South African Koeksisters

"A very sticky South African sweet. They remind me of a donut, but maybe messier. ;) I got this recipe from my South African friend, Sheralee. She says to try to eat a few before the family gets home because once they get stuck into them, you "ain't gonna get none!""
 
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photo by icynorth photo by icynorth
photo by icynorth
Ready In:
50mins
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • 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!

Questions & Replies

  1. When I made these they fell apart as soon as they hit the oil! If they didn’t fall apart they were raw in the middle and brown on the outside! Any tips to prevent this?
     
  2. Is it possible to freeze the dough for a few days before deep frying ?
     
  3. Good evening, can you lease tell me, WHY does my koeksisters make a slight sugary substance after baking? It sucks up the syrup very nicely and the koeksistes is not dry. Please advice me. Thanx so so much
     
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Reviews

  1. Great recipe thanks. It's okay relax, the oil is not part of the dough mix, it's for frying it in.
     
  2. I make these each year at Christmas. I grew up eating these as a treat, this recipe is very similar to the ones I had as a kid. I do add a little bit of cinnamon to the syrup and double the recipe as when I make them everyone wants some!
     
  3. When making large batches of koeksisters, use two bowls for the syrup. One stays in the fridge while the other is in use. Alternate your bowls and you'll have ice cold syrup the whole time. It's also very convenient to have your syrup bowl resting in a bowl of ice to keep it cold.
     
  4. Sugar and other solids are measured in grams, not millilitres
     
  5. how many grams is 1ml of salt?
     
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Tweaks

  1. You should add a stick of cinnamon and some ginger to the syrup to enhance the flavor. A simple sugar syrup with lemon doesn’t do it justice. It is also better to chill the syrup overnight when adding these ingredients to allow it to infuse better. Additionally without using yeast the dough will be fairly dense. Adding 5g (1 1/2 tsp) of dry active yeast to the dough recipe, kneading it until gluten chains are well formed (perform a windowpane test) and letting it proof for 90 min to 2 hours at room temperature before braiding will create a much lighter more delightful sponge.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Update: We've moved back to the states, and are experiencing the joys of living in Wenatchee, WA for the first time! I'm spending most of my time in the kitchen canning, freezing, and drying fruit now and loving it! We are a couple, Jason and Mollie, that loves to cook together. We have two wonderful DD's, Enjoli (9) and Emily (7) that make life so much more fun! I, Mollie, studied Nutrition so I try to make most of our meals healthy while still tasting great! Our girls love helping us cook...and eat! We're vegetarian and love eating healthy without missing any flavor! We try to eat mostly vegan, so we have many vegan recipes posted. We are world traveling missionaries and students that have visited many countries and have lived in the States, South Korea, and are currently in the Philippines. So we always need to adjust our menu based on the food available. Zaar has been a tremendous help! <img src="http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/385678/CIMG0152%20%282%29.JPG"> <img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa130/nowsonexitmusic/unratedpart.jpg"> <img src="http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/celticevergreen/indianbanner.jpg"> <img src="http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/tgifford/Game%20Room%20Banners/AM%20Banners/KBparticipation.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa130/nowsonexitmusic/vegbannerbasetemp-small.jpg?t=1232859306"> <img src="http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg271/MrsTeny/AMpageSticker.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa130/nowsonexitmusic/soupbanner-small.jpg?t=1227755026"> <img src="http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/flower753/Food/my3chefsnov2008.jpg"> <img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa130/nowsonexitmusic/turmerictag-small.jpg?t=1225271033"> <img src="http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj81/HokiesLady65/123HitAMpage.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PACfall08partic.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa130/nowsonexitmusic/mushroombanner-smallpic.jpg"> <img src="http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4902/41213577264b44m3kh4.png"> <img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/Ingredients/Other/BreakfastanytimeSTCK.jpg"> <img src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t237/akplongmeadow/AdoptATag2-2-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Sharon123/NZT-2-AnnaciasZaarTagbanner.jpg" border="0" alt="Annacia's banner for Zaar Tag"> <img src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Sharon123/Copyoftag300-banner.jpg" border="0" alt="Susie's Banner for Newest Zaar Tag"> <img src="http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m445/mliss29/vegnswap2/group09okra.jpg"> <img src=http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m445/mliss29/vegnswap2/group10peppers.jpg> <img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa130/nowsonexitmusic/banner-smalltemp.jpg"> <img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/Ingredients/CROCKPOTSTKR.jpg"> <img src="http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/8756/babyhuntsman1lz7.jpg"> <img src=http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m445/mliss29/vegnswap1/group07kiwi.jpg> <img src=http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m445/mliss29/vegnswap1/group02banana.jpg> <img src="http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4902/41213577264b44m3kh4.png> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%204/ZWTAB-tg.gif"> <img src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/kiwidutch/My-3-Chefs%20banners/my3chefs2008Small.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/Ingredients/Camera-ChefsJPEG.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PAC08Main.jpg"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%204/ZWTAB-tg.gif"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/CopyofCopyofskewered.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg"> <img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/personal/FRENCH-foodfun.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/smPACp.jpg"> <img src="http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/tgifford/participation%20banners/coolmonday-particiation.jpg" border="0" alt="Cookathon for Cool Monday (1)"> <img src="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e347/Saturn6666/Other/tagforpage1.jpg"> <img src="http://www.satsleuth.com/cooking/Swap14.JPG"> <img src="http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/ANNMAG/01226~Tofu-Posters.jpg">
 
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