Gizzada

The story

Gizzada is a Jamaican dessert with a clear sense of place. Gizzada, sometimes called pinch-me-round, is a classic Jamaican coconut tart immediately recognisable by its hand-pinched pastry edge. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 300 g plain flour
• 150 g cold buttercubed
• 0.5 tsp fine salt
• 90 ml ice waterapproximately
• 300 g fresh grated coconut
• 180 g dark brown sugar
• 100 ml water
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pinch fine salt

Method

1. Rub butter into flour and salt until

   Rub butter into flour and salt until coarse crumbs form, add just enough ice water to bind and chill the pastry 30 minutes.

   Look for: coarse crumbs form, add just enough ice water to bind and chill the pastry 30 minutes Tip: Make exaggerated pinches in the pastry rim; they soften and spread slightly in the oven. Avoid: Warm filling melts pastry fat, overfilling causes boil-over and shallow pinches disappear during baking.

2. Simmer coconut, brown sugar, water, ginger, nutmeg,

   Simmer coconut, brown sugar, water, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla and a pinch of salt for 8–10 minutes until sticky and most free liquid has evaporated. Cool completely.

   Look for: sticky and most free liquid has evaporated

3. Roll pastry 3 mm thick and cut

   Roll pastry 3 mm thick and cut twelve 10 cm rounds. Press into small tart tins or shape free-standing cups, pinching the rim into the traditional pointed scallops.

4. Blind-bake the empty shells at 190°C for

   Blind-bake the empty shells at 190°C for 8 minutes so the base starts setting before the moist filling is added.

5. Spoon coconut filling into each shell without

   Spoon coconut filling into each shell without packing it above the rim. Bake another 15–18 minutes until pastry is golden and coconut has dark caramelised tips.

   Look for: pastry is golden and coconut has dark caramelised tips

6. Cool before removing from tins

   Cool before removing from tins. The filling is very hot and sticky straight from the oven and firms to a chewy texture as it cools.

   Look for: Pastry is golden underneath and coconut is caramelised at the tips but remains chewy at the centre.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.