New Dubai chocolate strawberry cup at Yogurt Co. in Wyandotte is part of bigger trend

A decadent combination of fruit, chocolate and pistachios has taken a Downriver yogurt shop by storm.

The dessert is inspired by the Dubai chocolate bar with a crunchy pistachio center that had everyone raving in 2024.

Called the Dubai chocolate strawberry cup, the new confection is showing up around metro Detroit and has proved to be a big winner at Yogurt Co. on Biddle Avenue in Wyandotte. The business is owned by Jay Mahfouz and his wife, Amy,

The dessert is made in a 16-ounce cup filled with slices of strawberries or bananas (or a combination of both). Layered between them are crunchy and seasoned kanafe pistachio cream, Yogurt Co.’s secret cream, and drizzles of Dubai chocolate fudge and Nutella.

If you like, you can top the whole thing off with a scoop of ice cream for $1 extra. (I highly recommend the ice cream. Vanilla is best.)

“When we did our research … it’s supposed to be the fruit, with the sauces and pistachio cream,” Mahfouz said. “We did our own twist, taking the pistachio cream to another level by mixing in other ingredients to give it crunch.”

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Adding the Dubai chocolate strawberry cup to Yogurt Co.’s menu was the idea of Jamal Jawad, owner of the Custard Co. in Dearborn and Mahfouz’s cousin. It has proved to be a business booster, even in winter.

“We went viral, and it’s been insane,” Mahfouz said. “We needed it. … Downriver needed it.”

The Yogurt Co., Instagram page features posts of the dessert being at the shop as well as a collaboration with downriver Instagram tot Ace Morris @itsaces_world, who has nearly 400,000 followers, sampling the dessert.

Since adding the dessert to the menu, which costs $13 or $14 with a scoop of ice cream, Mahfouz said he has been ordering 600-700 packs of strawberries weekly. Each day, he goes through one to two tubs of the pistachio mix that Amy makes.

Each dessert is made to order, including slicing the fresh fruit, and takes a few minutes to assemble, Mahfouz said.

Yogurt Co., known for its large variety of frozen yogurt flavors and toppings ranging from candies to nuts to pretzels, has been a mainstay in downtown Wyandotte for 10 years.

“Our main thing is frozen yogurt that is gluten-free has probiotics, is low in sugar, low carb, and has no corn syrups,” Mahfouz said.

Yogurt Co. also has ice cream and is known for its Bubble Tea, Mahfouz said. On Wednesday’s, the Yogurt Co., offers “No Weigh Wednesday” where you buy the frozen yogurt by the cup size for one price and fill it up, adding as many toppings as you like.

The new dessert is a must-try. If you can’t eat it all by yourself, it’s easily shared.

Winter hours at Yogurt Co. are 1:30-9:30 p.m. daily. Hours will change once warm weather arrives.

Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: [email protected]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dessert based by Dubai chocolate bar trends at Wyandotte yogurt shop