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All the flavour of our new favourite chocolate sensation, but in cheesecake form… WHAT?! This Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake is easy to make at home and there’s no baking involved.
I figured, if you can make a whole Dubai Chocolate Bar at home, surely it’s easy enough to turn it into one of my no bake cheesecakes?!
It was only a matter of time before I turned the newest sweet treat on block into a cheesecake, so here’s my deliciously indulgent Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake!
I’m obsessed with the chocolate bar, but the issue I had was I could hardly serve up a chocolate bar for dessert. The answer is here – all that creamy, chocolatey, moreish nuttiness in the form of a servable, sliceable and make-aheadable pudding.
Why is this the best Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake recipe?
⭐️ Easy make ahead dessert
⭐️ Impressive enough for guests
⭐️ Foolproof recipe that WORKS
Sarah’s notes
I discovered a while ago that I can take my favourite flavours and turn them into one of my tried-and-tested easy cheesecakes, and along came Biscoff to Chocolate Orange, Baileys to Ferrero Rocher (among many more).
Now it’s the turn of Dubai Chocolate, the viral confectionery that was invented in 2022 and is now everywhere. Seems no one can get enough of the heavenly combination of chocolate, knafeh pastry (a shredded Arabic pastry dough) and pistachio – me included!
Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients
For the base:
- Butter – This will need to be melted.
- Knafeh pastry – Instead of a biscuit base usually found in cheesecakes, this one is a little different in that we’re using knafeh pastry (also known as kadayif or kataifi). This is a fine, shredded filo pastry, traditionally found in Middle Eastern, Turkish and Greek sweet food, such as baklava.
- Pistachio paste – Also known as pistachio creme or spread, a lot of mainstream supermarkets sell this or you can get it online.
For the filling:
- Double cream – Also known as ‘heavy cream’ outside the UK. See tips below on the required whipping consistency.
- Icing sugar – This will need sifting.
- Full fat cream cheese – I like to use Philadelphia brand cream cheese for this recipe. You can use other brands, but I find they are SLIGHTLY more difficult to combine.
- Pistachio paste – See notes above.
To decorate:
- Milk chocolate – Melted. You can use your favourite here, I often use my favourite Callebaut chocolate if I have it. It’s good quality, melts well and is a good investment I think (if you buy it in bulk, it works out cheaper than supermarket chocolate.) Any milk chocolate is fine though.
- Pistachios – Chopped or buy them slivered.
How to make Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake
1. Make the base by adding the melted butter to the pastry and pistachio paste as per the recipe below. Press this mixture evenly in to the tin and refrigerate.
2. Whip the double cream, icing sugar, cream cheese and pistachio paste together, then smooth on top of the base. Chill for 3 hours or overnight.
3. When you’re ready to serve, remove it from the tin by running a warm knife around the inside of the tin to help it come away cleanly.
4. Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the cheesecake. Top with the pistachios.
SToring
Chilling the biscuit base while you’re making the cheesecake filling will allow it to set and firm up a bit, making it a bit less crumbly when you add the topping.
You can store the cheesecake in the fridge (without the topping) for a MINIMUM of 3 hours and up to 4 days from preparation. The results will be much better if it’s had time to chill overnight.
Make sure it’s covered either by keeping it in the tin or covering it with an upturned plate, then cling film to make sure it’s airtight.
You can also put the undecorated cheesecake in the freezer in the tin if you want to make it further in advance. Just make sure you defrost it properly in the fridge (again, in the tin) for 24 hours or until completely thawed, then decorate.
Top Tips
Whipping the cream
Whip the cream and cream cheese mixture enough so it holds its shape (to the texture of ice cream). If you are in the US, you can use heavy cream as the equivalent to double cream. This is easier if the cream and cream cheese are fridge cold.
Removing the cheesecake from the tin
Use a tin with either a springform (unclippable sides) or removable base. Warm a sharp, thin knife under a hot tap and then dry it. Use this to run around the outside of the cake, inside the tin, before removing it. Remove the knife and wipe as you work your way around the cake.
Type of tin
The recipe is for a 7” deep tin (not a standard sandwich cake tin – it will overflow!) You can use smaller or larger but your cheesecake will obviously be taller or shorter. I would recommend this tin.
More easy no bake cheesecakes…
Cheesecakes
Nutella Cheesecake (No Bake!)
Cheesecakes
White Chocolate Cheesecake {NO BAKE Recipe}
Cheesecakes
Creme Egg Cheesecake {No Bake Recipe}
FAQs
It should be It should be sliceable but not solid (something like room temperature butter), and it should quiver but not wobble. This will depend on how you’ve whipped your cream.
This almost always happens when either you haven’t whipped it sufficiently or when it hasn’t been chilled for long enough.
If you didn’t whip it enough initially you may be able to rescue it and firm it up a little by putting it into the freezer for an hour or so. It really does need to be whipped until it is VERY thick.
Yes, with cream cheese. But do they taste like cheese? No! They just have a certain kind of creaminess that is so good and honestly does lend itself to a sweet dish.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake {No Bake}
Ingredients
For the base:
- 150 g (5 oz) Knafeh pastry
- 75 g (2 oz) Butter, Melted
- 50 g (2 oz) Pistachio spread
For the filling:
- 600 g (21 oz) Double cream
- 100 g (4 oz) Icing sugar
- 600 g (21 oz) Cream cheese, Full fat
- 100 g (1/2 tsp) Pistachio paste
To decorate:
- 100 g (4 oz) Milk chocolate, Melted
- 30 g (1 oz) Pistachios, Chopped or slivered
Instructions
- Make the base by melting the butter, then stir into the knafeh pastry, followed by the pistachio paste.
- Press this mixture evenly into the base of a 7” tin and place in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
- Place the double cream, icing sugar, cream cheese and pistachio paste in a large bowl and whip everything together, using an electric whisk, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Smooth the cream mix on top of the knafeh base and flatten the top with the back of a spoon or a palette knife.
- Chill for 3 hours or, even better, overnight.
- When you’re ready to serve the cheesecake, remove it from the tin by running a warm knife around the inside of the tin to help it come away cleanly.
- Melt the milk chocolate in short bursts in the microwave and drizzle over the cheesecake. Top with the pistachios.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on December 3, 2025 and updated later to make improvements.
Hi
I’ve just bought the pastry but it was in the shop fridge, im assuming I need to cook it first but there is no mention of it in your recipe, please help
Hi Julie, the pastry Sarah used was already cooked so I would cook yours first, allow to cool then go from there. Hope this helps!
What a treat and something so different, thanks Sarah, this was amazing!