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Koeksisters Dessert

Name: Koeksisters Dessert
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: For the syrup; 1kg Chelsea White Sugar; 500ml water; 2 pieces fresh green ginger, peeled and crushed; ½ tsp cream of tartar; Pinch of salt; Grated rind and juice of ½ lemon; For the dough; 2 cups flour; ½ tsp salt; 2 Tbsp baking powder; 55g butter, grated; 1 egg; 1-1½ cups milk or water

Preparation

20 mins

Bake

15 mins

Difficulty

Hard

Servings

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Ingredients
Method

Ingredients

For the syrup

1kg Chelsea White Sugar
500ml water
2 pieces fresh green ginger, peeled and crushed
½ tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
Grated rind and juice of ½ lemon

For the dough

2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
55g butter, grated
1 egg
1-1½ cups milk or water

Chelsea Products in Recipe

White Sugar

The uniform size of the...

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Method

To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a saucepan. Heat (stirring) until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cover the pan and boil for 1 minute. Remove the saucepan lid and boil the syrup for a further 5 minutes, but do not stir it. Remove the syrup from the stove and allow it to cool for at least 2 hours in a refrigerator, or overnight.

To make the dough, sieve together the dry ingredients and rub in the grated butter with your fingertips, or cut it in with a pastry cutter. Beat the egg, add 250ml (1 cup) of the milk or water and mix lightly with the dry ingredients to a soft dough. Add more milk or water if the dough is too stiff. Knead well until small bubbles form under the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand for 30 minutes -1 hour.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm, then form koeksisters in either of the following ways:

Cut strips 1 cm wide and twist 2 strips together, or plait 3 strips together, cutting the twisted, or plaited lengths at 8cm intervals and pinching the ends together.

Alternatively, cut the dough into 8cm x 4cm pieces. Cut 2 vertical slits in each piece, reaching to 1cm from the end. Plait the 3 strips that have been formed and pinch together the loose ends.

Heat 7-8cm deep oil to 180-190°C - a cube of bread should turn golden-brown in a minute. Fry the koeksisters for 1-2 minutes, or until golden-brown, then turn them over with a fork and fry until golden-brown on the other side.

Remove the koeksisters with a lifter or slotted spoon, drain them for a moment on paper towel and then plunge them into the cold syrup for 1-2 minutes. Stand the container of syrup in a bowel of ice so that the syrup will stay cold. Remove the koeksisters from the syrup with a lifter or slotted spoon, allowing the excess syrup to flow back into the basin, then drain them slightly on a wire rack.