Koeksisters

 

Koeksister

 

 Koeksisters are to South Africa what Doughnuts are to North America.  We love them and quite frankly so does everyone that gets to taste them.  The perfect Koeksister is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. There are two types of Koeksisters.  The Afrikaner Koeksister and the Malay Koeksister.  The Afrikaner Koeksister  is made with baking powder and the Malay Koeksister is made with yeast.  The Afrikaner Koeksister is a plait and the Malay Koeksister is more like a twist.  The Malay Koeksister is often rolled in Coconut and tastes more like a Doughnut.  Where as the Afrikaner Koeksister is sweeter and sooo juicy.  My favourite is the Afrikaner Koeksister. 

Nobody really knows when or how this became a South African traditional food, but it is the belief that the Malay slaves brought a version of these recipes to the Cape.  

It takes quite a few hours to make these but it is definitely worth it. 

There are many recipes out there.  I have put together this recipe out of the many recipes I have tried.  It is important to add cream of tartar and/or citric acid to the syrup to prevent the syrup forming sugar crystals.  The syrup must be cold or the koeksister will not absorb the syrup.  If your dough contains butter the koeksister will cook darker than if the dough is made with oil. 

Contrary to what many people believe, the name KOEKSISTER does not have anything to do with SISTERS but it refers to the sound that the hot braid makes when it is dunked into the cold syrup.

 

My five year old daughter has this to say this about Koeksisters:

“Koeksister are the best.  I can’t live with out them!”

 

Recipe 

Syrup 

12 cups sugar

6 cups water

5ml Cream Tartar

2ml citric acid

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 stick Cinnamon

Peel of 1 orange

5cm piece of root Ginger cut into 4 pieces

 

Cook for about 10 min and let it cool off before you place it in the refrigerator over night.  Do not stir while you cook the syrup, this can cause the formation of sugar crystals.

 

Dough 

7 cups all purpose flour

3 cups luke warm water

¾ cup Oil

1 tsp Salt

11tsp Baking Powder

sunflower oil for frying

 

Flours are not all the same, some are more absorbent and contain more gluten than others.  Therefore the amount of flour you need may vary from the brand of flour you use to the country and altitude where you liveat.  The dough should be a soft dough that you can knead.  You might need a bit more or less flour than listed in the recipe. Knead for a few minutes and leave to rest overningt.

 

Roll out the dough to about 1cm thick and shape it so that it is in the form of a square or rectangle.  Oil your work surface or your dough will stick to the surface.  I use a baking sheet to place the plaits on.  Make sure that the sheet is oiled too or the plaits will stick to the surface of the baking sheet.  Cut the dough into strips of 5 cm by 10cm.  Then cut each piece so it has 3 legs that you can plait.   Pinch the ends together.

Fry the koeksisters in oil until golden.  Dunk them under in the cold syrup and leave in the syrup for about a minute.  You should hear a sizzelling sound.  Place the koeksisters on a draining rack over a baking pan.  Keep them refrigerated and in a air tight container for up to a week.  They can be frozen very successfully.