Dubai Chocolate Pancakes

Why This Went Viral

"Dubai chocolate" — the pistachio-kunafa candy bar from Dubai's FIX Dessert Chocolatier — has been mutating into new formats since a single 2023 tasting video crossed 18 billion combined views on TikTok, and by mid-2026 the flavor had colonized pancakes, cookies, croissants, and milkshakes. The pancake version took off on TikTok through creators like @sohonutrition, who stacked mini pancakes with toasted kataifi and pistachio cream and drizzled them in chocolate. IHOP noticed: it quietly tested a Dubai Chocolate Pancake Stack at three locations in August 2025, sold out in 72 hours, and took the dish nationwide on June 29, 2026, which sent home cooks back to their skillets to recreate the layered, drippy stack themselves.

Ingredients

Main Components

• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) caster or granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (200 ml) whole milk
• 1⅔ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons (25 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of fine salt
• Neutral oil or butter, for the pan

For the Filling & Topping

• 1½ tablespoons (20 g) unsalted butter
• 3½ oz (100 g) kataifi (shredded phyllo/angel hair pastry), roughly chopped
• ⅓ cup (100 g) pistachio cream or pistachio spread
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 4½ oz (125 g) dark chocolate (60-70% cacao), chopped, divided
• ⅔ cup (150 ml) heavy cream
• ¼ cup chopped roasted pistachios, for garnish
• Flaky sea salt, for garnish (optional)

Substitutions:

• Kataifi → if you can't find shredded phyllo, pulse 3-4 sheets of regular phyllo dough in a food processor, or toast angel hair pasta broken into 1-inch pieces (texture is close, flavor is neutral)
• Pistachio cream → pistachio butter thinned with 1 teaspoon honey, or an unsweetened almond butter with a few drops of green food coloring in a pinch
• Tahini → smooth almond butter (the sesame note is part of the classic kunafa filling, so this is a flavor trade, not a like-for-like swap)

Equipment

• Medium mixing bowl and whisk
• Small saucepan
• Non-stick skillet or griddle
• Microwave-safe bowl (for the ganache)
• Offset spatula or butter knife, for layering
• ¼-cup measuring cup or ice cream scoop, for portioning batter

Instructions

Preparation (Active time: 15 min)

1. Make the pistachio-kataifi filling: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped kataifi and toast, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes until deep golden brown — watch closely, since kataifi goes from golden to burnt fast. Off the heat, stir in the pistachio cream and tahini until the toasted strands are evenly coated. Set aside to cool and thicken; it should hold its shape on a spoon.

2. Melt the chocolate for the batter: Melt 1 oz (25 g) of the chopped dark chocolate in the microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cooking (Active time: 15 min)

3. Mix the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until pale and slightly frothy, about 1 minute. Whisk in the melted chocolate and milk. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then fold just until no dry streaks remain — a few small lumps are fine; overmixing makes the pancakes tough.

4. Cook the pancakes: Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat and brush with a thin film of oil or butter. Working in batches, pour 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake to make small rounds (about 3 inches across). Cook 1-2 minutes until bubbles form on the surface and the edges look set, then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes until cooked through. You should get about 15 pancakes total.

5. Make the ganache: Heat the cream in the microwave or a small saucepan until just steaming (don't let it boil). Pour over the remaining 3½ oz (100 g) chopped chocolate and let sit 1 minute, then stir until smooth and glossy.

Assembly & Finishing

6. Stack and fill: For each serving, stack 3 pancakes, spreading about 1 tablespoon of the pistachio-kataifi filling between each layer.

7. Finish and serve: Spoon warm ganache generously over each stack, letting it drip down the sides. Scatter chopped pistachios over the top and finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt if using. Serve immediately while the ganache is still glossy.

Food Safety & Storage

• The batter contains eggs and must be cooked through — no visibly wet or shiny batter on the pancake surface before flipping.
• Storage: Un-stacked, unfilled pancakes keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Assembled, filled stacks are best eaten right away since the ganache softens the pancakes as it sits.
• Freezing: Freeze plain cooked pancakes in a single layer, then bag them; reheat from frozen in a toaster or skillet. Don't freeze assembled stacks.
• Reheating: Warm plain pancakes in a dry skillet or toaster; assemble with fresh filling and ganache after reheating.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with extra warm pistachio cream on the side for dipping
• A shot of espresso or a pistachio latte cuts the richness
• Halve the stacks for a shareable brunch platter with fresh berries alongside

Scaling Notes

Half recipe (½×): Makes about 7-8 pancakes (roughly 2-3 servings); halve the filling and ganache too, but keep 1 whole egg rather than trying to split it.

Double recipe (2×): Cook pancakes in two skillets at once or work in more batches — the batter holds fine at room temperature for 20-30 minutes while you cook through it. Double the ganache in two microwave batches so the chocolate melts evenly.

Chef's Notes

• Sourcing: Kataifi and pistachio cream are both easiest to find at Middle Eastern or Mediterranean grocers; pistachio cream also shows up at specialty baking shops. Check the dark chocolate's label if a shopper needs to avoid soy — many bars use soy lecithin as an emulsifier, and it isn't guaranteed allergen-free the way the other ingredients here are.
• Make-ahead: The pistachio-kataifi filling keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before spreading so it's soft enough to layer.
• Variations: Swap the cocoa pancake base for a plain vanilla batter if you want the pistachio-chocolate contrast to stand out more; some home cooks add a layer of sliced banana or strawberries between the pancakes.
• Common pitfalls: Don't walk away while toasting the kataifi — it burns within seconds once it starts browning. If the ganache seizes or looks grainy, it usually means the cream wasn't hot enough; reheat gently and whisk in a splash more warm cream.
• Honest indulgence note: This is a rich, dessert-style stack — chocolate batter, pistachio cream, and a cream-based ganache add up to real sugar and saturated fat per serving. That's the point of the dish; treat it as a special-occasion stack rather than an everyday breakfast.

Nutrition Information (Optional)

Per serving (1 stack of 3 pancakes with filling and ganache): approximately 520 kcal

• Protein: 11g | Fat: 30g | Carbohydrates: 52g | Fiber: 3g

Sources

• Original / most-credited: @sohonutrition on TikTok — the viral home-recreation recipe (pistachio-kataifi-tahini filling, cocoa pancake batter) that this recipe is built on
• IHOP: "Back by Popular Demand: IHOP Takes Viral Dubai Chocolate Pancakes Nationwide" — confirms the nationwide June 29, 2026 launch and the trend's momentum
• Nation's Restaurant News: "IHOP is bringing its viral Dubai Chocolate Pancakes nationwide" — corroborates the 72-hour sellout at test locations and the TikTok view counts
• Daily Easy Meals: "Dubai Chocolate Pancakes Recipe" — corroborating recipe used to check batter and filling ratios; source of the hero photo
• Ceres Gourmet: "Dubai Chocolate Filling Pancakes Recipe" — corroborating recipe for the stacking/assembly method

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Version History:

• v1 (2026-09-13): Initial recipe by @Claude

Credits:

• Recipe development: @Claude
• Testing: @Claude
• Verification: @Coordinator
• Photography: Daily Easy Meals (source)

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Recipe Location: My-Library/Cooking/Recipes/Viral-Recipes/Recipes/2026-09-13_dubai-chocolate-pancakes.md Images Location: My-Library/Cooking/Recipes/Viral-Recipes/Images/dubai-chocolate-pancakes/