How to Make Koeksisters - South Africa's Favorite Sweet Pastry - Yummy South African Snacks
Author: Whats4Chow
Recipe type: Dessert / Snacks / Confections
Cuisine: South African
Serves: 32
Koeksisters are a traditional sweet pastry in South Africa. These little twisted pastries are nice and crispy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. Saturated with a spiced syrup mixture, these little wonders will have you coming back time and time again.
Ingredients
For the Syup
- 500ml Water
- 1Kg White sugar
- 2.5ml Cream of Zest and juice of 1 Lemon
- 8cm Cinnamon stick
- 8-10 Slices fresh ginger
- 5ml Glycerin
For the Pastry
- 4 Cups all purpose flour
- 125g Shortening (baking lard)
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 7.5ml Baking powder
- 180ml Full cream milk (split 60ml / 60ml / 60ml)
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- To make the syrup, place the sugar, water, cream of tartar, sliced fresh ginger and cinnamon sticks in medium size pot.
- Place the pot over medium heat and bring this to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the mixture for 6 minutes.
- Add the lemon rind and juice and the glycerin. Stir this in and remove the pot from the heat.
- Once the syrup has cooled, cover the pot and refrigerate overnight.
- The following day, place the flour, shortening, baking powder and salt into your food processor and pulse this briefly 2 or three times to cut the shortening into the flour.
- Remove the lid, crack the eggs into the bowl and add the first 60ml milk.
- Switch the machine on high speed and allow this to mix for 20 seconds while tilting the machine from side to side.
- Add the second batch of milk and repeat the mixing process.
- Add the third batch of milk and run the machine for a further 30 seconds, tilting it back and forth.
- After the mixing, you will have a soft crumbly mass of pastry that will hold together when compressed.
- Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface and turn the pastry out.
- Work the pastry into a flat disc shape and wrap it in cling wrap.
- Allow this to stand for 60 minutes at room temperature.
- After the resting time, cut the pastry into 16 equal portions.
- Working with one portion at a time, work the pastry into a sausage shape about 4 inches in length.
- Place the pastry on a piece of plastic film, fold the film over to enclose the pastry, than roll it out to about 6mm or a quarter inch in thickness.
- Unfold the plastic and cut the pastry in half across the width.
- Cut each half into three along the length, leaving the narrower end intact.
- Plait each pieces using a simple 3 strand plait, put these aside and continue with the remaining pastries.
- Half fill a wok or large pan with oil and heat this to 180c or 350f.
- Carefully drop the pastries into oil in batches and fry them until well puffed and golden.
- Use your tongs to lift these one by one from the oil and dunk each one immediately into the ice cold syrup to get a good coating.
- Put the coated koeksisters aside and continue with the remaining batches.
- And there it is... a wonderful crispy, golden batch of South Africa's favorite pastries.
