During lockdown in July 2021, our family had a fun time doing a Sohn take on our favourite reality TV show My Kitchen Rules. Throughout the website you can find our recipes and the cuisines we tried out, we swapped teammates and had a great time. Susan and Ava were paired together for Jamaican Night and this was their second-place dessert. Gizzada is an open-faced tart with sweetened spiced coconut flakes.
Servings for 8.
Ingredients
Never Fail Pastry
5 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
500gram salted butter
1 egg + 1 Tbsp water to fill 1 cup
Gizzada Filling
2 cups freshly grated brown coconut (or store bought unsweetened desiccated coconut)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground all-spice
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg (optional)
Method
Prepare the filling.
If using fresh coconut: Add grated coconut to a bowl, along with grated ginger. Add brown sugar, grated nutmeg, ground all-spice, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir and let sit uncovered for 30 minutes, or until all the sugar has dissolved. Stir occasionally. You’ll be amazed how it cooks on its own. And, using brown coconuts is fun.
If using store bought coconut:
Add grated coconut to a bowl, along with grated ginger. Add brown sugar, grated nutmeg, ground all-spice, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. To a pot, add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil on the stove. Add coconut mixture to the boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, or until all the liquid has dissolved. Remove from the pot and set aside to let the mixture cool while you prepare the crust.
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove dough from the fridge and press onto a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece out into a round, and use a cup, cover, or anything you have to shape the rounds into discs, roughly 4 to 5 inches in diameter. To shape, we made our own cups out of foil and shaped the pastry with the foil to create the solid sides. Lift up a corner of the foil and dough and use the index finger of your non-dominant hand to gently push a section of the dough into the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand. Pinch your thumb and index finger together to create a crease. Repeat this all the way around until you form a pleated cup. Repeat for the remaining pieces of dough. Use a fork to prick the base of the cups.
Pre-bake dough for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with a beaten egg. Top with a spoonful of the coconut filling. Spread the filling around to fill the entire cup. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Let cool, serve with ice cream and then enjoy!
