As I was conceptualizing ideas for Mother’s Day recipes, I kept coming back to a few key feelings: ease, joy and celebration. I wanted to create something that felt effortless yet special. Most of all, I wanted something fun.
Idea for the Dubai Chocolate Trifle with Strawberries
I also thought about some trends I’d been seeing on TikTok, namely Dubai chocolate strawberry cups.
This viral dessert consists of layers of bright red strawberries that are covered in melted milk chocolate and pistachio-flavored kadaif, shredded phyllo dough often seen in Middle Eastern desserts. The layers are repeated until the cup overflows.
The cups are inspired by an earlier TikTok food trend: Dubai chocolate, a bar filled with a crunchy and creamy pistachio kadaif mixture.
A Dubai chocolatier called Fix Dessert Chocolatier invented the treat, which gained popularity in 2024, after social media influencers promoted it heavily on TikTok. Bakeries and chocolate shops around the country started making their own versions.
My Dubai Chocolate Trifle with Strawberries is inspired by the Dubai chocolate strawberry cups, and it’s a dreamy dessert to make for Mother’s Day this year.
California’s strawberry abundance!
California’s peak strawberry season starts this time of year, when the berries are bright red and ready to be picked. (Strawberries should be ripened on the vine, and harvested only when ripe.) We are lucky to be able to drive to U-pick farms around the Bay Area.
Strawberry picking was one of my favorite activities with my then-little kids. They would eat a few of the very sweet and juicy berries as they plucked them along the rows of vines, their tiny faces covered in strawberry mush.
I would come back with pounds and pounds of strawberries for jams, ice creams and yogurt parfait bowls — or to just eat as is!
Ingredients for the Dubai Chocolate Trifle with Strawberries
The ingredients for the Dubai Chocolate Trifle with Strawberries are:
Pistachio Cake
- All-purpose flour
- Whole pistachios : I get mine from a local Persian store for those green pistachios. Or Trader Joe’s has pretty good pistachios too which give a lovely color to the cake.
- Granulated sugar
- Leaving agents like baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Ground cardamom
- Whole milk
- Plain yogurt
- Neutral oil
- Vanilla extract
Macerated Strawberries
- Strawberries
- Granulated sugar
- Rose water : My go to rose water is the one from Nielsen Massey. It is extremely potent, and a little bit goes a long way. It is 100 times better than the rose water found in Indian stores which can almost taste soapy.
Chocolate Mousse
- Heavy cream, chilled
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips : I use Ghirardelli chocolate chips
- Vanilla extract
Pistachio Kadaif
- Unsalted butter
- Kadaif : I have purchased this brand a few times and love it.
- Pistachio cream : Pisti Cream of Pistachio from Sicily is my go to brand for pistachio cream.
How to make the Dubai Chocolate Trifle with Strawberries
Strawberries, chocolate and pistachio are a beautiful flavor combination.
There are 4 components to this trifle:
Eggless Pistachio Cake
For this trifle recipe, you’ll start off by making an eggless pistachio cake. It’s fluffy and absolutely delicious. You will need finely ground pistachios for the batter. I simply add raw pistachios to a high-speed blender and blend until the nuts form a fine powder.
The cake batter is very easy to put together — no stand mixer required — and bakes quickly in 25 minutes. Once cooled, the cake is cut into pieces for the trifle assembly.
Macerated Strawberries
The strawberries are simply macerated in sugar and a bit of rose water for a floral touch — it is a Mother’s Day dessert, after all.
Chocolate Mousse
Then you make a chocolate mousse. Before you worry about whipping egg whites and seizing chocolate, note that this is a fast, two-ingredient version. Heat some heavy cream in the microwave and then pour it over semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Once the chocolate melts, you mix it until it has a glossy sheen. Next, whip more heavy cream to stiff peaks and then gently fold it into the chocolate mixture to form a silky, luscious and smooth chocolate mousse.
Pistachio Kadaif
Then you need the crunch. This comes from the pistachio kadaif, perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of the Dubai chocolate trend. Here, it’s made by sauteing kadaif in butter until golden brown.
Once cooled, it is mixed with pistachio cream. You can find kadaif — sometimes labeled as kataifi — online or at Middle Eastern markets.
Pistachio cream, meanwhile, is a spread typically made of pistachios, oil and sugar; you can order a jar online or try a specialty foods shop. Most pistachio creams come from Italy. Don’t try this with unsweetened, denser pistachio butter.
Final Assembly
For the final assembly, you can use mini trifle bowls, wine glasses or any shallow glass jar that you prefer.
Essentially we will create layers of chocolate mousse, pistachio cake, mousse again, pistachio kadaif, macerated strawberries and, finally, a dollop of softly whipped cream, garnished with chopped pistachios. Set the trifles in the fridge for a few hours.
Make this dessert to honor the incredible women who pour so much of themselves into caring for others every day. Because if anyone deserves a moment of indulgence and appreciation, it’s the amazing, selfless mothers who do so much for all of us.
What kind of pistachio cream should I use in this recipe?
Pisti Cream of Pistachio from Sicily is my go to brand for pistachio cream.
What kind of kadaif should I use in this recipe?
You can find kadaif — sometimes labeled as kataifi — online or at Middle Eastern markets.
Recommended rose water?
My go to rose water is the one from Nielsen Massey. It is extremely potent, and a little bit goes a long way. It is 100 times better than the rose water found in Indian stores which can almost taste soapy.
Can I make the components in advance? If so, how many days in advance?
Yes! The components can be made a day in advance, and served the next day. The whole recipe can be made the morning of as well, and served as a lunch dessert as well. It is that easy.
Other Spring desserts that are some of my favorites!
- Strawberry Yuzu Jasmine Green Tea Cake
- Dubai Chocolate Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Lime Cinnamon Cookie Bars with Strawberry-Hibiscus Buttercream
- Strawberry Hibiscus Cardamom Pie
- Strawberry and Hibiscus Snickerdoodles
If you make this recipe, please tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.
XO
Amisha
*First published for S.F.Chronicle on 4/25/2025 *
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Dubai Chocolate Trifle with Strawberries
Ingredients
Pistachio Cake
- Cooking spray, for the pan
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole pistachios, finely ground
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/3 cup neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Macerated Strawberries
- 2 1/4 cups strawberries, cut into small pieces
- 3 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon rose water
Chocolate Mousse
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pistachio Kadaif
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups kadaif
- 8 tablespoons pistachio cream
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios
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Method
Pistachio Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray and then line it with parchment paper with an overhang so it’s easy to lift the cake from the pan. Set it aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, ground pistachios, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom, and whisk to combine.
- In a medium bowl, add the milk, yogurt, oil and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
- Leave the cake in the pan to cool for 30 minutes. Remove from the pan to cool completely.
- Cut cake into ½-inch pieces and set aside.
Macerated Strawberries
- In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, granulated sugar and rose water, and mix well to combine. Place it in the fridge to chill until ready to use.
Chocolate Mousse
- Heat ½ cup heavy cream in the microwave for 1 minute, until steaming hot. Place chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Add the hot heavy cream, cover the bowl and let sit for 3-4 minutes to melt the chocolate chips. Stir with a rubber spatula until completely smooth and silky. Set it aside to cool.
- Place the remaining heavy cream in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until you get smooth whipped cream with soft peaks.
- Remove about ½ cup of the whipped cream into a bowl and place it in the fridge to use it as garnish later.
- Continue to beat the remaining whipped cream until you get firm peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, in one direction, until you get a smooth and homogenous mousse.
Pistachio Kadaif
- In a medium skillet, on medium heat, add butter. Once melted, add the kadaif and stir occasionally for about 4-5 minutes, until light golden brown in color. Do not leave it unattended or else it will burn.
- Add the kadaif into a medium bowl. Add the pistachio butter and mix until well combined. Set aside.
Assembly
- Take out 4 to 6 serving cups, glasses or mini trifle bowls. Add about ¼ cup of the chocolate mousse to each. Tuck about 8 pieces of the pistachio cake into the mousse. Top with ¼ cup of the chocolate mousse and spread to form an even layer.
- Next divide the pistachio kadaif equally among the cups and spread it to form an even layer on top of the mousse.
- Divide the strawberries equally among the cups and spread it to form an even layer on top of the pistachio kadaif.
- Take the ½ cup softly whipped cream from the fridge and divide equally among the cups.
- Garnish each cup with chopped pistachios.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and then serve.
Notes
What kind of pistachio cream should I use in this recipe?
- Pisti Cream of Pistachio from Sicily is my go to brand for pistachio cream.
What kind of kadaif should I use in this recipe?
- You can find kadaif — sometimes labeled as kataifi — online or at Middle Eastern markets.
Recommended rose water?
- My go to rose water is the one from Nielsen Massey. It is extremely potent, and a little bit goes a long way. It is 100 times better than the rose water found in Indian stores which can almost taste soapy.
Can I make the components in advance? If so, how many days in advance?
- Yes! The components can be made a day in advance, and served the next day. The whole recipe can be made the morning of as well, and served as a lunch dessert as well. It is that easy.
