I’ve been wanting to make Dubai Chocolate Maritozzo for a while, so when my friend Liz and I decided to host a pistachio-theme dinner together, I knew I had to put this on our menu. This Dubai Chocolate Maritozzo has chocolate milk bread bun, knafeh-style crunchy pistachio filling, pistachio whipped cream and dark chocolate glaze. It’s crunchy, nutty, soft, and chocolaty, everything you want in one bite.
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What is Dubai chocolate?
There is probably not a single person in the world that hasn’t heard of Dubai chocolate. It went viral in 2023, and the trend never really died down. This pistachio and kataifi stuffed chocolate inspired a whole wave of spin-offs, including one of the biggest in Asia, Dubai chocolate cookie, a cocoa-coated pistachio-kataifi stuffed marshmallow. And here we are, in 2026, Dubai chocolate has become a mainstream flavor. Even Starbucks is selling Dubai Chocolate Matcha.
Ingredients of Dubai Chocolate Maritozzo
- Chocolate Milk Bread - I made these using my chocolate milk bread recipe. Traditionally, maritozzo is made with a slightly sweet, yeasted dough enriched with olive oil, sugar, and eggs. These days, many versions lean toward brioche, which is butter-based. For mine, I use Japanese milk bread. It incorporates tangzhong (a cooked flour roux), which helps the buns stay tender even after chilling.
- Pistachio Paste - I made own pistachio paste by blending roasted pistachio in the food processor. If you decide to make your own, just remember it is ok to add some oil when that is too thick to blend. If you want to use the store-bought, make sure you get pistachio paste, not pistachio cream, which might contain milk or white chocolate.
- Kadaifi - Kataifi is a type of shredded phyllo pastry commonly used in Middle Eastern, Turkish, and Greek desserts. I got them from Amazon. Do not choose the toasted ones, instead pick one that’s white and dry. It’s better to toast it freshly by ourself.
- Butter - Butter is used to toast the kataifi. I used Irish butter for more intense buttery flavor.
- Flaky Sea Salt - I use Maldon salt, but you can also use Fleur de Sel or any type of flaky salt. Maldon salt has bigger crystal, you will need to roughly crush it before using.
- White Chocolate - White chocolate help set the texture of pistachio kunafa, also is the source of sweetness. Yo might ask me how come I don’t just use pistachio cream, which already contains white chocolate and pistachio paste. Well I like to control the sweetness and texture of my own filling. This is the best ratio of Dubai Chocolate filling to me.
- Dark Chocolate - This is only for the chocolate glaze. I use 64% quality dark chocolate.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make pistachio kunafa?
Toast the kataifi with butter in the pan over low heat until it turns golden crispy. Let it cool down before using.
Melt white chocolate in the microwave, and mix with pistachio paste and oil.
Mix the pistachio chocolate, toasted kataifi and flaky salt.
How to make pistachio whipped cream?
Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar to soft peak. Add the pistachio paste and whip again until the pistachio paste is fully blended into whipped cream.
How to assemble Dubai chocolate maritozzo?
Prepare the chocolate milk bread rolls first. The full recipe of fluffy chocolate milk bread is here.
Make a lateral cut in the the chocolate milk bread rolls with a serrated knife.
Scoop about 15g of pistachio kunafa into each roll.
Pipe a generous amount of pistachio whipped cream inside to cover the pistachio kunafa.
Smooth the maritozzo with a spatula or acetate. Place the maritozzo in the fridge for 10 minutes, and prep the chocolate glaze while waiting.
Melt the dark chocolate and butter in the microwave or over hot water.
Cover half of the maritozzo with chocolate glaze and decorate with chopped roasted pistachio.
Storage
The maritozzo tastes best on the same day, but I designed this recipe so you can prep it a day ahead. Store it in the fridge, then take it out at least 10 minutes before serving so the texture softens back up.
Recipe Tips
Be patient when toasting the kataifi! It can take a while to toast it to golden crispy. Since the heat is only coming from the bottom of the pan, make sure to stir it constantly so it toasts evenly and doesn’t burn.
Balance the ratio of the crunchy pistachio kunafa and pistachio whipped cream! I love every component of this dessert, but during testing I found myself adding too much of the pistachio kunafa, which made it lose that light, creamy texture that a maritozzo should have.
Recipe FAQ
The recipe is just enough for 10 Dubai chocolate maritozzo, but making extra filling might be a better idea cause you will want to taste along the process. Scoop the pistachio kunafa into small balls, coat a layer of chocolate glaze and let them chill on the parchment paper in the fridge. And here is your little Dubai chocolate bonbon.
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Recipe Card
Dubai Chocolate Maritozzo
Ingredients
Pistachio Kunafa
- 50 g Kadaifi
- 20 g butter
- 1 g Maldon sea salt
- 75 g pistachio paste
- 7 g extra virgin olive oil
- 20 g white chocolate
Pistachio Whipped Cream
- 180 g heavy cream
- 12 g powdered sugar
- 45 g pistachio paste
Dark Chocolate Glaze
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 40 g butter
- roasted pistachio for decoration
Instructions
- Prepare the chocolate milk bread rolls first. The full recipe of fluffy chocolate milk bread is here.
Make Pistachio Kunafa
- Toast: Toast the kataifi with butter in the pan over low heat until it turns golden crispy. Let it cool down before using.
- Mix: Melt white chocolate in the microwave, and mix with pistachio paste and oil.
- Mix: Mix the pistachio chocolate, toasted kataifi and flaky salt.
Make Pistachio Whipped Cream
- Mix: Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar to soft peak. Add the pistachio paste and whip again until the pistachio paste is fully blended into whipped cream.
Assemble Dubai Chocolate Maritozzo
- Cut: Make a lateral cut in the the chocolate milk bread rolls with a serrated knife.
- Fill: Scoop about 15g of pistachio kunafa into each roll. Pipe a generous amount of pistachio whipped cream inside to cover the pistachio kunafa. Smooth the maritozzo with a spatula or acetate.
- Melt: Place the maritozzo in the fridge for 10 minutes, and prep the chocolate glaze while waiting. Melt the dark chocolate and butter in the microwave or over hot water.
- Decorate: Cover half of the maritozzo with chocolate glaze and decorate with chopped roasted pistachio.
Lauren says
These looks great. I don't seem to see the recipe for the homemade pistachio paste. Would u be able to list down ingredients to make enough pistachio paste for this recipe. Hope to try this. Thank you
Sharon says
Hello Lauren. I am happy you asked. The pistachio paste is only blended pistachio, so I didn't list it out as an ingredients. If you want to make it by yourself. The whole recipe will need about 120g pistachio paste, so I suggest you blend 150g pistachio to paste, and add a little oil during the blending if the texture is too grainy.