Koeksisters
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
Braided dough plaits fried until crisp and plunged straight into ice-cold lemon-and-ginger syrup, so they are crunchy outside and dripping with syrup inside. A treasured Afrikaner treat.
Koeksisters is a South African sweet, ready in about 2 hours 45 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, sugar and lemon juice. It serves 24 and is rated advanced to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 1 h
- Cook
- 45 min
- Rest
- 1 h
- Total
- 2 h 45 min
- Serves
- 24
- Level
- Advanced
- Calories
- 186
Plus chilling the syrup overnight (or at least 8 hours) in the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients
For the syrup (make the day before)
For the dough
Method
Step 1
The day before, dissolve the sugar (opens in a new tab) in the water with the lemon juice (opens in a new tab), cinnamon (opens in a new tab) and ginger, boil 5 minutes, then cool and chill overnight — the syrup must be ice-cold.
- 10 min
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
Divide the syrup between two bowls and keep one in the freezer while you use the other.
Step 2
Mix the flour, baking powder (opens in a new tab) and salt and rub in the butter (opens in a new tab). Beat the egg (opens in a new tab) with the milk (opens in a new tab) and mix in to a soft dough. Knead briefly, cover and rest 1 hour.
- 10 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 3
Roll out to 5 mm thick and cut into 8 × 4 cm rectangles. Cut each into three strips joined at the top, plait them and pinch the ends firmly.
How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels Step 4
Heat the oil to 180 °C and fry a few plaits at a time, turning, until deep golden.
- 45 min
- 180°C
- medium-high heat
- Wok (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Keep the hot oil well away from the bowls of syrup and never leave it unattended.
Step 5
Lift straight from the oil into the ice-cold syrup, leave for about 30 seconds, then lift onto a rack to drain. Swap the syrup bowls as they warm up.
- 1 min
The contrast between hot dough and ice-cold syrup is what makes them crisp outside and syrupy inside.
About this dish
- Origin
- South Africa · Well documentedThe plaited, syrup-soaked koeksister is an Afrikaner speciality; the Cape Malay koesister is a different, spiced and coconut-coated doughnut.More food from South Africa
- Dish
- Snack · Dessert · Sweets & confectionery · Pastries
- Cooking method
- Deep-fried
- Taste
- sweet, citrusy, aromatic / warmly spiced
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style - Good for
- Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Sugar · Lemon juice · Fresh ginger · Cinnamon · Baking powder
- Techniques
- Deep-frying · Kneading
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom butter, milk
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
186 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 72 g · recipe makes 24
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 6%
- Carbohydrate 63%
- Fat 31%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 186 kcal | 259 kcal |
| Protein | 2.8 g | 3.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 29.4 g | 40.9 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 28.8 g | 40 g |
| Sugars | 13.1 g | 18.2 g |
| Added sugars | 12.5 g | 17.4 g |
| Fibre | 0.6 g | 0.9 g |
| Fat | 6.5 g | 9.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.9 g | 2.6 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 14 mg | 20 mg |
| Sodium | 152 mg | 211 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.4 g | 0.5 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 45 mg
- Calcium
- 64 mg
- Iron
- 1.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 7 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 25 µg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.2 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 63 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Common mistakes
- Warm syrup — the koeksisters go soggy instead of crisp.
Serve with
- Serve chilled with coffee or rooibos tea.
Storage
- Keep refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week, or freeze.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
The body of the dish
For the syrup (make the day before)
- Sugar800 g
- Water400 ml · 400 g
- Lemon juice2 tbsp · 31 g
- Cinnamon1 stick · 3 g
- Fresh ginger, sliced1 piece · 15 g
- Neutral vegetable oil1.5 l · 90 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 1 h
Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.
Rest · about 1 h
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 45 min
Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.
- Start to finish: about 2 h 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
If something goes wrong
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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