Add the water, sugar and cardamom pods to a medium saucepan and cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Your goal is to bring the mixture to a boil while stirring regularly. The sugar should completely dissolve to leave you with a syrup.
750 ml water, 495 g granulated sugar, 3-5 pods cardamon
If you have chosen to use the vanilla extract instead of cardamon, add it once you have a syrup.
1 tsp vanilla essence
Next, add a few drops of food colouring. Stir to even out the colour, check the colour and continue adding food colouring if desired. You don’t want the colour to be too dark or saturated. Skip this step if you want natural coloured Gato Koko.
1-2 drops food colouring
Mix in the desiccated coconut and cook the coconut in the pan until all the syrup has been absorbed. This can take approximately 15 minutes on low heat.
200 g desiccated coconut
Once most of the water has evaporated, your mixture should still be a little bit moist. Use an ice-cream scoop or tablespoon to drop balls of Gato Koko onto a tray lined with baking paper. When scooping the Gato Koko, be careful to avoid the cardamom pods! Leave about 2 inches or 5 cm in spacing between each piece because the Gato Koko can spread a little bit when setting.
Allow the Gato Koko to set at room temperature, then enjoy! You should be able to pick up each Gato Koko in your hands once they are properly set. If you’re in a hurry, you can allow the Gato Koko to set in the fridge.
Notes
If you don’t have an ice-cream scoop, I find using two tablespoons the easiest way to get a nice, effortless “drop” of Gato Koko. Use one tablespoon to get a scoop of Gato Koko, then push the Gato Koko onto the tray with the back of the other tablespoon.