Recipe Git v1
Koeksisters (Fried Braided Pastry in Syrup)
Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Recipes | Cuisine of South Africa | Confections
Source: Wikibooks contributors (https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook%3AKoeksisters_%28Fried_Braided_Pastry_in_Syrup%29)
Adapted: Imported and reformatted by HowManyCookies from the cited Wikibooks revision.
Source revision: https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Cookbook%3AKoeksisters%20%28Fried%20Braided%20Pastry%20in%20Syrup%29&oldid=4517747
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) · Wikibooks contributors
Ingredients
Syrup
- 1 kg white granulated sugar
- 500 ml (2 cups) water
- 3 cm long piece of fresh ginger, peeled and bruised OR 2–3 sticks of cinnamon (optional)
- 1 ml (pinch) cream of tartar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 ½ tsp lemon juice
Dough
- 240 g all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp (20 ml) baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) butter
- 125 ml (½ cup) buttermilk OR soured milk OR water mixed with lemon juice
Directions
Syrup
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn the heat down, and simmer for 5–8 minutes.
- Cool the syrup to room temperature.
- Divide it into 2 containers, and place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
Dough
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Rub in butter.
- Add buttermilk. Mix into a soft dough and knead thoroughly. It helps if you oil your hands lightly when starting to knead the dough.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth, and leave it to rest for 15 minutes.
- Roll the dough out to a thickness of 5 mm and cut into 5 x 70 mm (½ cm x 7 cm) strips. Press the ends of two or three strips together and twist or plait, then press the ends together again. Keep the dough you are not working with covered with a damp cloth.
- Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown on both sides.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and dip the pieces immediately in the ice cold syrup.
- Remove and place the koeksisters on a wire rack so that the excess syrup can drain.
- Store the koeksisters in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They freeze well and can be served straight from the freezer.
Notes
This recipe will yield about 3 dozen dainty-sized koeksisters—you can make them bigger for a more substantial treat.
You may also, after dipping the fried koeksuster in the syrup, lightly roll it in dessicated coconut.
