Koeksisters

the plaited syrup doughnuts of the Cape: a spiced dough fried golden and plunged straight from the pan into ice-cold ginger and lemon syrup, so it drinks in and stays glassy outside

Origin: South Africa

From the journey of Sugar Cane.

Natal became a sugar colony in the eighteen-fifties, and when the planters could not compel Zulu labour they turned, as the Caribbean planters had, to indenture: the Truro landed the first Indian workers at Durban in November 1860, and over the following half-century well over a hundred thousand followed, making South Africa home to one of the largest Indian populations outside India. The mills of Tongaat, Illovo, and the KwaZulu-Natal coast still stand. Sugar was cheap in South Africa long before it was cheap in much of Europe, and the country's baking shows it. The koeksister is the emblem, and it comes in two quite distinct forms that are regularly confused. The Cape Malay koesister is a soft, round, cardamom- and aniseed-spiced doughnut rolled in coconut, made in the Bo-Kaap and eaten on a Sunday morning. The Afrikaans koeksister described here is a different thing: a plaited strip of dough, fried until crisp, and then plunged whilst still blazing hot into syrup that has been chilled in the refrigerator or over ice. That thermal shock is the entire technique. The cold syrup is drawn instantly into the hot dough, so the inside becomes saturated and sweet whilst the outside stays crisp and glassy, and a koeksister that has gone soggy has been made with warm syrup.

Ingredients

Syrup

  • 800 g caster sugar
  • 500 ml water
  • 40 g fresh ginger, sliced
  • 1 whole lemon, juiced, plus a strip of peel
  • 1 whole cinnamon stick
  • 0.5 tsp cream of tartar

Dough

  • 400 g plain flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 60 g cold butter, cubed
  • 1 whole egg
  • 180 ml cold whole milk

To Fry

  • 1 litre neutral oil, for deep frying

Method

  1. Make the syrup a day ahead: warm the sugar, water, ginger, lemon juice and peel, cinnamon, and cream of tartar together until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 8 to 10 minutes to a light syrup. Cool, strain, and refrigerate overnight until thoroughly cold.
  2. Rub the butter into the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to fine crumbs, then bind with the egg and cold milk to a soft dough. Knead briefly until smooth, cover, and rest for 1 hour.
  3. Roll out to about 5 mm thick and cut into rectangles roughly 8 cm by 5 cm. Cut each rectangle lengthways into three strips joined at one end, and plait them, pinching the far end firmly to seal.
  4. Heat the oil to 175°C and fry the koeksisters in small batches for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and cooked right through to the centre.
  5. Lift each one straight from the oil and plunge it immediately into the ice-cold syrup, submerging it for 20 to 30 seconds with a slotted spoon. Lift out, drain on a rack, and repeat, swapping in fresh cold syrup as it warms.

Notes

The cream of tartar keeps the syrup from crystallising in the jar and is worth including. Do not confuse this with the Cape Malay koesister, which is a soft round spiced doughnut rolled in desiccated coconut and made with yeast; both are South African, both are correct, and Capetonians will tell you at length which is which. Koeksisters are best on the day they are made and are eaten with strong coffee or rooibos. Leftover syrup can be strained, boiled up again, and kept refrigerated for a fortnight for the next batch. The plait is the standard shape but a simple twisted strip is common and easier, and some Afrikaans households add a teaspoon of ground ginger to the dough as well as to the syrup.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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