Gizzada (Coconut Tart) Recipe

Sift the gluten-free and cassava flour into a mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, baking powder and salt, mix well using a whisk

Add 1/2 cup of the butter into the bowl adding small pieces into the flour. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, crumble the flour & vegan butter together until it starts to stick together and form a crumble.

Add the cold water a little at a time and knead flour until it becomes smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball and place it onto a piece of plastic wrap. Use a pastry brush to coat the dough all over with the remainder of the butter. Cover the with the plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes in a refrigerator. Start making the filling while you wait for the dough to chill. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F and remove the dough from the refrigerator, placing it onto a lightly floured silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper.  

Add additional flour on the top of the dough and place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough.

Evenly roll out the dough into a rectangular shape using a rolling pin until its 1/2 inch thick.

Use a cookie cutter lightly dusted with flour to cut out 12 circles. 

Line two baking trays with parchment paper and remove the excess dough from around the cut-out circles. Roll the dough back into a ball and repeating the rolling steps with the rest of the dough. 

Take one of the cut circles and pinch a small area at the outer end of the dough, using an index finger and thumb. Raise this pinched pieces upwards to build a wall all around about 1/4" high. The result will be a star-like shaped dish with the center cavity used to contain the filling. Repeat this process for all the cut circles.

Arrange them onto the lined baking trays about 1" apart, and place the trays into the fridge to set for 15 minutes 

Remove from the fridge and poke the bottom of the shells using a fork, place the trays into the oven to par-bake the pastry shells for 5 minutes. 

After 5 minutes, remove the shells from the oven and add in 1 heaping tablespoon of filling into the center. Use your hands or back of a spoon to lightly press and even the filling out. Place the tarts back into the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown, rotating the tray after 10 minutes, so the tarts cook evenly. 

Remove from the oven, leaving the tarts on the tray to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove from the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack to allow them to further cool down. 

Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy your homemade Gizzada Tarts! 

In a medium-sized bowl, add the coconut, brown sugar, hot water, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon powder, salt, vanilla and water, mix well. Let it sit uncovered for 20-30 minutes, or until all the sugar has partially dissolved, stirring occasionally. Any undissolved sugar will melt while cooking the tarts.