Hello everyone!
September is finally here and that means spring has arrived.
All over Cape Town, the city is showing off her pragtige blommetjies, and with it, we are ready to come out of our “winter hibernation”.
September is also known as Heritage Month and on the first Sunday of the month every year, we celebrate National Koesiester Day.
The highlight of a Kaapse Sunday morning is getting up early and either making koesiesters (if you that kwaai) or going to the nearest shop or auntie in the area that sells the softest and tastiest traditional koesiesters.
Although “Koesiester” and “Koeksister” sound similar, they are very much different.
The koesiester is a traditional Cape Malay doughnut-like treat, infused with spice and naartjie peel.
It has a darker colour, is deep fried and then drenched in hot sugar syrup and sprinkled with coconut.
The koeksister is a golden plait-like doughnut that is crisp, and dipped in sugar syrup while still warm to absorb it and no coconut.
This week, I am sharing lekker koeksister and koesiester recipes for you to enjoy.
If you have not tried making this treat yet, start with an maklik yeast-free recipe or if you feel adventurous, try the South African twistie or a traditional koesiester recipe from the Cape Malay recipe queen herself, Salwaa Smith.
For more recipes, baking and cooking inspiration, visit my website www.sprinklesandspice.co.za or visit my social media platforms on Instagram @sprinklesandspicect or Facebook Sprinkles and Spice by Farzana Kumandan.
Happy cooking!
Love, your Cooksister
Bollas
Ingredients
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter
1 overripe banana
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 milk or milky water
Handful of black currants (optional)
Oil for deep frying
Fine coconut for sprinkling
Method
Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and soft butter and also the mashed banana.
Mix well.
Add in the flour, baking powder and milk and mix until a lump-free smooth and thick batter is formed.
Place spoonfuls of mixture in hot oil and fry until golden brown on a medium to low heat (it should not brown quickly)
Remember to dip the spoon in the clean oil before making a spoonful so that your dough slides off nicely.
Turn off the stove and while the syrup is still hot, drop the bollas in the syrup.
Then, roll the bollas in coconut.
Easy Cheat Koesisters
Ingredients
1 tablespoon soft butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups cake flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon fine dried naartjie peel
1 tablespoon whole aniseed
Pinch fine cardamon
For the sugar syrup:
2½ cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
Bring to boil and allow to simmer over low heat until syrup is slightly thick.
Method
Mix the flour, baking powder and all the spices in a bowl.
Mix with a knife until well combined. Rub the butter into your dry ingredients.
Add the buttermilk and mix until a soft dough is formed. (Do not knead)
Cover your dough with cling and rest for one to two hours. (Do not refrigerate)
After the dough has rested, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface and rub some oil on your hands (this prevents the dough to stick to your hands)
Take about two heaped tablespoon sized dough and roll into a koeksister shape.
Deep fry on medium heat until golden brown.
Drain on roller towel and dip your koesisters in hot syrup and sprinkle on some coconut.
Salwaa Smith’s Twistie Koeksister
Ingredients – dough
2 cups cake flour
2 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
4 tablespoons butter/margarine
150ml of water/milk mixture
Oil for deep frying
Ingredients – syrup
500g sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1½ cups of water
juice of one lemon
Method – syrup
Prepare the syrup a day before (it needs to be very cold).
Dissolve sugar in the water.
Add the spices and lemon juice to this and boil together until thick for about 25 to 30 minutes. Leave the syrup in the fridge overnight.
Method – dough
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Rub in the butter to resemble fine breadcrumbs.
Add the milk mixture in the flour and egg mixture and try to form dough. Make sure to add a bit of water if the dough appears too dry or you can also add more flour if it is too sticky.
Work the dough well. If the dough appears to be lumpy and sticky, continue to work the dough until it will ball up. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about two to three hours in an airtight container
To prepare the koeksisters:
Roll out the dough (thickness 5mm).
Cut the dough into strips of 6cm long, 2cm wide.
Cut each of these strips into three strips (not all the way through, leave the strips connected at the top).
Plate each strip, pinch together at the end of the strip.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Remove and drain quickly – dip the hot koeksisters in the cold syrup (that was stored in the fridge up to now).
The secret is to keep the syrup cold and the koeksisters hot, this way it will draw just the right amount of syrup.
You can keep the syrup cold by placing the syrup bowl in another container filled with iced water or ice cubes.
Two-Ingredient Coconut Donuts
Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
1-and-a-half cups full cream – melted – vanilla ice cream
Method
Mix all ingredients together to form a dough.
Roll out on a floured surface and roll out round balls or cut out with your donut cutter.
If you do not have a donut, use a glass and a bottle top for the middle.
Deep fry in oil on both sides until golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel.
Dip in hot sugar syrup (see koeksister recipe) and sprinkle with coconut.
Salwaa Smith’s Potato Koesisters
Ingredients
2 potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 packets instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine cinnamon
2 teaspoons fine ginger
2 teaspoons fine aniseed
1 teaspoon fine cardamon
2 teaspoons fine naartjie peel (optional)
1 egg
125ml – 250ml milk water (half water, half milk)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil
Method
Cook and mash the potatoes with butter.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Beat egg, sugar and oil together.
Add 125ml milk water first and if the dough is too stiff, add the remaining milk water.
Add liquid mixture and potatoes to dry ingredients. Mix into a soft dough.
Set the dough aside in a warm place, covered to rise until it’s double in size.
Divide the dough into approximately 30 small balls on a slightly oiled surface.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
Once the oil is hot, gently pull the koesister into an oblong shape and fry each side until browned.
Drain on absorbent paper.
For the sugar syrup:
500ml water
250ml sugar
Boil the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and syrup is slightly thickened and sticky.
Add drops of water if syrup becomes too sticky.
Boil the koesisters in sugar syrup for about a minute.
Sprinkle with desiccated coconut.