Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls (Pistachio Cigars)
Inspired by the pistachio chocolate bars that have taken the world by storm, this recipe for Dubai chocolate filo rolls is a lighter, easier twist. It brings together flaky filo, a honeyed tahini-pistachio centre and a dip of chocolate for good measure. The cigars are just on the right side of sweetness, can easily be made plant-based and completely irresistible. Perfect as a gift, a treat with coffee or a crisp sweet bite after dinner.
I’m generally not one to get carried away by trends, but I am intrigued by the Dubai chocolate phenomenon. Although I haven’t tried the iconic chocolate bars, the combination of pistachios, tahini, kadayif pastry and chocolate is something that sounds too good to miss. This recipe is my riff on the chocolate bar, but I’m guessing it’s a bit healthier and I suspect not nearly as sweet.
Dive Right In
- Why You’ll Want To Make These Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls
- Dubai Chocolate Pastry Cigars
- Why It Works
- Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
- How To Make Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls
- Vegan Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls
- Other Middle Eastern Sweet Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- Pin It
- The Recipe
Why You’ll Want To Make These Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls
- Can make plant-based – Swap the butter for oil and the honey for maple syrup and you have a delicious vegan sweet treat.
- Crunchy, chewy, chocolatey – Light, crisp pastry, a nutty, just-sweet-enough filling and a little chocolate for indulgence. They’re satisfying without being heavy.
- Customisable – Add orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom or a touch of rose water to the filling. Use dark, milk or white chocolate for dipping.
- Fun, easy twist on baklava and Dubai chocolate bars – Inspired by the Dubai chocolate trend, this recipe blends Middle Eastern flavours with a modern, playful format. No syrup soaking or delicate pastry skills required.
- Minimal fuss, maximum reward – Shop-bought filo keeps things simple. The filling comes together in minutes and baking takes under fifteen. You don’t even need a mixer.
- Small-batch or party-friendly – Make just a few for home consumption or scale up for a beautiful tray of finger food. Ideal for gifts, afternoon tea or festive spreads.
- Visually striking – Golden cigars with glossy chocolate ends and a sprinkle of pistachios look quite fancy without any of the stress of patisserie.
Dubai Chocolate Pastry Cigars
My Dubai chocolate pastry rolls have all of the crunch you could hope for as well as the flavour of sweet roasted pistachios and rich chocolate. Instead of crunchy pastry on the inside, mine is on the outside. This leaves a deliciously chewy pistachio centre as contrast. Perfect.
Although these Dubai chocolate cigars aren’t as expensive to make as the iconic bar is to buy, with the price of pistachios, this is not a cheap recipe. I’ve subbed a few ground almonds for some of the pistachios to keep the price down a little. None of that gorgeous pistachio flavour is lost though. Toasting the nuts first really brings out their flavour.
Why It Works
- Crispy filo mimics kadayif’s light crunch but is more accessible.
- Tahini-pistachio filling gives richness and flavour without needing too much sugar.
- Chocolate dip ties it to the Dubai-style aesthetic in a neat, snackable form.
Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
For something as delicious as these Dubai chocolate filo rolls, you need surprisingly few ingredients to make them. As long as you have chocolate, tahini, honey and pistachios in your cupboard, all you need to buy is some filo pastry.
Chocolate
The original Dubai chocolate bar is made with milk chocolate. However, it’s fine to use whatever chocolate you like best, whether that’s dark, milk, a mix of both, white or vegan. My favourite is dark milk chocolate, so I used 50% milk and 50% dark baking chocolate.
There’s only one caveat, do make sure you use chocolate that’s suitable for melting. Couverture, baking or cooking chocolate should all be good. You’ll find them in the baking aisle in UK supermarkets rather than the confectionery aisle.
Filo Pastry
Most standard packs of filo pastry in the UK contain seven sheets measuring approximately 48cm (19 inch) x 25cm (10 inch). You only need four for this recipe. So you can either increase the filling ingredients and make a few more Dubai chocolate cigars or use the remaining sheets for something else.
Spanakopita parcels are always a good bet. Just swap the wild greens in the recipe for spinach or Swiss chard.
Filo pastry is both vegan and relatively low in fat, so it’s suitable for those on a plant-based diet as well as those wanting to reduce their fat intake. Having said that, you do need some butter or oil to make this recipe.
Honey
A well flavoured honey is ideal for this recipe as the flavourings are few. If you can get hold of orange blossom honey, it makes a great pairing with the pistachios and maintains that Middle Eastern vibe.
Nuts
You need raw unsalted shelled pistachio nuts for this recipe. I like to roast them first as this really enhances their flavour. But you can make these Dubai chocolate cigars without doing this if you prefer.
Although these filo rolls aren’t as expensive to make as the iconic Dubai chocolate bar is to buy, with the price of pistachios, this is not a cheap recipe. I’ve subbed a few ground almonds for some of the pistachios to keep the price down a little. None of that gorgeous pistachio flavour is lost though.
Tahini
Look for a high quality light tahini made with roasted sesame seeds. It should have a good nutty flavour and creamy consistency. When you don’t have many ingredients, the ones you do have really count.
Although I generally prefer to use whole food ingredients, it’s best not to use dark tahini here. It’s made with the whole unhulled sesame seed and whilst it’s undoubtedly better for you, it does have rather a strong and bitter flavour.
Other Flavourings
I’ve used orange blossom water as it works so well with pistachios. But you could swap this for rose water or a pinch of cinnamon or even cardamom, if liked.
Extras
If you’d like to make the filling green, try adding a teaspoon of matcha green tea powder, barley grass powder or any bright green vegetable powder. It will have the added benefit of making the cigars more nutritious.
How To Make Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls
These Dubai chocolate cigars are surprisingly easy to make. They don’t take long to bake either. The key, is not to overfill them, as I have done in the images you can see here.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for cooking temperatures and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Prepare Pistachios
First of all, lightly roast the pistachio nuts. It’s not necessary, but roasting really brings out their flavour. Roast on a baking tray at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for six to eight minutes until just starting to turn golden and smelling nutty.
Give the tray a good shake half way through cooking. I do mine in an air fryer for six minutes at 160℃ (320℉).
Allow them to cool slightly, then grind them in a coffee grinder or mini food processor. Alternatively bash them in a pestle and mortar.
You can do the same with the almonds too, if you like. Freshly ground almonds are heaps better than ready-ground almond meal.
Step 2. Make Filling
In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the ground pistachios and almonds with the tahini, honey, orange blossom water and salt.
Keep stirring until everything is thoroughly combined and the mix holds together. You want a fairly thick paste-like consistency that you can shape with your fingers.
Step 3. Assemble Rolls
Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat. As soon as it’s melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.
Cut a filo pastry sheet in half, then halve again to create four equal rectangles. I find scissors work best for this. Make sure all the other sheets are covered so that they don’t dry out. It’s virtually impossible to work with dry filo.
Working quickly, take one rectangle and brush it lightly allover with the cooled melted butter.
Take a teaspoonful of filling (about 1 ½ teaspoons) and shape it into a long narrow log with your fingers. Place it along one short edge of the buttered rectangle. Make sure it’s a couple of centimetres (half inch) shorter than the pastry.
You need less filling than you might think. If you overfill the pastries, as I did this time, the filling is likely to blow out. I made fourteen rolls, but it should have been sixteen.
Roll up like a cigar to about half way, then fold in the sides. Continue rolling until you get to the end. Roll up as tightly as you can, but also as gently as you can or the pastry might split.
Place seam-side down on a lined baking tray and brush the top with melted butter or oil.
Repeat with the remaining filling and pastry sheets.
Step 4. Bake
Brush the tops and sides with the remaining melted butter. Bake in the centre of the oven until crisp and golden.
Don’t worry if you have some leakage, you can tidy that up when the cigars have cooled; the chocolate hides a multitude of sins.
Transfer the cigars onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 5. Cool and Dip
Whilst the cigars are cooling, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl suspended over a pan of hot, but not boiling, water. As soon as most of the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and stir until smooth.
Roughly crush or finely chop a few pistachios so that they’re ready for sprinkling.
If any filling has blown out, just neaten everything up with a knife before dipping in chocolate.
Dip the ends of the cigars into the melted chocolate. Sprinkle immediately with the crushed pistachios and lay carefully on a piece of greaseproof or baking paper.
Leave the chocolate to set. It will take an hour or more at room temperature.
Once completely cool, dust with a little icing sugar, if liked.
Vegan Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls
For a vegan version, swap the honey for maple syrup and the butter for olive oil. Make sure the chocolate you use is suitable for vegans.
Filo pastry is typically vegan friendly, but check the label before you buy, just in case.
Other Middle Eastern Sweet Recipes You Might Like
- apricot almond cake with a sticky pistachio topping
- basbousa: an Egyptian semolina yoghurt cake
- chocolate baklawa
- maamoul: date & walnut stuffed cookies
- sesame halva biscuits
And if you’d like more ideas on what to make with chocolate, you’ll find plenty of inspiration in my chocolate recipes collection.
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these Dubai chocolate filo rolls, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making filo cigars?
Please rate the recipe too. And do tag me @choclette8 on Instagram with your images, I love to see your take on my recipes.
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If you’d like more pistachio recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls. PIN IT.
Dubai Chocolate Filo Rolls (Pistachio Cigars)
Ingredients
- 75 g pistachio nuts lightly roasted and roughly ground + a few crushed ones to decorate
- 25 g ground almonds
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 3 tbsp honey orange blossom works well
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
- 1 pinch fine sea or rock salt
- 4 filo (phyllo) pastry sheets
- 20 g unsalted butter melted
- 100 g chocolate dark, milk or a mix
Instructions
Make The Filling
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the ground pistachios and almonds with the tahini, honey, orange blossom water and salt. Keep stirring until everything is thoroughly combined and the mix holds together. You want a fairly thick paste-like consistency that you can shape with your fingers.75 g pistachio nuts, 25 g ground almonds, 2 tbsp tahini, 3 tbsp honey, 1 tsp orange blossom water, 1 pinch fine sea or rock salt
- Preheat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) and line a baking tray.
Assemble The Rolls
- Cut the filo pastry into 4 equal rectangles.4 filo (phyllo) pastry sheets
- Take one rectangle and brush it lightly allover with the cooled melted butter.20 g unsalted butter
- Take a teaspoonful of filling and shape it into a long narrow log. Place it along one short edge of the buttered rectangle. Make sure it’s a couple of centimetres shorter than the pastry.
- Roll it up like a cigar, about half way, then fold in the sides and continue rolling.
- Place seam-side down on a lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining filling and pastry sheets.
Bake
- Brush the tops and sides with the remaining melted butter. Bake in the centre of the oven for 12–15 minutes or until crisp and golden.
- If necessary, trim off any filling that might have leaked out using a sharp knife.
- Transfer the cigars onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Cool and Dip
- Whilst they're cooling, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl suspended over a pan of hot, but not boiling, water. As soon as the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and stir until smooth.100 g chocolate
- Dip one or both ends of the cigars into the melted chocolate. Sprinkle with the crushed pistachios and lay carefully on a piece of greaseproof or baking paper.
- Leave to set. It will take an hour or more at room temperature.
Amazing! Would be happy to try the filo rolles. The Dubai chocolate is so pricey, I bought a few different ones to try for my guys.
Thanks Galina, they’re very easy to make and so rewarding. I hope your boys liked those chocolate bars.
I’ve heard about the Dubai chocolate but had no idea what it was. Must be hiding under a rock!! I have to say your recipe sounds absolutely delicious. Will make at the first opportunity.
Thanks Choclette:))
Yay! I can highly recommend my filo version, but really have no idea how good the actual chocolate bar is.
I absolutely love Dubai chocolate, and i made (and posted on my blog) an ice cream version recently. These filo rolls sound very delicious! I read there was a pistachio shortage due to the craze 🙂
cheers
Your ice cream sounds lush Sherry. Heading over now to have a look. And yes I’ve heard there’s a shortage of pistachios too. I guess that’s why they’re even more expensive than usual.