Traditional Koeksisters
Traditional Koeksisters – A traditional South African sticky donut treat that’s deliciously sweet, sticky, crunchy and drenched in syrup, laced with cinnamon, lemon and ginger. Absolutely perfect for snack or tea time and even breakfast.
We all a vice right? And fried foods are mine- especially when they are a sweet treat…. Not a weekend goes by without an occasional indulgent of some sort of fried food. You heard right! However, moderation is the key. Okay, that’s not exactly true. I can barely contain myself. So don’t take my word for it.
First things first: koeksisters are pronounced like, ” cook sister”. Now that you know how to pronounce it, what the heck is it? Allow me. koeksister is a super popular South African sticky doughnut .It derives it’s name from the Dutch word “koekje”, which can be interpreted as “cookie”. There are two versions of this popular doughnuts: this is the Afrikaner version –sticky ,braided ,crunchy and crunchy –drenched in syrup, laced with cinnamon, lemon and ginger. The end result… a taste bud explosion.
They are extremely popular in South Africa, sold on major streets and have made their way into super markets. These are a true indulgence, one that is worthy of a birthday celebration, holiday or even creating a special occasion if you do not have one (I do that all the time).
I know these doughnuts take a bit of advance preparation before deep-frying but are a fun to do especially if you have kids.
Enjoy!
Watch How To Make It
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Traditional Koeksisters
Ingredients
Spicy Syrup
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon Fresh ginger chopped
- Fresh squeeze lemon juice (half lemon)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
Dough
- 1 cup corn flour (100grams)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 25 grams butter melted
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan. Add, cream of tartar, salt, sugar, ginger, lemon juice and cinnamon stick. Bring water to a boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, Stirring syrup occasionally. Let it cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients- corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder
- Then all the wet ingredients milk and egg followed by butter. Knead several times until all the ingredients have been incorporated. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- Place dough on board and roll out into about 1 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter or knife cut into strips thin strips and then shorter strips.
- , Divide the dough into three strands and stretch them out carefully until they are of an even thickness all the way down. Pinch the ends together
- Take the left strand and cross it over the middle strand Take the right strand and cross it over the middle strand. Tightly pinch to seal the end.
- In a large, sauce pan pour vegetable oil into a pot, until it is at least 3 inches Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a ‘drop’ of batter into the oil. If it is not hot enough, the batter will stay at the bottom of the pot rather than rising to the top. If using a deep fryer, fry at 350 degrees
- Gently place koeksisters in the pan
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.
- Turn the over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil and directly place in syrup.
- Leave to soak in the syrup for a while. Transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before eating.
Nutrition Information:
Hi! I want to make these for work, so the day before…how well do they keep? In the fridge or just an airtight container? Also, would it be be better to add the sirop at the last minute in this case? Thanks!
Hi Zara. Good question. They keep fine already dunked in the syrup for a couple of days in the fridge or three months in the freezer. Some suggest making the syrup the day before and dunking them when cold. Either way, they should be good. Please let me know how it goes.
Hi, The instructions say to put salt in the syrup. However salt isn’t listed as one of the ingredients.
Also the ingredients list corn flour, but the instructions say corn meal. Is that the same thing?
Please clairify.
Hi JD! Recipe updated! Thank you for catching that :).
Perfect recipe & so easy to follow. 🙂 The koeksisters came out exactly as your photo shows………………thank you very much for sharing…….this is a keeper!
Hi lily,
I’m thrilled to hear that the koeksisters turned out perfectly and matched the photo! It’s always great when a recipe not only works out but is easy to follow too. Thank you for trying it out and for your kind words. Keep enjoying the cooking and baking adventures!
Made it!!
It turned out wonderfully!!! I’m so happy to have been able to find this recipe. Tysm!
Great! Do happy to hear this Skylar . Glad it worked out well for you
Hi!! I’m so eager to make these for a friend, but how long is “a while”? I’m not sure how long to soak the finished pastries in the syrup.
A while is rather vague, isn’t it? A few minutes will work. You don’t want them to get too soggy. Hope that helps:)