Koeksisters
Ingredients
5⅓ cups (700 g) cake wheat flour
3 tsp (15 ml) baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tbsp (15 ml) butter
1 egg
1 cup (250 ml) water
cooking oil for deep-frying
Syrup:
10 cups (2 kg) sugar
6 cups (1,5 litres) water
2 cinnamon sticks
juice of 2 lemons
Cooking Instructions
- Prepare the dough and the syrup the day before.
- Mix the ingredients to form a smooth dough and knead it very well. Wrap dough in cling wrap and leave overnight in the fridge.
- To make the syrup, put sugar, water and cinnamon sticks in a pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 7 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Allow to cool and leave overnight in the fridge.
- Roll out the cold dough to 5 mm thick and cut into 3 cm x 12 cm strips. Cut two slits lengthwise into each strip – but don’t cut all the way through; keep the one end intact. Plait the three strands and pinch them together at the other end.
- Deep-fry koeksisters in hot oil until golden brown, and dip them directly into the ice-cold syrup. (Keep the syrup cold as you continue to make the whole batch.) Allow excess syrup to drip off as you take the koeksisters out and leave to cool.
About the Author
After completing a chef’s course in Pretoria and an internship under acclaimed chefs Margot Janse and Chris Erasmus in Franschhoek, Anna Carolina headed back home to eMkhondo (Piet Retief), where she ran a successful bistro for two years. During this time she developed a love for blogging and food media, so she packed her bags once more and moved to Cape Town, where she has been cooking and styling food ever since. She is a monthly contributor to Pick n Pay’s Fresh Living magazine, and was the food stylist on Neill Anthony – Private Chef (SABC3), Siba’s Table Season 2 (Food Network), Jenny and Reza’s Fabulous Food Academy (Food Network) and Just Cooking (BBC Lifestyle).
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