Dubai chocolate desserts hit state fairs as a hot-ticket item

Dubai chocolate hits Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and more state fairs

At the upcoming State Fair of Texas, confectioner Stephen El Gidi will offer up his own Dubai chocolate-inspired dessert — a base of rich Belgian chocolate and a pistachio spread layered like a sweet lasagna over cheesecake in a cup.

It’s definitely a departure from the typical corn dogs and cotton candy.

From the West Coast to Middle America, dessert creators at state fairs are hawking their own confections based on Dubai chocolate, a milk chocolate shell filled with creamy pistachio, tahini and crispy kataifi, a Middle Eastern pastry.

The offerings derive inspiration from the original Dubai Chocolate, a bar created in 2021 by Sarah Hamouda, the founder of Fix Dessert Chocolatier, an online confectionary shop in Dubai.

The bar quickly went viral, with influencers touting its gooey, crunchy goodness and Hamouda saying she was selling 100 bars per minute. Now, Dubai chocolate-inspired desserts have hit the masses and are popping up at a handful of state fairs for the first time this year.