South-African Koeksisters are Syrup drenched, deep fried, decadent sweet treats !

South-African Koeksisters are syrup drenched, deep-fried dough sweet treats and loved by young and old. If you live in South-Africa you will know exactly what these little gems are and if you have ever visited the country and have not had a Koeksister, you missed out big time !

I have to admit that I have never made my own traditional Koeksisters (see NOTE below), let’s just call it pure laziness.

That is now when I still cooked and baked without any help from the hubby. Whom as you might know is the main cook/chef/baker in the house since my shoulders started acting up.

BUT, a couple of weeks ago my daughter’s fiance’s granny baked a batch and they brought us a packet – what a treat ! Not store-bought as I usually just grab a packet or three at the supermarket, but real homemade, freshly baked Koeksisters.

Photo Credit : Vincent Viljoen

There is quite a bit of work into making these South-African Koeksisters. Therefore I will suggest you make the full recipe which yields around 4 – 6 dozen of these decadent treats.

You can twist/roll them into any size you wish but the sizes given in the directions are the most popular.

When I was little, I used to watch my own granny make these and even then I knew the most important part is — HOT fried dough, dumped quickly into the ICE-COLD syrup is key to the success of a perfect Koeksister.

~~ Quick PIN Link ~~

Over the years I have seen Koeksisters being called Koesisters as well (with the 2nd K dropped) but it is the same thing. Although some people calls Cape Malay Koeksisters, Koesisters and not Koeksisters with the 2nd K.

Please just never call them Cake Sisters ! It is pronounced the same as you would say COOKSISTER.

NOTE: I have made two varieties of Koeksisters and you can find the recipes by clicking on the names below :

• CAPE MALAY KOEKSISTERS  (easier, spicier, not as syrupey)
• SYRUP DRENCHED BREADSISTERS (easy, quick, but far from the real thing!).

South-African Koeksisters

South-African Koeksisters

Linda Nortje

South-African Koeksisters are Syrup drenched, deep fried, decadent sweet treats !

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine South-African

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 cups Sugar
• 1 ½ cups Boiling Water
• ½ t Cream of Tartar
• ½ t Ground Ginger
• 2 sticks Cinnamon
• 1 t Edible Glycerin (optional)

DOUGH:

• 4 cups Flour
• ½ t Salt
• 2 TB Baking Powder
• 2 TB Butter cubed
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Milk
• Oil for deep-fry

Instructions

 

• Syrup: Dissolve the Sugar in the Water in a large saucepan – add the Cream of Tartar, Ginger and Cinnamon and let boil over high heat for 5 minutes – remove from heat and stir in the Glycerin, if using (Glycerin adds a little more shine to the Koeksisters) – leave syrup to cool completely then refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight (the syrup must be ice-cold)

DOUGH:

• Sift together the Flour, Salt and Baking Powder in a large mixing bowl – rub Butter into the dry mixture until crumbly
• Whisk together the Egg and Milk – add to the Flour mixture and knead until a dough forms (at least 5 minutes) – the dough must be soft but still firm enough to roll out – cover and let stand 2 hours
• Roll out the dough on a floured board – 1 cm (1/4 – 1/2 inch) thick – cut into same size strips (you can do long or short strips – 20 cm (8 inch) strips are usually preferable – plaid or simply rolled (see picture below)
• Deep-fry in small batches at 190 deg C (375 deg F) 1 – 2 minutes or until light brown – remove using a slotted spoon and quickly drain on paper towel
• Place the bowl of chilled syrup over a bowl with ice – this will prevent the syrup from warming too quickly once the dipping starts
• Dip each fried hot Koeksister quickly in the ice-cold syrup – remove using a slotted spoon, shake excess syrup off gently and place on a wire rack over a baking sheet to dry a little

Notes

Recipe Credit: Alida Viljoen

Nutrition value, where given, is not always accurate. Please also check your ingredient labels.

Serve cold – keep leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator.