Koeksisters Recipe

The South African cuisine is very rich, as it reflects the various communities and ethnicities in South Africa. This huge diversity in the South African community had resulted in a huge development in the South African cuisine, and in turn created a wide range of dishes that have evolved and improved over time.

One staple recipe throughout the generations, had been the delicious Koeksisters dessert. It really requires very minimal effort and the results are absolutely mouth-watering.

Tips for Making a Foolproof Koeksisters:

1. You will need to make the syrup ahead because it needs to be very cold when the koeksisters are fried. You can make it the day before and leave it in the fridge until ready to use.
2. While making the syrup, make sure to stir only at the beginning to dissolve the sugar and restrain from doing so after.
3. Also, avoid scraping the sides of the pot while making the syrup, as this will cause it to crystalize. If you find it’s absolutely necessary to stir the syrup, make sure that you have rinsed your spoon between stirs to avoid crystalizing.
4. The braiding of the koeksisters is the most soothing and fun part of the whole process. If you any children around, they will love assisting you in this very important mission.

How to Make the Perfect Koeksisters?

Start preparing the syrup by adding the sugar and water in a pot over medium heat.

Dissolve the sugar in the water and let it boil for 7 minutes without stirring.

After the syrup has cooked, remove from heat, and stir in your lemon juice and vanilla essence with a clean spoon.

Set the pot aside to cool completely before placing it in the fridge. It needs to be very cold when we placed the fried koeksisters in it.

To prepare the koeksisters dough, mix in your dry ingredients before adding your butter.

Mix the butter well into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Slowly add your milk in two batches. Depending on your type of flour, you may need to add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Form the dough into a ball and very lightly kneed before rolling it out into a thin rectangle.

With a pizza cutter, cut squares that are roughly 3 inches x 3 inches. This should yield around 30 or so squares/koeksister pieces.

Cut two slits into each square, creating three strands.

Braid the strands together and pinch on the bottom and on the top.

Place your braided koeksisters onto a baking tray and let it rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before frying. (This is where the help of those extra pair of little hands will be needed to braid all those pieces!)

Make sure your oil has heated thoroughly before frying, and fry until golden brown.

As soon as you take out each piece, place it immediately into the very cold syrup.

Coat and place into serving dish!

If you have tried this recipe, let me know you liked it. I love to hear from you!

Be sure to check out our other South African recipes if you love the South African cuisine!