“Dubai Chocolate Mousse” Is the No-Bake Dessert All My Friends Are Making

This Dubai Chocolate-inspired mousse is for a luxurious, texture-packed twist on classic chocolate mousse. It layers silky, rich chocolate with a crunchy kataifi-pistachio mixture for a deeply satisfying contrast of flavors and textures. The kataifi mixture alone — buttery, crunchy, and salty-sweet— is reason enough to give it a go. 

The easy chocolate mousse is foolproof; it leans on chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) and whipped cream for a silky, stable base. It’s an elegant make-ahead dessert for dinner parties, or a cozy treat to savor alone. Want to mix things up? Try swapping in fudgy halva for the pistachio cream, or topping with rose petals and toasted sesame seeds for a showier finish.

For more assertive chocolate flavor, use bittersweet chocolate instead. 

My entire family liked this recipe. It was our first experience tasting Dubai chocolate, and this composed dessert version of the viral social media sensation did not disappoint. The kataifi mixture added a crispy, buttery, nutty foil to the rich and creamy chocolate mousse. The mousse itself had a rich, deeply chocolaty flavor. After chilling for 1 hour, the mousse was light and creamy and just set, and the kataifi mixture was very crispy-crunchy. After chilling overnight, the mousse had turned noticeably firmer, and the kataifi mixture was still crunchy. —Sandra, September 2025