The
Jump to:
I'm back today with a copycat recipe for the second Dubai chocolate drink from
This drink is different from the Matcha drink in that the pistachio sauce is used in the cold foam instead of being mixed into the actual drink. The drink is just espresso, mocha sauce, and milk with the pistachio cold foam sitting on top.
And it's absolutely delicious.
🍫 What is Dubai chocolate?
In case you're curious about what the heck Dubai chocolate is and why
It's a luxury chocolate bar filled with a rich pistachio cream and crispy shredded pastry, usually "kataifi." It's fun looking, it's delicious, and it's been all the rage in the U.S. since it started going viral on TikTok around 2024.
It's also quite pricey as far as chocolate goes, which is why these
💚 Why this recipe works
Pistachio cold foam infuses nutty flavor into the coffee: I love the way the pistachio flavor from the cold foam slowly infuses into the coffee, adding the perfect sweet and nutty flavor to the chocolate coffee.
Tastes like a Dubai chocolate bar: Though I really love the Dubai matcha drink, this drink is much more true to a Dubai chocolate bar. The chocolate and pistachio flavors shine together and honestly, you can barely taste the coffee!
Each component is simple: this drink may seem like a lot of components (espresso, pistachio cream, mocha sauce, cold foam, salted brown butter cookie topping), but each is really easy to make and I have several shortcuts you can take to make the drink even easier.
Components can be made in advance: even better, several of the components can be made in advance, including the pistachio sauce, cookie topping, and pistachio cold cream. When you're ready to enjoy the drink, all you have to do is mix together the matcha and milk with the pistachio cream and whip up the cold cream into a cold foam.
🗒 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make the Dubai Chocolate Mocha with some tips on how you can cut down on the amount of work you have to do in the kitchen (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Brewed espresso or strongly brewed coffee
- Mocha sauce: you can either use store-bought sauce or homemade with my recipe
- 2% milk: or the dairy/non-dairy alternative of your choice
- Ice
- Pistachio cold foam: I share my easy recipe with you in this post
- Salted brown butter cookie topping: I share my recipe with you here, but I also recently discovered this great brown butter seasoning that works really well!
If you're making your own mocha sauce, you'll need:
- Granulated sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Water
- Salt
- Xanthan gum: can substitute with cornstarch
For the pistachio cream cold foam, you'll need:
- Heavy cream
- 2% milk
- Pistachio sauce: ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup 2% milk
- Pistachio sauce: It's easy to make your own with the recipe I share. But if you don't want to make it, you can substitute with store-bought pistachio syrup
- Vanilla syrup: You can either purchase or make your own. If in a pinch, you can substitute with 1-2 teaspoon of granulated sugar and a little vanilla extract if you have it. Alternatively, you can add 1-2 teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk.
And if you're making your own pistachio sauce:
- Pistachio butter: unsweetened is best. You can also make your own using pistachios
- Sweetened condensed milk
- 2% milk: or the dairy/non-dairy alternative of your choice
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
🧋 Recipe tips
- Making your own mocha sauce is easy, but I usually keep a bottle of Ghirardelli sauce on hand and it works perfectly.
- If you're making your own mocha sauce, it's really as simple as simmering all the ingredients together to thicken into a sauce and then letting the sauce cool. The full recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
📧 Email Me This Recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
- I like using store-bought pistachio butter to make my sauce, but I've also made it with homemade pistachio butter, which is so easy to make! All you have to do is put ⅓ cup shelled pistachios in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. You can also put them in a mortar and use a pestle to crush them and turn them into a paste.
- You can make the pistachio sauce in advance. When kept in an airtight container in your fridge, it should stay fresh for about 2 weeks.
- You can make the pistachio cold cream in advance and keep it in your fridge in an airtight container for a few days. Turn it into cold foam when you're ready to enjoy your drink.
- The cold foam has vanilla syrup in it, which you can purchase or make yourself. If you don't want to make or buy it, simply add 1-2 teaspoon of granulated sugar into the cold foam mixture and a little vanilla extract if you have it. Alternatively, you can add 1-2 teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk.
- I like to use my electric frother to turn it into cold foam, but you can also use a hand mixer or a blender. You can even just shake it vigorously in a mason jar!
- I like to brew my espresso and then let it cool slightly before making the drink.
- If you don't have espresso, you can just use strongly brewed coffee.
- You'll want to pour the espresso over ice and stir in the mocha sauce before pouring in the milk.
- Starbucks also tops their Dubai chocolate drinks with salted brown butter cookie topping. It's easy to make yourself, but I've found this brown butter seasoning works really well!
- Top the drink with the pistachio cold foam and brown butter topping you're ready to take a sip! Taste and adjust to your preferences. If you like a sweeter drink, you can add more mocha sauce, cold foam, or even some vanilla syrup.
The Iced Dubai Chocolate Mocha really does taste just like a Dubai chocolate bar! The pistachio cold foam may not be quite as vibrantly green as the pistachio filling in the chocolate bar, but it's still pretty yummy.
🎉 Variations
The wonderful thing about making
Here are some ideas for what you can do with the Dubai Chocolate Mocha:
- Use the milk or non-dairy alternative of your choice. Starbucks' standard is 2% milk, but you can make it with anything you want. Oat milk, soy milk, almond milk, and coconut milk all work well.
- If the drink is too sweet for you, cut the mocha sauce in half.
- If it's not sweet enough for you, you can add more mocha or add the syrup flavor of your choice. I think vanilla works best!
- If you want more pistachio flavor, you can stir some of the sauce into the drink, too. This will also add sweetness.
- Use white mocha sauce for a white chocolate pistachio drink.
- To make this drink hot, stir mocha sauce into hot espresso. Gently heat milk to steaming and froth pistachio cold cream. Pour steamed milk into espresso drink and top with the frothed foam.
- Or blend the entire drink with ice for a Frappuccino-style drink.
- If you don't feel like making the cold foam, you can simply add a little more milk to the drink and stir in some pistachio sauce. The drink won't be quite as pretty, but still still bring Dubai chocolate vibes.
- Sprinkle chopped pistachios or chocolate shavings on top.
☕️ More chocolate Starbucks recipes
If you love a chocolate drink from
And, of course, don't forget to try the Dubai Chocolate Matcha!
Oh, and I know from personal experience that this drink goes really well with a side of Dubai chocolate bar.
Just trust me on this one!
📖 Recipe
Dubai Chocolate Mocha {Starbucks Copycat}
📧 Email Me This Recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
- 2 oz (2 shots) brewed espresso or strongly brewed coffee slightly cooled
- 1 ½ tablespoon mocha sauce store-bought or homemade with recipe below
- ¾ cup 2% milk (or dairy/non-dairy alternative of your choice)
- Ice
- ⅓ cup pistachio cold foam recipe below
Mocha Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (or 1 teaspoon cornstarch)
Pistachio Cold Foam
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup 2% milk
- 2 tablespoon pistachio sauce recipe below (can substitute with pistachio syrup)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla syrup store-bought or homemade- see notes for more options
Pistachio Sauce
- ¼ cup pistachio butter (unsweetened is best) see notes if making your own
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup 2% milk (or dairy/non-dairy alternative of your choice)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Salted Brown Butter Topping
- 2 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (use only if using unsalted butter)
Instructions
- Add espresso and mocha sauce to a glass filled with ice and stir together.
- Pour in milk and top with pistachio cold foam and salted brown butter topping.
Mocha Sauce
- Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and once boiling, lower heat to a simmer. Let simmer for about 15 minutes to thicken.
- Pour the syrup into a heat-proof bowl or jar and place in fridge to cool completely. It should continue to thicken as it cools.
Pistachio Cold Foam
- Place cream, milk, pistachio sauce, and vanilla syrup in a mason jar and shake well to combine. If you don't have a jar, mix all ingredients in a bowl. Keep in fridge until ready to use.
- To turn into foam, you can either use an electric frother, hand mixer, or blender with ⅓ cup cream at a time. Alternatively, you can shake the mixture vigorously in a mason jar until it's frothy.
Pistachio Sauce
- Put all ingredients in blender and process for about 45 seconds until completely smooth.
- Pour sauce into a jar or other airtight container and keep in fridge until ready to use. Sauce should keep fresh in fridge for about 2 weeks.
Salted Brown Butter Cookie Topping
- Put butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. Once melted, continue cooking, swirling saucepan often, until butter turns golden brown and smells nutty. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and salt (if using).
- Pour browned butter over sugar and stir until evenly coated and crumbly.
- Spread mixture evenly on a piece of parchment paper or wax paper (or a plate). Let rest for about 30 minutes to dry, stirring once halfway through.
Notes
-
If making your own pistachio butter, put shelled pistachios in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. You can also put them in a mortar and use a pestle to crush them and turn them into a paste. You want the pistachio butter to be fairly smooth, but you can leave some chunks if you want.
- The cold foam has vanilla syrup in it, which you can purchase or make yourself. If you don't want to make or buy it, simply add 1-2 teaspoon of granulated sugar into the cold foam mixture and a little vanilla extract if you have it. Alternatively, you can add 1-2 teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk.
- Cold foam recipe makes enough to top about 3 drinks. You can keep the cream stored (before turning it into foam) in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days and turn it into cold foam right before making drink.
- Pistachio sauce recipe makes enough to make about 12 batches of cold foam. You can keep extra in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
- Salted brown butter cookie topping makes enough for a lot of drinks! Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week.
Comments
No Comments