Dubai chocolate lovers unite! If you have already tasted this global confection obsession, then I know I have your full attention. If this is the first you are hearing of it, I am pleased to describe it to you. Picture a beautifully-crafted artisan chocolate bar, filled with a dense pistachio cream, that is speckled with tiny bits of crunchy-sweet phyllo dough. Just describing this treat puts a smile on my face.
Now let’s make it a cocktail by adding coffee, for a decadent new twist on an espresso martini. Have some fun with your garnish, bake some extra kadayif to sprinkle on top, candy-coat some shelled pistachios, or pair it with some pistachio shortbread cookies. Create something that evokes the luxurious vison of the Dubai lifestyle.
Dubai Chocolate Martini
Equipment
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Cocktail shaker
- Hawthorne Strainer
- Jigger
- Air tight quart size containers, wide mouth
- Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
- 2 oz Kataifi Washed Vodka
- 1 oz Espresso or strong coffee
- 0.75 oz Pistachio Orgeat (I used Maison Pistachio Orgeat)
- 0.25 oz Honey Syrup (1:1,honey to water)
- 6-8 dahses Chocolate Bitters
- 2 drops Saline (1:4, salt to water)
- Optional: A teaspoon of egg white or a few dashes Fee Foam to create a larger head
- Garnish with pistachio nuts, coffee beans of kataifi strands
Instructions
- Add all cocktail ingredients to a cocktail shaker
- Dry shake for 15 seconds
- Add ice to cocktail shaker and shake again until well chilled
- Strain cocktail into a coupe glass, and garnish
Kataifi Washed Vodka
Ingredients
- 750 ,l Vodka
- 4 oz Unsalted Butter, melted
- 8 oz Kataifi (Shredded Phyllo Dough, available at Persian Markets, dried or frozen)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
- In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and thawed kataifi
- Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown
- Fill a quart size air tight container with 750ml vodka
- Crumble the baked kataifi into the vodka, and seal tightly
- Let rest in a cool place for 4-6 hours, shake it a couple of times
- Strain out the kataifi, into another quart size container with a wide mouth
- Place kataifi washed vodka in the freezer for 24 hours
- Fine mesh or coffee filter strain out the butter fats from the vodka into an airtight container
- Store in the refrigerator
