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Gaznates de coco y cajeta

Australian Gourmet Traveller Mexican dessert recipe for gaznates de coco y cajeta.

By Lisa Featherby
  • 1 hr preparation
  • 1 hr 15 mins cooking plus resting
  • Serves 24
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Gaznates de coco y cajeta
Gaznates, literally "windpipes", are named for their shape. These sweet pastries are sublime drizzled with cajeta, a goat's milk caramel very popular in Mexico, where it's often served with fried plantains as a street-side snack.

Ingredients

  • 300 gm (2 cups) plain flour
  • 70 gm lard
  • 50 ml brandy
  • For deep-frying: vegetable oil
  • 1 eggwhite, lightly beaten
  • 500 ml (2 cups) thickened cream
  • 300 gm crème fraîche
  • To serve: flesh of ½ mature coconut, finely grated
Cajeta
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 500 ml (2 cups) goat's milk (see note)
  • 500 ml (2 cups) milk
  • 150 gm caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp corn syrup
  • 1 cinnamon quill
  • 40 ml sweet apera (see note)

Method

Main
  • 1
    For cajeta, combine bicarbonate of soda and 1 tbsp goat's milk in a bowl, set aside. Bring milk, sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon and remaining goat's milk to the boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add bicarbonate of soda mixture, stir occasionally until bubbles die down and mixture begins to turn caramel (20-30 minutes; if mixture bubbles up too much, transfer to a larger pan), reduce heat to low and stir continuously until caramel (10-15 minutes). Add apera and 75ml hot water, stir to dissolve, then strain through a coarse sieve. Thin to drizzling consistency with hot water if necessary, then set aside.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, combine flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add lard, rub into flour with fingertips, add brandy and enough water to make a soft dough (about 90ml), turn onto a work surface and knead to combine. Transfer to a bowl, cover, set aside to rest (30 minutes).
  • 3
    Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 170C. Roll dough through a pasta machine, starting at widest setting then reducing settings notch by notch until dough is 7-8cm wide and 3mm thick. Cut into pieces long enough to wrap around metal cannoli tubes with edges overlapping, wrap tubes, brush edge with eggwhite and press to seal. Repeat with remaining tubes and deep-fry in batches until golden (3-5 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper until cool enough to handle, slide pastries from cannoli tubes and set aside until cool.
  • 4
    Whisk cream and crème fraîche in a bowl to firm peaks, then transfer to a piping bag and pipe into pastries. Serve gaznates with cajeta and coconut for dipping.

Notes

Note Goat's milk is available from most major supermarkets; if unavailable, substitute cow's milk. Sherry-style fortified wines made in Australia are now known as apera.
Drink Suggestion: A sweet, nutty oloroso. Drink suggestion by Max Allen