Dubai Style Pistachio Chocobar (Ice Cream on a Stick)
Egg-free pistachio ice cream bars on sticks with a thin crackly dark chocolate shell, optional toasted kataifi crunch, inspired by viral Dubai-style chocolate bars.
Equipment
- Ice cream maker (optional if using no-churn method)
- Silicone popsicle or ice cream bar molds
- Wooden sticks
- Small saucepan and heatproof bowl for chocolate
- Immersion blender (optional)
Ingredients
Pistachio ice cream base
- 2 cups heavy cream chilled; divided
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 3 tbsp cornstarch optional; omit for no-churn base
- 3/4 cup unsweetened pistachio paste or 1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios blanched and finely ground with 2 to 3 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tsp rose water optional
Optional crunch
- 40 to 50 g kataifi pastry pulled into fluffy strands
- 1 tbsp melted ghee or neutral oil
Chocolate shell (one dip pass)
- 200 g dark chocolate 50 to 70% cocoa; chopped
- 2 1/2 to 3 tbsp refined coconut oil or cocoa butter
Also need
- Silicone bar mold and wooden sticks
- Tall narrow jar for dipping (optional)
- Parchment-lined freezer tray
Instructions
Toast kataifi (optional)
- Heat oven to 170 degrees C. Toss kataifi with fat on a baking sheet. Bake 6 to 10 minutes until golden, stirring once. Cool and crush lightly.
Pistachio base (cornstarch path)
- Whisk cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold milk until smooth. Warm remaining milk with 1 cup cream, sugar, and salt until sugar dissolves.
- Whisk slurry into the pot; cook on medium-low until thickened like loose pudding, 2 to 4 minutes after it thickens. Stir constantly.
- Off heat, whisk in pistachio paste, vanilla, and rose water. Blend with immersion blender if desired. Stir in remaining 1 cup cold cream. Chill until very cold, 4 hours or overnight.
No-churn shortcut
- Instead of cornstarch base, whip 1 1/2 cups cream to stiff peaks; fold with 1 can sweetened condensed milk, pistachio paste, vanilla, rose water, salt, and optional kataifi. Pack into molds.
Churn and mold
- Churn cornstarch base in an ice cream maker to soft-serve, or pack no-churn mix into molds. Fold in most of the toasted kataifi if using.
- Fill molds, tap to settle, insert sticks, freeze until hard, at least 6 hours or overnight.
Dip in chocolate
- Melt chocolate and coconut oil over barely simmering water; cool until fluid but not hot enough to melt bars quickly.
- Unmold frozen bars. Dip halfway or fully, let excess drip, sprinkle reserved kataifi if desired. Freeze on a tray at least 20 minutes before stacking. Store up to 3 weeks with parchment between layers.
Notes
Add 6 to 8 hours (or overnight) unmolded freezing in the mold before dipping; not included in active prep time above.
If you skip cornstarch, use the no-churn condensed milk path and freeze directly in molds.
Keep bars, tray, and chocolate cool so the shell sets thin and snappy.
Bloom on chocolate is common without tempering; coconut oil helps the bite stay pleasant from the freezer.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!