Recipe

Ingredients

• 250g Flour + extra for surface
• 300ml Water
• 1/2 package Fresh Yeast (notes)
• 1tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 50g Sugar + 1Tbs for yeast
• Oil for deep frying (notes)

Instructions

1. Warm the water and stir in the sugar until disolved.
2. Crumble the yeast into the water and stir well.
3. Let the mixture proof for 5-10 minutes. (notes)
4. Sift the nutmeg, salt, sugar and flour into a large bowl.
5. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir with a fork until the texture thickens.
6. Start kneeding with your hands.
7. Tip the dough on a clean, slightly floured surface and continue kneeding until it is no longer sticky.
8. Leave the dough to rise for 30-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
9. Heat the oil and form little balls of dough before dropping them into the oil.
10. Stir them well so that they get a nice colour on all sides.
11. When the puffpuff are a golden-brown colour, use a ladle to remove them from the oil.
12. Place them on a piece of kitchen paper to soak up the oil.
13. Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

Fresh Yeast: When using fresh yeast, the package usually specifies the yeast to flour ratio. It can be different for different brands of yeast. The yeast I usually use comes in packages of 25g and is used for 500g of flour. If you prefer to use active dry yeast, check the back of the package. I usually use two packages of active dry yeast instead of one package of fresh yeast.

Deep Frying: You do not need any special equipment for deep drying. It is possible to just use a large pot filled with enough oil so the pastry is floating. You will be needing a ladle to pick the pastry out of the pot. The oil can be filtered after letting it cooled down. I usually use a coffee filter and store my oil in a closed bottle to later reuse when frying.

Yeast: First of all make sure the water is not too hot. It should not be burning. It should be merely warm not hot. If your yeast mixture is not puffy after you let it proof for five minutes, try leaving it for another five. If it still isn’t puffy, do not continue with that mixture!!! It will take less time to redo the yeast mixture and get it right than it will to remake the entire dough because it didn’t rise. Yeast is a tricky ingredient to work with and much can go wrong. This is a way of catching any mistakes early on and sparing yourself a lot of work.

There are many recipes from South Africa. This is one of them, a very delicious one. The word koeksister is said to be derived from a tale of two sisters who would sit plaiting this pastry. It is pronounced “cook sister”. It consists of a simple dough that is cut into rectangles that are themselves divided into three strings and then plaited. The dough itself is not sweet and what gives it its sweetness is the syrup it is soaked in. The outcome is absolutely beautiful treats that are easy and fun to make. So, let’s give it a try!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 250g Flour
• 12g Baking Powder
• 10g Butter
• 1 Egg
• 100ml Water

For the syrup

• 400ml Water
• 750g Sugar
• 5g Cream of Tartar (1 pckg)
• 20ml Lemon juice

Instructions

1. Mix the baking powder into the flour.
2. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until obtaining a crumbly texture.
3. Add the egg and some water and stir with a fork.
4. Add more water until obtaining a slightly sticky texture. You might not have to use all of the water.
5. Knead the dough until it is no longer sticky.
6. Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
7. Heat the water and mix in the sugar and cream of tartar.
8. When the sugar and cream of tartar are disolved, mix in the lemon juice and leave to simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Place the syrup in a metal bowl or small pot before placing it on ice cubes.
10. After 30 minutes, take the dough and roll it out until it is about 1/2 cm thick.
11. Cut the dough into 10cm long and 3cm wide rectangles.
12. Cut 1cm thick strips into the rectangles leaving one side closed.
13. Plait the strips pushing down on the ends to make sure they don’t come apart when frying.
14. Heat oil in a deep pot and fry the koeksisters until golden brown.
15. When removing them from the oil, place them on kitchen paper before soaking them in the ice cold syrup.
16. And enjoy!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 420g Flour
• 100g Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 40g Butter
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 160ml Milk
• pinch Salt

Intructions

1. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl.
2. Melt the butter, add the egg and melted butter to the dry ingredients.
3. Mix first with a whisk or spatula and then with your fingers until achieving a crumbly texture.
4. Add in the milk bit by bit to make sure the consistency is correct. Do not add all the milk at once!
5. When the dough has achieved a good consistency, so you can kneed it by hand, transfer it onto a clean surface and kneed until it is no longer sticky. You will know whether the dough is ready by pressing down on it with a finger and the dough will come back up.
6. Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
7. Separate the dough into two and place it on a floured surface.
8. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 cm thick. (The thicker the dough, the softer the inside will be.)
9. Cut the dough into 1 cm thin strips and then into squares.
10. Heat the oil in a deep pot. (Use a small piece of dough to test the temperature. When it starts to flout and there are bubbles around it, the oil should be at the right heat.)
11. Place the chin chin in the oil and keep stirring with a laddle.
12. When the chin chin have aquired a nice golden brown colour, remove them from the oil and place them on kitchen paper to soak up some of the oil.
13. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough.
14. And you’re done!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 400g All Purpose 0r Hard Flour
• 60g Sugar
• 65g Butter
• 120ml Evaporated Milk (at room temperature)
• 2 tsp Dry Yeast
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 tsp Vanilla aroma
• 4Tbs Water

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
2. Use a fork to mix the yolk, the milk and the vanilla extract.
3. Use your fingers to incorporate the butter into the flour and mix until obtaining a crumbly texture.
4. Pour in the milk and use a spatula to stir.
5. When the dough has a thick enough consistency, gradually add water.
6. Knead the dough until it is smooth.
7. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
8. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1/2 cm thick. Don’t make it too thin!
9. Use a donut cutter or a glass and a bottle cap to cut out your donuts.
10. Roll the rest of the dough into a ball and leave to rest for another 20 minutes or while you fry the first batch. (Try not to reuse the scraps too many times or your donuts will be rough.)
11. Heat up some sunflower oil in a pot and fry you dounuts until golden brown.
12. Place them shortly on some kitchen paper and then sift them in sugar.
13. Repeat this process with the donut middles.
14. Cut out the rest of the dough and cut squares and triangles out of the rest. (Check the notes and variations for further ideas)
15. Sift everything in sugar and enjoy!

Notes

The centers as well as the squares and triangles can also be sifted in sugar or you can coat them in chocolate, honey or syrup. They can be served as their own pastry.