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A mission to ensure that my koeksisters were not k*ksisters

Koeksisters frying, left, and the syrup. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)

13 Sep 2024

After many failed attempts at dough-rolling, I made decent-looking, braided and ribboned koeksisters. I ended up with koeksisters that were soft, slightly crispy, sweet, and fragrant.

I’m a sucker for anything obscenely sweet, deep fried in copious amounts of oil, and with grave consequences for the waistline. There is a treat in particular that meets the criteria mentioned above and has a place in many South African homes and hearts. And that great is koeksisters.

They’re deliciously sweet, sticky, crunchy, and drenched in syrup. That’s what I cooked this week as part of my series of beloved South African dishes in the run-up to Heritage Day on 24 September.

My mission was to ensure that my koeksisters were not k*ksisters.

Koeksisters (pronounced “cook sister”) remind me of American donuts. However, koeksisters are messier and better. And besides, koeksisters are a big deal in South Africa; we take them as seriously as our rugby and the 12 public holidays a year (or more) that give us a break from work.

I often associate the treat with oumas, who are incredibly adept at cooking, and usually make koeksisters for the Sunday kerkbasaar.

I was initially daunted at the task of making koeksisters. The treat seems like a lot of work, particularly perfecting the braided, crispy brown, and glossy look of koeksisters.

It also didn’t help that I made a difficult version of koeksisters. There are two versions; the Afrikaner and Cape Malay koeksisters. The Afrikaner version is sticky, braided, crispy, and crunchy. They are drenched in syrup, and laced with cinnamon, lemon, and ginger. The result is an explosion of flavour. I think the Cape Malay koeksisters are easier to make. They are oval-shaped (not braided), heavily spiced, include mashed potatoes in the dough, are deep fried, not drenched right through with syrup, and are coated in fine coconut.

The only difficulty I encountered with the Afrikaner version was braiding the pastry before deep frying. And it’s completely my fault! I have a talent for braiding hair. My brother often calls on me to braid his daughter’s hair for school when his wife is not around.

The problem is that I currently have long acrylic nails, which make it impossible to do anything. Holding a pen or typing on a keyboard, let alone braiding koeksister dough, is a herculean task at the moment. However, I soldiered on.

After many failed attempts at dough rolling, I made decent-looking, braided and ribboned koeksisters. Be kind in assessing my braiding technique. I ended up with koeksisters that were soft, slightly crispy, sweet, and fragrant. If, like me, you have long nails or don’t have the appetite for going through the trouble of making koeksisters, the good news is that many leading supermarkets now sell ready-made koeksisters. This is perfect for my cohort of millennials, who are known for cutting corners and paying for convenience.

(Makes two or three dozen)

Ray’s amazing koeksisters

Ray and his creations. And acrylic nails. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)

Ingredients

Koeksister dough:

4 cups cake flour

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

1 large egg

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

Oil for deep frying

Fine desiccated coconut (optional)

Syrup:

2 ½ cups sugar

3 cups water

1 cinnamon stick or 3 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Method

Dough balled, right, and rolled out, left. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)

To make the syrup, put the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon and ginger in a pot and boil on medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil for seven minutes.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla essence. Set aside to cool down.

To make the koeksister dough, sift the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder into a large bowl. Break the butter or margarine into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Then add the milk and egg. Mix well until a dough is formed. Knead the dough thoroughly for 10 minutes and put it in the fridge for an hour or overnight (even better).

Perfect plaiting despite those nails. (Photo: Ray Mahlaka)

Roll the dough to your desired thickness. Cut the dough into three strips. Braid the strips to the desired koeksister length. Or you can cut the dough into two strips and twist the ends around each other to form a koeksister shape. Pinch the ends closed.

Koeksisters frying, left, and the syrup. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)

Heat the oil in a pot until hot. Put about two or three koeksisters in and fry them on both sides until they get a golden-brown colour.

Remove the koeksisters from the oil and let them cool. Once cooled, place them directly into the syrup that was set aside. Optional: dust some koeksisters with fine desiccated coconut. DM

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