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.'
More: Which metro Detroit restaurant has the best chicken wings? Submit your nominations now!
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: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dessert based by Dubai chocolate bar trends at Wyandotte yogurt shop
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Saints make it official, process former All-Pro Ryan Ramczyk's retirement
Last Monday, the New Orleans Saints officially processed Derek Carr's retirement, bringing his NFL career to a close. One week later, they did the same with former All-Pro right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, per the daily transactions wire. We knew this was coming, but now there's no taking it back. Ramczyk won't wear No. 71 again, but its new owner Kelvin Banks Jr. ought to do it twin retirements leave the Saints with two vacancies on their 90-man offseason roster; they currently have 44 players under contract offensively, with 37 of them on defense, and four specialists (plus Irish kicker Charlie Smyth, who has an exemption as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway Program). How they'll address those two openings is anyone's guess, but we have some ideas. The team has recently met with free agents like wide receiver Gabe Davis, defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard, and cornerback Asante Samuel about the salary cap? This year, the Saints are carrying a total of $76.9 million in dead money from contracts with players no longer on the team -- $13.4 million of which accounts for Carr, and just over $11 million of which is from Ramczyk. In 2026, those numbers go up to $36.6 million for Carr and $11.9 million for Ramczyk, for a total of $48.6 million in dead money on next year's books. That's after Ramczyk agreed to lower this year's salary to the minimum with Carr forfeiting $30 million to facilitate their retirements. The Saints did get a small $1.255 million cap credit for Ramczyk retiring, just like they did for Carr, but most of those savings were wiped out by lesser contracts in the $1.03 million neighborhood replacing them above the top-51 luck to Ramczyk in retirement. Whether he's planning to take up coaching the next generation of linemen or go home to Wisconsin and log a lot of hours in his deer stand, he can do it knowing he achieved a career as a player that anyone would be proud article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFL retirement news: Saints process Ryan Ramczyk's papers
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
How Nerds Gummy Clusters became the candy aisle's biggest hit
This story was originally published on Food Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Food Dive newsletter. When Nutella maker Ferrero purchased Nestlé's candy business for nearly $3 billion in 2018, the acquisition added popular brands such as Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and 100 Grand to its enviable roster of sweets. But while much of the attention went to these iconic offerings, it may be Nerds, a product largely seen as an afterthought by its prior owner, that could turn out to be the sweetest brand of them all. Nerds is on track to hit more than $900 million in sales this year, a more than 1,700% increase from the $50 million in sales the brand was generating when it was first incorporated into Ferrara, which is owned by a Ferrero-affiliated holding company. The unprecedented surge is directly attributed to the widely popular Nerds Gummy Clusters, which represented the first meaningful innovation for the once-sleepy brand in years. Nerds Gummy Clusters are now the top sugar confection on the market, overtaking Mars Wrigley's Skittles, according to Ferrara. 'We knew we had something that was kind of special, but we really, truly had no idea how special it was or that it would grow as fast or as big as it has become,' said Katie Duffy, vice president of global brands with Ferrara. But the success of the clusters, which are a gummy ensconced in crunchy Nerds candies, wasn't a given. Initial tests weren't particularly encouraging, Duffy recalled, with consumers struggling to comprehend the multi-textural eating experience. 'We looked at the scores that came back from the concept and it was not all sunshine and rainbows,' Duffy recalled. 'We were really trying to understand, okay, why are they not getting it.' Ferrara remained hopeful that Nerds Gummy Clusters would catch on with consumers, especially after the treats proved to be an early hit with its own employees. After tweaking the visuals and language around how they showcased the treats, Nerds Gummy Clusters finally started resonating with testers. When Nerds was acquired, Ferrara observed that the 35-year-old brand had a high level of consumer awareness but went years without meaningful innovation and minimal marketing, Duffy said. Nerds also were not viewed as a market leader in candy because of their small size and the fact that they were messy. Nerds Gummy Clusters solved many of these problems. The candy has proven to be a hit at movie theaters and airports. Nerds Gummy Clusters also have helped attract older consumers and new snacking occasions to the brand. Most surprisingly, some distance runners and endurance athletes have used them as a booster in place of supplements such as Gu Energy Gel, Duffy said. Despite the recent sales boom, Duffy said there is plenty of growth left for the Nerds brand. Ferrara is rolling out more seasonal Gummy Clusters varieties in the U.S. and has expanded the brand into overseas markets such as the U.K. and Canada. At the same time, the company is hopeful Nerds Gummy Clusters can grab more shelf space at existing stores to better match its product velocity. Ferrara also is planning its next big launch under the Nerds banner later this year with Nerds Juicy Gummy Clusters. The snack contains juice in the center and is three times the size of the Gummy Cluster. 'Nerds Juicy Gummy Clusters is going to give us an opportunity to continue to build momentum that Nerds has already established,' Duffy said. 'It's a different eating experience.' Recommended Reading Leftovers: Nestlé sweetens game day with Cookie Nachos | Godiva doubles down on gourmet chocolate Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
The HEMI is back: Citing customer feedback, Ram returns V8 HEMI engines to 1500 pickups
The HEMI is back: Citing customer feedback, Ram returns V8 HEMI engines to 1500 pickups Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Free Press Car, Truck, Utility of the Year revealed Decades of work by Toyota and a bold new strategy from General Motors pay off with great vehicles, all priced in the heart of the market. Ram discontinued the HEMI engine in 2024, opting for a more powerful and fuel efficient inline six-cylinder engine. Citing customer sentiment, Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said the brand would rerelease the V-8 HEMI engine in most of its pickup offerings. Kuniskis also noted a change in Ram's market approach, with an extensive focus on one-to-one retail sales with "real customers." A year after removing the HEMI, Ram is reintroducing its famous V-8 engine to its product lineup and unveiling a new logo to accompany it. At a preview event with automotive media, Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said the HEMI is coming back to Ram trucks along with a new emblem that the brand is calling a "symbol of protest," featuring a ram's head jutting out of a V-8 engine block. Rams reequipped with the HEMI engines will be available for sale this summer, the company said, in the following Ram 1500 models: Tradesman, Big Horn, Express, Warlock, Laramie, Rebel (available later than other models), Limited and Longhorn. A year ago, Ram announced it would be discontinuing the HEMI V-8 engines in favor of a more fuel-efficient and powerful Hurricane twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine. The hurricane engines also performed better under emissions regulations. That move, Kuniskis said, was a mistake. "Ram screwed up when we dropped the HEMI — we own it and we fixed it,' Kuniskis said in a statement. Both the Hurricane and HEMI engines will be available for buyers now, giving buyers a choice. Kuniskis said that the decision was informed by customer feedback. People were mad. Toyota Tundra recalls: Is Toyota's most expensive truck reliable or plagued with issues? "(Buyers) hate the fact that we took away the freedom of choice," Kuniskis said. "We as Americans, probably more so truck buyers, hate the fact that we said, 'This is the choice you get, this is the engine you're going to take.' " Kuniskis said Ram's market approach has changed to focus almost entirely on retail sales, pulling back on fleet and rental business. Kuniskis considers this the truest reflection of the automotive market, he said, referring to retail sales as "sales to real customers." As is common with Kuniskis, whose persona reflects Ram's brand identity as loud and unapologetic, he was quick to decry experts who hawk Ram's sales numbers. The decision to bring the HEMI back was made because he heard enough from people who were upset, not crafty data analytics. "At the end of each month, we count sales to customers, not statisticians or ideologues," Kuniskis said. "Data be damned — we raise our flag and let the HEMI ring free again!' added Kuniskis. Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW. Contact him at LRappleye@
