What is Dubai chocolate and where can I get my hands on the viral treat?
A Dubai chocolate bar from Sugar Plum Sweetery.
Dubai chocolate has taken Ireland by storm in recent months with people indulging their sweet tooth on the knafeh and pistachio-filled bars of chocolate.
A popular supplier of the bars here in Ireland, the Sugar Plum Sweetery based in Mullingar has become the go-to shop for fans to get their fix of the viral chocolate craze.
Other spots, including The Menu Cakery in Halfway in Cork and Buíoch Irish Chocolates, have also been fulfilling orders for the popular chocolate treat.
Now, Lidl has whipped up its own version of the Dubai chocolate bar.
So, what is Dubai chocolate and how did it become so popular?
'Dubai chocolate' is a pistachio-flavoured chocolate bar with a gooey flakey texture.
The original bar consists of pistachios, as well as knafeh, a sugary crisp pastry that originates from Turkey, and tahini paste and milk chocolate.
The Dubai chocolate bar was created by British/ Egyptian founder of Dubai-based FIX Dessert Chocolatier Sarah Hamouda.
FIX (which stands for Freaking Incredible Experience) and Hamouda named the bar 'Can't Get Knafeh of It.'
Hamouda, who moved to Dubai nine years ago with her family, stumbled on the recipe for Dubai chocolate while craving something beyond the original chocolate fix while she was pregnant in 2021.
Sarah began incorporating Middle Eastern fillings such as pistachios into her chocolate creations and the rest is history.
Dubai chocolate became popular through TikTok. The chocolate treat started gaining traction on social media when influencers began talking about Hamouda’s creation.
Food influencer Maria Vehera's clip of taste-testing a bar in her car, which has racked up more than 114 million views, prompted a wave of budding chocolatiers to attempt recreating the bar.
After that, influencers began posting their taste tests of the chocolate and the craze grew - with people desperately trying to get their hands on a bar.
One of the biggest producers in Ireland is the Sugar Plum Sweetery. People can also purchase from The Menu Cakery in Cork, Buíoch Irish Chocolates, Galway Chocolates and now Lidl.
