pastry is not shredded phyllo dough. While related, these products are not the same. Kataifi pastry is made from a thin batter (a mix of flour and water) that is poured through spouts onto a heated metal plate, creating long, thin strands that quickly cook and dry, turning into characteristic "angel hair". On the other hand, Phyllo dough is stretched and rolled into sheets as thin as paper and made from flour, olive oil, water, and salt. It's noteworthy that kadayıf pastry is crunchier after baking than phyllo dough.

Recently, the recipe for Dubai chocolate filled with crunchy kadayıf strings has become particularly popular. You can substitute these with phyllo dough, but you'll need to cut it into very thin strips first. Alternatively, you can try a version with puff pastry. However, in this case, you must roll the dough out as thin as possible (as thin as a sheet of paper) and then cut it into very thin strips.

Ingredients:

• 450g of milk or dark chocolate,
• 140g of phyllo dough,
• 40g of butter,
• 80g of pistachio cream (recipe for homemade pistachio cream).

Preparation:

1. Chop the chocolate and melt half of it in a double boiler, ensuring the chocolate does not overheat.
2. Spread the prepared chocolate on the bottom and sides of the prepared mould.
3. Place the mould with chocolate in the refrigerator to set.
4. Cut the phyllo dough into very thin strips and then carefully chop to finely shred it. Separate the strips with your hands.
5. Transfer the dough to a pan and fry, stirring constantly, until it starts to change colour. Then add butter and continue frying until the phyllo strips are brown and crispy.
6. Transfer the crispy phyllo dough to a bowl and mix with pistachio cream.
7. Place the prepared filling on the set chocolate.
8. Melt the remaining chocolate in a double boiler and pour it over the layer of pistachio cream and phyllo dough.
9. Place the Dubai chocolate in the refrigerator to set.