Traditional Koeksisters – A traditional South African sticky donut treat that’s deliciously sweet, sticky, crunchy and drenched in syrup, laced with cinnamon, lemon and ginger. Absolutely perfect for snack or tea time and even breakfast.
We all a vice right? And fried foods are mine- especially when they are a sweet treat…. Not a weekend goes by without an occasional indulgent of some sort of fried food. You heard right! However, moderation is the key. Okay, that’s not exactly true. I can barely contain myself. So don’t take my word for it.
First things first: koeksisters are pronounced like, ” cook sister”. Now that you know how to pronounce it, what the heck is it? Allow me. koeksister is a super popular South African sticky doughnut .It derives it’s name from the Dutch word “koekje”, which can be interpreted as “cookie”. There are two versions of this popular doughnuts: this is the Afrikaner version –sticky ,braided ,crunchy and crunchy –drenched in syrup, laced with cinnamon, lemon and ginger. The end result… a taste bud explosion.
They are extremely popular in South Africa, sold on major streets and have made their way into super markets. These are a true indulgence, one that is worthy of a birthday celebration, holiday or even creating a special occasion if you do not have one (I do that all the time).
I know these doughnuts take a bit of advance preparation before deep-frying but are a fun to do especially if you have kids.
Enjoy!
Watch How To Make It
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Traditional Koeksisters
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Ingredients
Spicy Syrup
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon Fresh ginger chopped
- Fresh squeeze lemon juice (half lemon)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
Dough
- 1 cup corn flour (100grams)
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 25 grams butter melted
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan. Add, cream of tartar, salt, sugar, ginger, lemon juice and cinnamon stick. Bring water to a boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, Stirring syrup occasionally. Let it cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients- corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder
- Then all the wet ingredients milk and egg followed by butter. Knead several times until all the ingredients have been incorporated. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- Place dough on board and roll out into about 1 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter or knife cut into strips thin strips and then shorter strips.
- , Divide the dough into three strands and stretch them out carefully until they are of an even thickness all the way down. Pinch the ends together
- Take the left strand and cross it over the middle strand Take the right strand and cross it over the middle strand. Tightly pinch to seal the end.
- In a large, sauce pan pour vegetable oil into a pot, until it is at least 3 inches Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a ‘drop’ of batter into the oil. If it is not hot enough, the batter will stay at the bottom of the pot rather than rising to the top. If using a deep fryer, fry at 350 degrees
- Gently place koeksisters in the pan
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.
- Turn the over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil and directly place in syrup.
- Leave to soak in the syrup for a while. Transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before eating.
Nutrition Information:
JD says
Hi, The instructions say to put salt in the syrup. However salt isn’t listed as one of the ingredients.
Also the ingredients list corn flour, but the instructions say corn meal. Is that the same thing?
Please clairify.
Imma says
Hi JD! Recipe updated! Thank you for catching that :).
Lily Naidoo says
Perfect recipe & so easy to follow. 🙂 The koeksisters came out exactly as your photo shows………………thank you very much for sharing…….this is a keeper!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi lily,
I’m thrilled to hear that the koeksisters turned out perfectly and matched the photo! It’s always great when a recipe not only works out but is easy to follow too. Thank you for trying it out and for your kind words. Keep enjoying the cooking and baking adventures!
Skylar A says
Made it!!
It turned out wonderfully!!! I’m so happy to have been able to find this recipe. Tysm!
ImmaculateBites says
Great! Do happy to hear this Skylar . Glad it worked out well for you
Skylar says
Hi!! I’m so eager to make these for a friend, but how long is “a while”? I’m not sure how long to soak the finished pastries in the syrup.
ImmaculateBites says
A while is rather vague, isn’t it? A few minutes will work. You don’t want them to get too soggy. Hope that helps:)
Kat says
Making These for the weekend. Could I make the dough and Brand the cooksisters but fry them the next day?
Imma says
Yes, you can make the dough balls and spiced sugar coating ahead. Refrigerate the dough balls, then take them out to in time to warm up a little and fry them when you’re ready. Coat them in the spiced sugar when they come out of the fryer. Please let me know how it goes.
Phil hatcher says
Would love recipe in grams and ml
Imma says
You can use any converter to transition any of the quantity to grams and ml. Let me know how it goes once you try 🙂
Erin says
Thank you for the recipe. I have 2 questions:
Just want to confirm cornflour and if it is considered cornstarch if I am looking for it in the U.S. ?
I am making 100 of these, can I make them a day before?
Imma says
In the States, it’s cornmeal, not cornstarch. And making 100 of these guys the day before will definitely help the stress level. They may not be quite as good as fresh, but they’ll still make everyone happy. Have a great time!
Joy says
Hello! Can I use 2 1/2 cups all purpose white flour instead? Would anything in the recipe need to change like the amount of baking powder?
Imma says
I’ve never tried it, but can’t see why it wouldn’t work. You should be able to leave the rest of the ingredients the same. Please let me know how it goes.
Mariayo says
Obrigada pela receita! O que posso usar para substituir o cremor de tártaro e qual proporção? Deus abençoe!
Imma says
Thanks for visiting❤️ You can use juice other half of the lemon to replace the cream of tartar. Or you can replace it with a teaspoon of baking powder (not baking soda). Please let me know how it goes.
A J Hunt says
Not the Koeksister recipe my family has had for years. It came to us from a cousin of my mother’s who spent years in So Africa with her husband as Methodist missionaries. The recipe we have is a yeasted sweet bread with cinnamon in it that takes at least two days to make. An overnight rise of the sponge, more flour and kneading, a second rise, then rolling, cutting, braiding, and frying. The syrup from our recipe is a simple syrup with cinnamon only. Dipped while still hot from the fryer, the braids soak up the syrup and become sticky when cold. It was a family affair at Christmas every year when I was young. Mom would make the dough, roll it out, and Dad would cut it. We kids would braid. Then Mom or Dad would fry it, and the other would dip.
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you for your comment and for sharing this, A J!
Ruby Fitzgerald says
Please I live in a small place in Australia. We can’t get corn meal. .what can I use as an alternative. Thanks. is cornflour ok?
ImmaculateBites says
Corn flour would work just as well.
Natalie says
You can get cornflour at Coles (made in South Africa) and Woolworths
Brooke Boner says
Can you substitute cornmeal for cornflour?
Karen Mccaffrey says
I made these today, I live in Ireland now but grew up in South Africa and I have to say, this is EXACTLY how I remember koeksisters!! Thank you! Recipe was super!! I treated my children to these and I can tell you they will be made again SOON!!
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome!!! I am so glad you loved this recipe and that it took you down memory lane :). Thank you for the feedback, Karen.
Julia R. says
Hi, we are making this tomorrow but I am not sure if the butter needs to be softened to room temperature, or does it need to be melted? Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Julia,
It’s melted butter. Happy cooking!!!