Thankful Thursday

I remember when I was growing up 

and this time of year rolled around, 

I wore the biggest grin until the big 

Thanksgiving day meal arrived. 

Our home was full of the most amazing 

scents known to man. 

You see, my Mother was and still is

an incredible baker, 

every morsel consumed in our home 

was lovingly created from scratch by her. 

She made donuts, cakes, pies, flaky pastries,

cookies, sweet and/or savoury, 

you name it, she created it 

AND I was the lucky taste tester. 

I suppose this is where I acquired my sweet tooth. 

One of my ultimate favorites has to be "koeksisters"

 (pronounced cook-sister and meaning cake sister) 

a traditional South African treat, 

wickedly sweet and messy as heck 

because after it is baked,

it is, get this, dipped in or soaked in SYRUP,

I know, right….HEAVEN! 

I have not had these for, I cannot even remember 

the last time. This seems like the perfect opportunity

to scout out the recipe and give it a go myself. 

I’ve attached the recipe 

that I found on CapeTownMagazine.com

and I am going to try these this week, 

we will see how it goes. 

Koeksisters

Ingredients

For the syrup:

• 530ml water
• 800g sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2,5tsp cream of tartar
• 1tsp ginger
• 1 tblsp lemon juice
• 1 cinnamon stick

For the dough:

• 300g self-raising flour
• 200g corn flour
• pinch of salt
• 50g unsalted butter
• 25g baking powder
• 1\4 cup sugar
• 200ml milk
• 50ml cream
• 2 eggs

Method:
For the Syrup (prepare the syrup the day before for best results)

In a pan, heat up the water. Add the sugar, salt, cream of tartar, ginger, lemon juice and cinnamon stick. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally. Simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Transfer to the fridge.

For the Dough:

Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix them together. Add the milk, butter, eggs and cream, mixing it all together. Knead with your hand for a couple of minutes. Wrap in cling film, and store in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out to a 1 cm thickness. Cut into strips thin strips and then short strips. To plait, tuck three strands together at the top. Fold the outer strips over into the middle, repeating until you reach the end and tuck them together.

To Fry:

Heat up half a pot of oil on a low flame. Place the bowl of syrup in a larger bowl of ice to keep it well chilled. Deep fry the koeksisters, don't put too many in at once. When golden, transfer to the syrup using a slotted spoon, draining off as much oil as you can. Leave to soak in the syrup for a while. Transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before eating.

I am off to give this recipe a try

What is your favorite childhood tasty treat?

Bon Appetite

~~

Peace Love and Hugs

xOxO

Nerina