Gizzada or pinch-me-round is a classic Jamaican treat. This open-faced coconut tart has a flaky shortbread crust filled with sweet, spiced coconut flakes and baked until golden brown. SO. GOOD.
Happy Emancipation Day Jamaica!
Happy Sunday! Can you believe it is already August? Yesterday was Jamaica’s Emancipation Day, which marks the island’s freedom from British colonialism. But as the recent racial and social movements all across the world demonstrate, there is still a very long way to go before Black people can truly say we are free. The remnants of colonialism, and the centuries of enslavement that followed in its wake, are still present in Jamaica and across the world. Still, as Beyonce so eloquently reminded us this week, BLACK IS KING (and QUEEN), and our histories are so much more than forced bondage and racial injustice.
I am personally embarking on a journey to learn more about my heritage and my island’s past, and August is the perfect time to begin my journey since Jamaica celebrates so many milestones this month. The first stop on my personal cultural journey is back to my childhood to revisit these delicious gizzadas.
What is Gizzada?
Gizzada is essentially a mini open-faced tart with spiced coconut filling. This handheld tart is characterized by a pinched crust (which is why this treat is also known as pinch-me-round). I honestly had no clue where the name gizzada came from, so I had to do some research for this post.
I learned that gizzada comes from the Portuguese word guisada, the name for a similar tart brought to Jamaica by Portuguese Jews fleeing persecution in the 1500s. Its no surprise that Jamaica was considered a safe haven, our island has always been known for our hospitality! Over time, I guess Jamaicans started spelling guisada phonetically, which led to the gizzada I know and love.
Gizzada is pretty easy to make, it just takes some time and patience.
I’ll go through the process step by step.
Step 1: Let’s make the gizzada crust…
First, the crust. We are using a simple homemade shortbread crust for this recipe. This will make our tart shell nice and buttery.
For the dough, we need flour, cold butter, ice cold water, and a little bit of salt (if you’re using unsalted butter).
A little trick, stick your butter in the freezer for a few minutes, then use a grater to grate the butter directly into the dough.
Use your hands to press the butter into the dough until the dough forms small pebbles. Next, add your ice cold water, and knead the dough until it forms a ball. Be careful not to over work the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes while we prepare the filling.
Next, the filling. I’m all about using whatever works and whatever is quickest, but for this recipe, I think it really makes a difference if you use fresh coconut. Since the filling is made up almost entirely of just this one ingredient, we have to make sure to use the best quality coconut we can possibly find! Of course, you can also use store bought shredded coconut, and I’ll explain how to do that below.
Step 2: The gizzada filling (fresh coconut)…
You’ll want to use a brown coconut for this recipe (i.e. the type that has a rough, almost hairy brown exterior, and three round “eyes”). Brown coconut is great because it has less water than young green coconuts, and the coconut flesh is thick and chewy, a perfect consistency for baking.
First thing’s first, crack open your coconut, pour out the water, and remove the flesh. Opening a coconut is NOT easy, I struggled for the longest time, and had to swap my santoku knife for a screwdriver and a hammer (I kid you not), but we made it work.
Once you get the flesh, it’s time to start grating. You might notice that the flesh has some thing brown pieces attached to it, that’s totally fine. You can go ahead and grate those parts as well, or if you want to just grate the flesh, turn your flesh so that the white part is facing the grater, and stop grating once you get down to the brown parts.
TIP: I like to add a little something extra to the filling by grating some fresh ginger. It adds so much flavor and helps cut some of the sweetness.
Once you grate the coconut flesh and ginger, transfer everything to a large mixing bowl and add brown sugar, grated nutmeg, ground all spice, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Then use a fork to stir everything together.
Now here’s the best part. If you went through the trouble of using fresh coconut, you’re going to be rewarded because your filling is now done. No cooking needed! Wait what?!!
Fresh coconut has a lot of natural juices, so it can break down the brown sugar and spices we’ll be adding. All we need is a little time. In about 30 minutes, your coconut filling turns into this..
Hurray! If you want the coconut to be even softer, you can let the mixture sit for longer. When it reaches the consistency you like, move on to step 3.
Step 2: The gizzada filling (store bought coconut)…
If you are using store bought coconut, be sure to get unsweetened shredded or desiccated coconut. You can find this in most grocery stores. Do not get coconut flakes, coconut chips, or sweetened coconut, as none of these will work in this recipe.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut, ginger, brown sugar, grated nutmeg, ground all spice, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Then use a fork to stir everything together.
Next, bring 1 cup of water to a boil, and add your coconut mixture. Reduce heat to low, and let the mixture cook until the water has completely evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from the stove and let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes until it cools and firms up.
NOTE: if you use store bought coconut, the texture of your filling will be a bit different, but it will still be delicious!
Step 3: The assembly…
Now it’s time to assemble the gizzadas. First we need to form the perfect gizzada shape. Remove your dough from the fridge and cut into 8 equal pieces. Then working on a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a round. Using anything you can find that’s about 4 to 5 inches in diameter (I used the top of my protein powder), cut out neat circles in each round.
To shape the dough, lift up a corner of the 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. Then pinch your thumb and index finger together to create a crease. Repeat this all the way around until you form pleated cups (hence, pinch me round!).
TIP: Can check out my Instagram story highlights to see how I shape my gizzadas. It takes a bit of practice, but these do not have to be perfect. This is a fun project to do with kids!
Once you shape your cups, it is time to pre-bake them at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes. Pre-baking will help make sure the cups are firm enough to hold the filling and will not get soggy.
After you remove the pre-baked gizzada crusts from the oven, coat with egg wash. The egg wash is not required, but gives the gizzada a nice golden color. You can also use milk.
Scoop a spoonful of filling into each crust, and press flat. Transfer the filled gizzadas back to your baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Some of the liquid might ooze out, that’s normal. Let the gizzadas sit on a wire rack until they are completely cool, then enjoy!
Can you make gizzada ahead of time?
As you can see, making gizzadas can be a tedious process, but the good news is you can make the shells and filling before hand and freeze them separately. Then combine and bake when you are ready to eat.
Looking for another Jamaican dish? Try these recipes:
Share this recipe…
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know by rating it and leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you. And don’t forget to tag #sweetandsorrel on Instagram!
Jamaican Gizzada
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups AP Flour
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter (place in freezer for 5 minutes)
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
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)
Instructions
- To make the dough. Add flour to a mixing bowl. Use a grater to grate cold butter into dough. Using your hands, press butter into flour until mixture clumps together and forms coarse pebbles. Add ice cold water a little at a time and knead until dough comes together and forms a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- 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 occassionally.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 pot and set aside to let the mixture cool while you prepare the crust.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from 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, lift up a corner of the 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 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 crust is golden brown. Let cool. Enjoy!
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11 Comments
Just found your website and as a huge coconut fan I’m looking forward to trying the gizzadas. Btw, a neat trick my mother-in-law taught me to get the dry coconut out of the shell easier is to freeze the whole dry coconut in shell for a few days, longer the better, then thaw out when ready to use. The nut releases much easier from the shell and has even come out entirely whole!
Hi Simone,
I’m so glad you found my blog! Thanks so much for this trick, I have to give it a try in the future. -Dani
Excellent recipe. I’ve made them a number of times. I did put a band of aluminum foil around them during the pre-bake which helps them to retain their “pinched” shape.
So happy to hear that you enjoy this recipe Philip. Using foil is a great idea!
Wow, you have beautifully decorated this post. I really appreciate it very much. People like you also exist in the world. Who share everything. And there are some people who do not share anything with anyone. I wish today’s youth wrote your kind post, thank you very much.
thank you so much!