Koeksisters (Two Ways)

Koeksisters: one of the sweetest, gooiest, and chilliest treats from South Africa (the Western Cape, in particular).  Essentially a small braided doughnut, this dessert is fried, soaked in a lemon-spiced simple syrup, and then stored in the fridge.  The outside is crispy and sugary sticky, and the inside is cold, soft, and oh-so-good.  I adapted my recipe from Cape Town Magazine.

And what did you hear?  Koeksisters two ways?  Yes, sir!  This dessert is typically fried and then drenched in sugar syrup, but the recipe made enough dough that I decided to bake half and then soak them in leftover rooibos syrup from my Rooibos & Honey Poached Pears.  In option #2, they're softer in texture, but equally sweet and scrumptious.

I should have saved Dave Rawlings' "Sweet Tooth" for this song since these koeksisters are sure to quell your sugar cravings.  But remember I mentioned that these treats are chilled?  Here's My Morning Jacket's "Chills" from the At Dawn & Tennessee Fire Demos.

Ingredients:
*Note: You'll need to make the syrup at least 6-8 hours ahead of time so that it chills properly.

Traditional Syrup:
--3 1/2 c. granulated sugar
--2 1/3 c. water
--1/2 tsp. salt
--2 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
--juice and zest from 1 lemon
--1 cinnamon stick

Rooibos Syrup (optional):
--2 c. granulated sugar
--1 c. water
--6 rooibos tea bags
--1/2 c. honey
--1 cinnamon stick

Dough:
--3 1/2 c. self-rising flour
--3/4 c. cornstarch
--1 tsp. salt
--3 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter
--1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
--1/4 c. granulated sugar
--3/4 c. whole milk
--1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
--2 large eggs
--canola oil for frying (you'll likely need about 3 c.)

[I know some of these numbers look a little funky--the small price we pay for a recipe originally in metric!]

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine all syrup ingredients.  Whisk together.  Bring to a boil, or just until the sugar has all dissolved in the water.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until syrup has thickened.  Strain the cinnamon stick and refrigerate for 6-8 hours (you'll need this to be very cold for the koeksisters).

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, milk, cream, and eggs until light colored.  In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and sift.  Slowly add to the wet ingredients.  Add the butter and knead it in.  Refrigerate in cling wrap or wax paper for 30 minutes to 1 hour (basically, until firm enough to roll out).

On a large surface, roll out dough to about 1/2" thick.  Cut into 1/2" strips (yes--1/2" thick and 1/2" wide), and braid the dough, pinching together at the top and bottom.  Cut the braided strips into approximately 3" braids and set aside.  (Note: if you're doing the koeksisters two ways, you're only going to deep fry half of these.)

In a large saucepan, heat canola oil to approximately 360 to 375 degrees F.  If you don't have a candy thermometer, you'll keep the heat over medium-low, and you'll know the oil is ready when you drop in a small piece of "test dough" and it sizzles, floats to the surface, and begins to turn a golden color.  If the oil is too hot, the dough will begin to burn, and if it's not hot enough, the dough will stay at the bottom and become oil-logged (yuck--you don't want this).

Now here's the sort of tricky part.  Remove the cold syrup from the fridge.  You need to keep this super cold while you're frying the koeksisters.  I used a second bowl of ice water (mostly ice) and set the syrup bowl on top.  Fry the koeksisters for about 2 minutes per side (or until golden colored).  You'll need to flip them only once.  Don't overcrowd the oil--only cook 3 to 4 pieces of the braided dough at once.  Then with a slotted spoon, remove the koeksisters and drop them into the chilled syrup.  Allow them to sit in the syrup for 5 minutes apiece, then transfer them to another container for refrigeration.  Repeat until you've used up all the dough you set aside for frying.

For koeksisters two ways, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  On a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake the remaining braided dough for about 7-8 minutes per side (you'll need to flip them so both sides are a little bit crispy).  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Now, I already had a lot of extra rooibos syrup from my Rooibos & Honey Poached Pears, but you can easily make your own rooibos syrup, sans pears, for this recipe.  Combine the syrup ingredients over medium heat until the mixture begins to boil, or the sugar and honey have dissolved entirely into the water.  Reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes--you want to infuse the red tea.  Then, remove the tea bags and cinnamon stick.  Allow the syrup to cool, and transfer to a separate container.  Drop the baked koeksisters into the syrup and refrigerate overnight.  Delicious!  (And equally delicious when served with a dollop of whipped cream, hint hint.)