South African Koeksisters Recipes

SOUTH AFRICAN KOEKSISTERS

Steps:

• Put the water and sugar in a ot and bring to boil on low heat. Stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil for 7 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla essence. Put the pot into the fridge.
• Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder thoroughly in a mixing bowl. Break the butter or margarine into small pieces and add to the four mixture. Add the milk. Mix well until a dough is formed.
• Roll the dough out to a thickness of 5 mm (+ or - 1/4 in.). Cut the dough into thin (+ or - 10 mm or 1/2 in.) strips. Take 3 strips and join their ends on one side. Braid the strips to desired koeksister length and join other ends.
• Heat the oil in a pot until fairly hot. Put about 3 koeksisters (or what can fit)at a time in the oil and fry them on both sides until they get a golden-brown color. As you remove the koeksisters for the oil, place them directly ito the syrup from the fridge. It is important to keep the syrup cool, so between soakings, return the syrup to the fridge to maintain its coolness.
• Remove the koeksisters from the syrup and allow the excess syrup to drip off. Place them in the refrigerator to cool and then eat!

SOUTH AFRICAN KOEKSISTERS

Steps:

• Combine sugar, water, ginger, lemon zest, and lemon juice together in a saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. Cool syrup to room temperature, transfer to a container, and refrigerate until flavors blend, 8 hours to overnight.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until mixture has a cornmeal texture. Add the milk; mix until a smooth dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into a 5x14-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into twenty eight 1/2-inch wide strips. Twist pairs of strips together and pinch the ends together. Repeat for all of the strips. Cover strips with a clean cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Heat about 2-inches of oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a wire rack over a baking sheet.
• Pour some of the cold syrup into a bowl and return remaining syrup to the refrigerator.
• Working in batches, fry koeksister twists in hot oil until twists swell and are golden brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove koeksisters from hot oil with a slotted spoon and immediately immerse in cold syrup for 10 seconds. Transfer soaked koeksisters to prepared wire rack to cool. Replenish cold syrup as necessary.

KOEKSISTERS (SOUTH AFRICAN SYRUP-SOAKED FRITTERS)

Steps:

• Prepare syrup the day before making the koeksisters and chill thoroughly.
• Dissolve sugar in water over medium heat.
• Add spices and knob of ginger.
• Boil together for 10 minutes.
• Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.
• Rub in butter finely, add beaten eggs with enough milk to blend into a stiff dough.
• Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Roll out to 5 mm (1/4 inch?) thick and cut into strips approximately 70 x 30 mm (3 x 1 inches).
• With a sharp knife, cut each strip into 3 smaller ones, leaving them attached at one end.
• Plait (braid) loosely and pinch ends to secure.
• Drop a few at a time into hot oil.
• Cook until lightly-browned and puffed.
• Lift out and drain for just 1 minute of crumpled paper towels, then drop at once into chilled syrup.
• Soak in syrup, lift out and drain in a sieve until dry.
• Note: I'm sure my cousin got a larger yield than this, she made hers very small and dainty.
• You can make them the size that suits your needs and aesthetics.
• I like them small and dainty, but that's the only way I've ever had them.

SOUTH AFRICAN KOEKSISTERS

Steps:

• Prepare the syrup a day before (it needs to be very cold).
• Dissolve sugar in the water.
• Add the spices and lemon juice to this and boil together. Leave the syrup cool in the fridge overnight.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
• Rub in the butter and mix until pliable.
• Mix this with the egg and water (adding the water a little at a time).
• Work the dough well. If the dough appears to be lumpy and sticky, continue to work the dough until it will ball up.
• Let the dough rest at room temperature for about three hours (under an inverted mixing bowl).
• Roll out the dough (thickness 5mm).
• Cut the dough into strips of 6cm long, 2cm wide.
• Cut each of these strips into three strips (not all the way through, leave the strips connected at the top).
• Plat each strip, pinch together at the end of the strip.
• Deep fry until golden brown.
• Remove and drain quickly - dip the hot koeksisters in the cold syrup (that was stored in the fridge up to now).
• The secret is to keep the syrup cold and the koeksisters hot, this way it will draw just the right amount of syrup.
• You can keep the syrup cold by keeping the syrup bowl in another container filled with iced water.