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.)
And served with homemade cinnamon whipped cream? Mmmmm. Rooibos is a red tea that's grown in South Africa. You can certainly buy it in America, but you'll find a lot more rooibos-based treats and beverages in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In fact, I had a creamy rooibos tea at the indie favorite Labia Theatre while catching a screening of the recent Jozi Film Festival documentary, Orania.
My love for tea, combined with the delicious wine-poached pears I continued to encounter on South African dessert menus, led to this creation. And they're really, really good.
To accompany these rooibos pears, here's Cat Stevens's "Tea for the Tillerman."
Ingredients:
Pears:
--4 pears, cored and halved
--2 c. granulated sugar, + 1 c. to thicken the syrup later
--2 c. water
--1/2 c. honey
--1 cinnamon stick
--6 rooibos tea bags
Whipped cream:
--1 pint heavy whipping cream
--1/4 c. dark brown sugar
--2 tsp. ground cinnamon
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients for the pears (except the reserved 1 c. of sugar) and heat over medium until the sugar and honey have dissolved. Reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 30 minutes to infuse the rooibos flavor. You'll want to keep the pears submerged during the simmering--I place a small plate on top of them (make sure you use one that can withstand the heat).
Remove the pears and add an additional 1 c. granulated sugar. Continue to simmer until the sugar has dissolved. This will thicken the syrup so you can use it as a sauce. Once the sugar has dissolved, allow the syrup to cool. Refrigerate it with the pears, and drizzle over each pear half when serving.
The cinnamon whipped cream is optional, of course, but it's also delicious. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the heavy whipping cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Beat until you've reached your desired consistency. Serve a scoop with each pear half.
In South Africa, I tried quite a few versions of Malva Pudding. It's a sweet, spongy cake made with apricot jam and soaked in a caramel sauce. Before traveling to Johannesburg and Cape Town, I'd had Malva Pudding at Charlottesville's South African restaurant, Shebeen. But the Malva Pudding at Gramadoelas and Hussar Grill were to die for. Although I'd always rather be eating Malva Pudding in the proximity of the Newtown Market Theatre, I knew I'd have to try my hand at this dessert when I got back to Virginia.
To make my own version, I combined elements from a New York Times recipe and a few different South African cooking blogs. Usually, Malva Pudding is served with ice cream or a creme anglaise. I thought I'd try something just a little bit different, and I made a whipped cream flavored with Amarula. If you haven't tried it before, Amarula is a South African cream liqueur that tastes a little like Bailey's, but it's made with the South African Marula fruit. It'll go fantastically with your Malva Pudding.
By now, I'm sure you've heard of the documentary Searching for Sugar Man. It tells the (truly) unbelievable tale of a South African record store owner's search for Rodriguez, a Detroit-based musician from the late 1960s/early 1970s. Rodriguez recorded two albums in America and never found popularity here, yet unbeknownst to him, his music had become the soundtrack for Apartheid-era resistance in South Africa. Here's Rodriguez performing "Sugar Man."
Ingredients
For the pudding:
--1 c. granulated sugar
--2 large eggs
--2 tbsp. apricot jam
--1 tbsp. melted butter, unsalted
--2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
--1 c. half & half
--1 c. flour
--1 tsp. baking soda
--pinch of salt
For the sauce:
--1 c. granulated sugar
--1/4 c. water
--1 tbsp. butter
--1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
--1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
For the whipped cream:
--1 c. heavy whipping cream
--1/2 c. Amarula liqueur
--1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, beat the wet ingredients for the pudding (including the jam) until combined. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat it into the wet mixture until combined. Pour the batter into a 9x12" buttered baking dish, and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool down until it's just warm.
For the sauce, heat the granulated sugar and water over medium heat in a saucepan until the sugar is incorporated and the mixture begins to turn a light brown (but not burned!). Add the butter until melted, whisking constantly (the mixture will begin bubbling when you add the butter). Standing a bit away from the pan (you don't want to get splashed!), add the heavy cream and vanilla. Continue to whisk constantly until the cream has incorporated and you've got a delicious caramel syrup.
Pour the syrup over the cake evenly. The cake will soak it up like a sweet sponge. Allow it to sit for approximately 1-2 hours, or until the syrup has hardened a bit, caramelizing the edges of the Malva Pudding.
Now for the whipped cream. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream, Amarula, and brown sugar until the mixture forms stiff peaks (about 5 minutes, depending on your speed). Serve on top of the warm Malva Pudding, and enjoy!
