Have you seen them around?
This summer I have been enticed, more than once by the delicious cup of strawberries covered in a drizzling of chocolate and toppings. It started when I was at the Irvine mall and was craving a sweet treat. My daughter and I stopped at the Dubai Chocolate shop. This interesting, layered creation of strawberries, rich chocolate and a crunchy Kataifi had me intrigued. It was so simple, yet so delicious. We happily paid $12 each for our small cups and slurped it down. A week later, I was at the county fair and say multiple booths of this Dubai chocolate going for $15 or more! “Wow!” I thought– “I can do this at home!” With my daughter’s graduation party coming up, I got my ingredients lined up.
Ingredients & Materials
Fresh Strawberries
Small amount of coconut oil
Toppings (Kataifi, pistachio pieces, almonds, coconut, oreo crumbles–use your imagination!)
Forks
The two main ingredients are chocolate and strawberries. Not too difficult. I experimented with few different chocolates and found that the Tony Chocolonely and Cadbury were the smoothest. I also love the Ghiradelli melting chips. I found that mixing a few of these gave me a great rich chocolate flavor and consistency. I used the ghiradelli chips to throw in if the chocolate was getting to hot or I needed to top it off for more servings. One spoonful of coconut oil helped to keep it smooth. The signature part of the “Dubai Chocolate” is the interesting crunchy wafer that is called Kataifi. It is a toasted phyllo dough that is ready for crumbling on top. I found some on Amazon that has already been prepared– a time saver! If you like the taste and consistency of the pistachio butter that is often included with the Dubai desserts, you can make your own using a recipe similar to this. Personally, I think the cost and time of peeling pistachios is not the bang for the buck I wanted, and the chocolate and strawberries on their own is delicious. Instead, I purchased a small amount of shelled and roasted pistachios and added them to my topping bar.
But we all know that melting chocolate and timing the serving can be a challenge. You don’t want your chocolate to burn or “freeze up” where it gets chunky. I wanted our guests to be able to serve themselves and go back for more. So I bought a mini crockpot. This little beauty did the trick. It was just enough to keep the right amount of chocolate and I could easily add in a few more chunks and they would melt quickly.
What a crowd pleaser!
The teenagers and adults at the graduation party loved the Dubai Strawberry Bar! It seemed like a healthier option that calorie dense cookies and cakes, but still a crowd pleaser. They kept coming back for more. Since that party, we have served Dubai Strawberries three more times at family gatherings as well as a work meeting! Once you have your ingredients and crockpot, it is easy to travel and set up a quick display!
How To tips
I washed the strawberries and simply cut off the stems and halved the larger berries. I put these in a big bowl I started off buying about 5-8 chocolate bars, plus a bag of the Ghiradelli chips. This time I chose milk chocolate, but you could definitely do dark or a mix! Out of the 8 bars, I used 2 Cadbury and 3 Toneys. The Toney’s seem like a better deal because the bars are much thicker, but the Cadburries work well too. I love the flavor of both so shop around and get the best price.
I simply broke the chocolate bars into pieces and added them to the crockpot. I turned it on low about 15 minutes before I thought people would be wanting dessert. Once it started to melt, I gave it a good stir and added in a spoonful of coconut oil. Then I just kept an eye on the crockpot and added more chocolate when it started to get low or seemed like it was getting hot. Once it was ready, the chocolate didn’t sit long! As soon as guests got a whiff, the bar was open and didn’t stop until we ran out of strawberries– so buy a lot!
There are lots of ways to display your toppings. I found a cute shelf and some small containers and added my Kataifi, oreo crumbles, and nuts. I also thought the Pirroline rounds added a cute touch to the cup. Broken ones are fine!
The great thing about a dessert bar is that everyone can make it their own. They can add as much chocolate or toppings they want. Everyone leaves satisfied. I opted for the smaller cocktail-sized cups to help feed a larger crowd. Folks can always come back for seconds if they wish!
Create some happy by making your own Dubai Chocolate Strawberries!
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