One of our all-time traditional sweet treats {and I mean SWEET!} in South-Africa is Koeksisters. It is basically a twisted dough, deep fried and then dunked into a sweet syrup.
I have never made the traditional type as it looks like a lot of work and I like quick and easy recipes. I did, however, make the Malay Koeksisters earlier this year, which has gone totally viral over the internet and is actually the current number one on my popular posts. You can find the recipe for those HERE.
Dimitri is a huge fan of Koeksisters and will easily finish a bag by himself. The store-bought ones aren’t always so great, but when you do find a brand you like, you stick to it! Lots of home industry stores sell them, but as I almost never go there, I usually get my favorite from our local supermarket.
A good Koeksister must have a crunchy bite to it and lots of syrup inside. Whilst it has to be crunchy on the outside it must definitely be chewy on the inside. Am I making sense here? I hope so, because this quick and easy version I am sharing today has all those qualities and I hope you will try it.
Syrup Drenched BreadSisters
{30 servings}
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Water
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
10 slices Whitebread, crusts removed {but keep them, for a savory treat – see note lower down}
Oil, for deep fry
1.) Heat the Sugar and Water – when it reaches boiling point, boil 3 – 4 minutes on medium heat {uncovered} – remove from heat – add the Lemon Juice and cool completely.
2.) Once the syrup has cooled place the bowl in a larger bowl with ice water – the idea is to keep the syrup as cold as possible when dipping.
3.) Cut each slice of Bread into three equal size fingers.
4.) Heat the Oil over medium heat – deep fry 3 – 4 bread fingers at a time, turning regularly {this is very quick – about 30 – 45 seconds per batch}.
5.) Remove the fried bread, using a slotted spoon, quickly place on a paper towel to remove any excess Oil – then dunk into the ice cold Syrup for 5 seconds {it’s really just dunk, making sure all is covered} – repeat with all the fingers.
Chill until serving time and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These only gets better with time, so feel free to make a double batch as one batch will not last long !
***10 slices of Bread means 40 pieces of crusts – at first I was going to crumble it and put in the bird feeder outside, but once I was done making the BreadSisters, an idea hit me…
Deep-fry the crusts as well and sprinkle with whatever you like – Parmesan, Aromat/Fondor, Popcorn flavorings, Salt & Vinegar, Garlic Powder …. and so the list goes on and on …
One Sweet and one Savory quick and inexpensive treats with everyday ingredients!
Hope you enjoy,
Johlene Orton
Wednesday 17th of June 2015
I made this recipe with brown bread and it came out really delicious! Just wanted to let you know that I mention you in the recipe :-) www [dot] flavoursandfrosting [dot] com
Miz Helen
Sunday 7th of April 2013
Your recipe is awesome and thank you so much for sharing it at the table with Full Plate Thursday.Hope to see you again soon!Miz Helen
The Contessa
Thursday 4th of April 2013
Oh my! You are a trouble maker. I am going to go look at your chair makeover and try to distract myself ;) Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend. Linda
Tammy Henderson
Wednesday 3rd of April 2013
Thank you so much for linking up and Sharing at One More Time Events
Shiloh Barkley
Tuesday 2nd of April 2013
These look really naughty!! Found you at Marvelous Mondays.