Community
Print
If you’ve been scrolling food TikTok lately, chances are you’ve seen the green-and-chocolate swirl of Dubai Chocolate. The pistachio-filled confection went viral last year after a close-up video of creator Maria Vehera devouring the treat racked up more than 122 million views. Now, The Happy Pear has recreated it as a vegan Dubai Chocolate cake, combining milk-free chocolate, tahini, pistachio paste, and filo pastry for a flaky, nutty, vibrant treat.
Originally crafted by FIX Dessert Chocolatier founder Sarah Hamouda, Dubai chocolate combines milk chocolate, tahini, pistachio paste, and knafeh – a crisp Middle Eastern pastry – creating a flaky, nutty, and vibrant green filling encased in chocolate.
Read more: Where To Find Vegan Dubai Chocolate Bars
David and Stephen Flynn of The Happy Pear have taken the trend one step further. Known worldwide for their plant-based lifestyle brand, cafés, cookbooks, and recipe videos, the Irish twins share simple yet exciting ways to make healthy vegan food. Their latest recipe is a towering, four-layer Dubai Chocolate cake that swaps dairy for plants while keeping the crunch, cream, and pistachio richness intact.
“Four delicious chocolate layers. Pistachio buttercream with a delicious crunchy pistachio buttercream. Next level. This is to die for,” Stephen says at the start of the video.
Building the sponge
The foundation of the cake is a light, fluffy chocolate sponge. The twins carefully mix dry ingredients – self-raising flour, corn flour, cacao powder, and caster sugar – with oat milk, sunflower oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. But the real secret comes from a staple of vegan baking: aquafaba.
“We’ve got the water from one 400 g tin of chickpeas… Whisk it until it forms stiff peaks just like this,” David says, showing the airy result. “It is literally like a meringue.” Folding the aquafaba gently into the batter creates a sponge that is soft, crumbly, and never dense.
Pistachio butter and buttercream
The centerpiece of Dubai Chocolate is pistachio, and The Happy Pear leans all the way in. First, they blitz pistachios with sunflower oil, salt, and vanilla into a silky nut butter. Then comes the buttercream, whipped from plant-based block, icing sugar, and oat milk before being tinted green with the pistachio butter.
“This is genuinely insane. And wait till we add the crispy elements. It’s going to get incredible,” Stephen says.
The crunch factor
Traditionally, Dubai Chocolate uses knafeh or kataifi pastry for crunch. The twins improvise with store-bought filo, rolling and slicing it into fine shreds before baking until golden. These shards are folded into the pistachio buttercream, creating a texture that mimics the viral treat.
“It’s like crumbling up cornflakes,” David says as he stirs the pastry through the cream.
Layering it all together
Once cooled, the two tall sponges are halved to create four layers. Each tier is slathered with crunchy pistachio buttercream, stacked carefully, and topped with a final smooth layer.
“Many people see this as the most fun part of baking a cake, and I tend to agree,” Stephen says while assembling. “It’s a game of small wins. So just take your time, get it right to the edge.”
When cut, the cake reveals alternating ribbons of chocolate and pistachio, with hidden crunch in every bite.
“The sponge is beautiful. The crunch is just such a cool experience. But then you get pistachio and then chocolate. That is excellent. Like that is not just good. That is excellent,” David says after the first taste.
A show-stopping cake
What started as a knafeh-inspired chocolate bar in Dubai has now become a centerpiece dessert, thanks to The Happy Pear’s plant-based spin. Their Dubai Chocolate cake honors the viral trend while making it bigger, greener, and even more indulgent.
“It’s phenomenal. We really do hope you make your cake because it will make your life better,” Stephen urges viewers.
For anyone looking to bring the internet’s favorite chocolate-and-pistachio pairing to the table, this recipe is a must-try.
You can find more vegan recipes on The Happy Pear YouTube channel.
Read more: 10 Vegan Cakes To Make This Weekend
