Koeksisters
Syrup
- 375ml water
- 800g white sugar
- 2ml cream of tartar
- 1 piece root ginger, bruised
- 3 sticks cinnamon
Dough
- 500g cake flour
- 30ml baking powder
- 3ml salt
- 60ml butter or margarine
- 2 large eggs
- 250ml milk
- sunflower oil for deep frying
To make the syrup , heat the water in a saucepan , add the sugar and stir until dissolved ( wash down the sugar crystals adhering to the sides of the saucepan). Add the cream of tartar , ginger and cinnamon and boil , uncovered for 5 minutes. Do not stir . Remove from the stove and chill . To make the dough , sift the flour , baking powder and salt together into a bowl , then rub in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Beat the eggs and milk together and add to the dry ingredients. Mix the dough well, then knead it lightly for 2 minutes to makeit pliable. Cover the basin with waxed paper and leave it for 1 hour . Roll the dough out to 7mm to 1cm thick. Cut into strips 8cm x 40cm and make
2 vertical cuts in each strip, starting 5mm from the top and cutting right down to the bottom. Plait the strips loosely and pressthem together at the loose end. Heat the oil to 190 and deep fry the koeksisters , a few at a time , for 2-4 mintues . Remove from the oil , drain on crumpled brown paper or absorbent paper for about 1 mintue , then dip them in the cold syrup for 30 seconds . remove the koeksisters for the syrup and dry on a wire rack placed on a tray.
Note:- As the syrup must remain cold , chill it in two basins and leave one in the refrigerator while the other
is being used. Swap them around as soon as the syrup being used starts to get too warm.