South African Koeksisters

For the syrup:

Heat the sugar and water in a pot over medium heat until the sugar has melted, stirring continuously. Add the cream of tartar, ginger and cinnamon sticks to the syrup and bring to a boil. Boil uncovered for 5 minutes (don’t stir). Remove from the stovetop, transfer to a stainless steel bowl and remove the cinnamon sticks. Place the bowl into an ice bath to cool the syrup down. Once it’s cool, divide the mixture between 2 bowls (the reason for this later) and chill in the fridge until ready to use.

For the Koeksisters:

Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) into a mixing bowl. Add the butter into the flour mixture. Rub until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Beat the eggs and milk together in another bowl then add it into the flour. Mix the dough well and then knead for 2 minutes before covering and allowing it to rest for 1 hour.

When ready, roll the dough out into a rectangle. It should be about 1 cm thick. Next, cut the rectangle into strips about 4 cm wide (they can vary in length depending on whether you want large or bite-size koeksisters.)

Koeksisters are done in 2 ways: Twist 2 strands of dough together or braid 3 strands together. Twist/braid until all the dough is used.

For the frying and dipping:

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed deep pot (use enough so that when you put the koeksisters in, they will be fully immersed) to 375 F (190 C). Drop 2 koeksisters in at a time and fry for 1 minute. Flip them over halfway through frying so they brown evenly. With a slotted spoon, remove the koeksisters from the oil and allow to rest for 1 minute on some paper towels.

Pull out one of the bowls of syrup. After 1 minute of resting, drop the koeksisters into the chilled syrup for 1 minute. Note: the syrup is best if it’s kept chilled so swap out the bowl of ‘warmed’ syrup for the other bowl of refrigerated syrup every few minutes. After 1 minute of soaking, fish the koeksisters out the syrup and place on a cooling rack to allow excess syrup to run off.

Repeat this process until all the koeksisters are fried, rested and dipped. Enjoy for dessert or as a treat with coffee.