from our cocoa kitchen · SURFSTR
Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Ice Cream
Deep cocoa ice cream meets a pistachio-tahini ribbon and golden pastry crunch. This Dubai-chocolate-inspired version needs no ice cream machine. SURFSTR Dutch-process cocoa with 20–22% cocoa butter is warmed with milk, then thoroughly cooled before folding into cream. Some kataifi is reserved for serving to give each bowl a crisp finish.
- Active preparation
- 15 min
- Cooking / baking
- 15 min
- Resting / chilling
- 610 min
- Total time
- 640 min
12 small portions, about 104 g each including topping; finished weight estimated
Editorial recipe adaptation. Not yet kitchen-tested. Check ingredient labels for allergens.
02 / bring it together
let’s make it.
-
Measure and divide
Weigh all ingredients. Reserve 60 g of the 397 g condensed milk for the pistachio ribbon; the remaining 337 g goes into the cocoa base. Keep the cream refrigerated. Prepare a freezer-safe dish of at least 2 litres, about 25 × 18 cm, and chill a large mixing bowl and beaters.
-
Make a cocoa paste
Sift 50 g SURFSTR cocoa into a small saucepan. Gradually whisk in 120 g whole milk until no dry pockets remain. This early paste may look thick; scrape the sides and corners before adding the condensed milk.
-
Warm until smooth
Add 337 g condensed milk and 1.5 g salt. Whisk over low heat for about 3–5 minutes, until smooth and steaming, approximately 70–75 °C. Do not boil or reduce to a thick fudge. No oven, baking powder or bicarbonate is needed.
-
Strain and cool completely
Pass the cocoa mixture through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl. Cool in an ice-water bath, keeping water outside the bowl, then refrigerate until at or below 5 °C, allowing about 2 hours. Stir occasionally with a clean spoon. Refrigerate promptly; do not leave dairy at room temperature for the whole cooling period.
-
Toast the kataifi
During cooling, melt 15 g butter in a wide skillet. Add 60 g chopped kataifi and turn constantly over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, until evenly golden, dry and crisp. Follow the pastry pack’s cooking directions if longer. Cool completely. Reserve one third of the toasted mixture for serving; use the other two thirds in the ribbon.
-
Make the pistachio ribbon
Stir 100 g pure pistachio paste with 15 g tahini and the reserved 60 g condensed milk. Fold in the cooled two-thirds portion of toasted kataifi. Keep this mixture separate from the chocolate base. Refrigerate while preparing the cream; store the reserved dry topping airtight.
-
Whip the cold cream
Whip 480 g cold cream with 5 g vanilla to smooth medium-firm peaks. The peaks should hold with softly bending tips. Stop before the cream becomes grainy; overwhipping makes folding harder and can produce a greasy texture.
-
Fold in the cocoa base
Check that the cocoa base is fully cold. Stir one third of the whipped cream into it to loosen it, then gently fold this mixture through the remaining cream in two additions. Stop when the colour is even and no white streaks remain. Preserve as much air as possible.
-
Layer and marble
Spread one third of the chocolate mixture in the chilled dish. Dot with half the pistachio-kataifi ribbon. Repeat these layers, then finish with the remaining chocolate mixture. Draw a skewer through the layers just 3–4 times to create broad ribbons rather than a uniform green-brown mixture. Leave a little space below the rim.
-
Freeze, then serve
Press food-safe film against the surface and fit a lid. Freeze level at −18 °C or colder for at least 8 hours. Before serving, soften for about 10 minutes, checking sooner in a warm room. Scoop into chilled bowls; add the reserved kataifi and 20 g chopped pistachios across all 12 portions. Use a scoop warmed in water and dried.
The recipe in pictures
commercial scaling
Home batch:12 small portions. Multiply by 25/12 for 25 portions and 50/12 for 50. Use several shallow containers at the same depth: at least 4.2 and 8.4 litres total capacity respectively. Whip in manageable batches and maintain the cold chain.
| ingredients | 12 portions | 25 portions | 50 portions |
|---|---|---|---|
| SURFSTR Dutch-process cocoa, 20–22% cocoa butter | 50 g | 104.2 g | 208.3 g |
| Whole milk | 120 g | 250 g | 500 g |
| Full-fat sweetened condensed milk: 337 g for cocoa base + 60 g for ribbon | 397 g | 827.1 g | 1654.2 g |
| Whipping cream, 35–36% fat, very cold | 480 g | 1,000 g | 2,000 g |
| Unsweetened 100% pistachio paste, stirred smooth | 100 g | 208.3 g | 416.7 g |
| Light tahini, stirred smooth | 15 g | 31.2 g | 62.5 g |
| Raw kataifi pastry, thawed as directed and snipped into short strands | 60 g | 125 g | 250 g |
| Unsalted butter | 15 g | 31.2 g | 62.5 g |
| Unsalted shelled pistachios, chopped, for serving | 20 g | 41.7 g | 83.3 g |
| Vanilla extract | 5 g | 10.4 g | 20.8 g |
| Fine salt | 1.5 g | 3.1 g | 6.2 g |
| Yield / estimated finished weight | 12 small portions, about 104 g each including topping; finished weight estimated / about 1,250 g | 25 / 2.60 kg | 50 / 5.21 kg |
Cooling/freezing time, whipping volume and scoopability do not scale linearly. Preserve the condensed-milk split and the 2:1 division of the toasted kataifi mixture.
03 / the numbers
nutrition, clearly.
Calculated estimates, not laboratory measurements. Any per-100-g values use the stated estimated finished weight.
| Nutrient | Per portion | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1491 kJ / 358 kcal | 1431 kJ / 344 kcal |
| Fat | 24.9 g | 23.9 g |
| of which saturates | 12.8 g | 12.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 25.5 g | 24.5 g |
| of which sugars | 21.0 g | 20.2 g |
| Fibre | 2.4 g | 2.3 g |
| Protein | 7.0 g | 6.8 g |
| Salt | 0.34 g | 0.33 g |
Calculated estimates for 12 portions, including every topping. Per 100 g assumes 1,250 g finished weight; actual yield and nutrition vary with ingredients and handling.
tips, storage & variations
Cocoa texture
Warm the cocoa with milk rather than adding extra water. Keep the dose at 50 g for this draft; more cocoa absorbs liquid and can make frozen texture dry. High-fat cocoa contributes 10.5 g cocoa butter here, so extra melted chocolate is deliberately omitted. No leavening is involved.
Ribbon, not green ice cream
Use 100% pistachio paste. Sweetened spread contains a different balance of sugar, fat and milk. Stir separated nut oil back in; do not add water to thin the ribbon. Keep broad swirls and allow firm pistachio pockets to soften during tempering.
Keep a fresh crunch
Kataifi inside the ice cream softens over time. Keep one third of the toasted mixture separate and add it only at serving. Keep it dry and airtight up to 24 hours; for longer storage, freeze separately. Re-toast briefly if needed and cool before use.
Storage and serving
Store the covered ice cream at −18 °C or colder; use within 4 weeks for best quality. Keep it cold, scoop only what is needed, and do not refreeze fully melted ice cream. A short tempering period improves scoopability. Do not sharply reduce condensed milk: sugar also controls freezing.
SURFSTR · DUTCH PROCESS
it starts with cocoa.
SURFSTR Dutch-process cocoa contains 20–22% cocoa butter. Use the cocoa specified in the recipe: natural cocoa is not always a direct substitute.
Meet the cocoa