Lehigh Valley still sweet for Dubai chocolate trend

EASTON, Pa. — Eileen Mason-Newman was ahead of the crowd when she introduced Dubai chocolate-inspired goods to the area.

With newfound popularity thanks to social media, Mason-Newman, chef and owner of Mia & Maddie's Bakery in Easton, said the trend encapsulates her baking style.

It brings a piece of international culture to the Lehigh Valley's corner of the world.

Several years ago, Mason-Newman said she made her first batch of Dubai chocolate chip cookies.

"So a few years ago, the Dubai chocolate bar was scouted for me," Mason-Newman said. "Someone went to Dubai and they said, 'Have you heard about this chocolate bar?'

"And I said, 'No,' — this was way before it became a craze — And I said, 'That sounds amazing. Let me try to recreate it here.'

"And so then I decided to make it myself, and I put it into a cookie. I was the first one around to put it into a cookie."

Then came the chocolate bars.

"And we couldn't keep up with the chocolate bars, because people would just buy them all the time," she said with a smile.

Then came the cupcakes.

Until recently, a returning customer who "loves to try new foods and ideas with me," asked about a Dubai chocolate cake, she said.

And so far — ringing in at $95 for a large cake and $11 for a slice — it's been a hit.

"Well, I got a lot of great response from that," Mason-Newman said. "People love the combination. We love the combination. It was delicious."

'Just give the introduction'

While the cost might turn some away, Mason-Newman said she hasn't had any complaints; her customers understand what they're after is meticulously curated and that ingredient costs are high.

Right now, Mason-Newman said the trend has put the United States in a pistachio shortage and that, with tariffs, the European chocolate they use on the cake is increasingly costly as they order it.

At Mia & Maddie's Bakery, it's a labor of love regardless.

For Mason-Newman and her bakery crew, it's just another item that scratches the surface for their adventurous taste.

While the Dubai chocolate trend maintains a steady popularity, Mason-Newman said she sees it as an opportunity to bring more worldwide flavors to local tastebuds.

"It draws them in and really gives us a chance to explain why this bakery is different and what we have to offer," she said. "So the Dubai chocolate, I mean, there's so many different applications, right?

"But what I'm trying to do here is just give the introduction and the experience so that you can say, 'Hey, well, yeah, I like that,' or 'I didn't like that.'"

Top 2 favorite flavors

In Hellertown, Aloha Jay's Malasadas also jumped on the Dubai chocolate train with its Oh My Dubai! malasada — a Hawaiian donut filled with pistachio creme and kataifi, topped with chocolate.

Last week, eight orders for Dubai chocolate malasadas came in just in a span of 20 minutes, Aloha Jay's Malasadas owners said.

But with the daily success of the weekly flavor, it's nothing owner Jay Losagio nor General Manager Paula Miller said surprises them.

"We sold roughly 90 when we launchd it," Miller said. "Second day, close to that again. We definitely have gone through a lot so we brought it on one more week."

And Losagio said he can see why. He said the Dubai chocolate malasada is in his "Top 2" favorite flavors.

While the flavor was discontinued this week, Losagio said he "definitely" plans to bring it back considering its popularity. In the meantime, he said he wants to continue to preserve room for rotating flavors.

A Permanent menu item?

It's a similar story down the road at Vassi's Drive-In in Hellertown with a Dubai chocolate sundae.

There, Kiersten Frazier, one of the managers said the team likes to take turns experimenting with featured menu items.

"Like one of us sees something and we take it and make a new spin on it," Frazier said. "We add new things on our menu all the time — it all spirals from us having food experience everywhere.

"One of us brings it here and everybody has a role in making it 'our own.'"

Still, no one at Vassi's Drive-In could have predicted the Dubai chocolate sundae's local popularity.

The first few weeks, the team prepared small batches of filo dough — the ingredient that makes the signature crunch in Dubai chocolate bars — and "now we're making it fresh every other day," owner Mel Sumelidis said.

For now, it exists as a summertime special, but it may become a permanent menu item "if people love it," Sumelidis said.

If Mason-Newman's success with rotating Dubai chocolate items at Mia & Maddie's Bakery is any indicator, it might.