World on a Plate: South Africa (+recipe)

Susan Ferreira's Koeksister. Photo / Supplied

The koeksister (pronounced cook-sister) is a syrup-coated doughnut originating from Cape Malay and is usually braided or twisted into a plait. "It takes a long time to prepare but it's worth the wait," says Susan Ferreira, who demonstrated this South African delicacy at Auckland Museum's Kai to Pie Exhibition.

Susan Ferreira's Koeksister Recipe

Batter
2 cups flour
6 Tbs milk
6 Tbs butter
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Syrup
1 cup water
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp tartaric acid
1 tsp vanilla essence or 1 tsp orange rind or 1 tsp ground cinnamon or 1/3 tsp ground ginger

1 To make the syrup, mix all the ingredients together, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2 To make the batter, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Rub butter into dry ingredients. Add the egg and milk to the mixture. Bind together using your hands and knead the dough until it does not stick to your hands.

3 Roll out the dough to a thickness of 4mm. Cut into strips of two or three and twist and plait the dough and press ends together firmly.

4 Deep fry the koeksisters in oil and drop straight into the syrup while the koeksister is still hot and leave in syrup for 1 minute.