Koeksisters were a traditional South African sweet dessert.
Nowadays they are eaten as a sweet snack.

Ingredients

• for the syrup:
  1 kg sugar
  200ml (2 cups) water
  2 pieces fresh ginger (each 5cm) crushed
  2ml (½ teaspoon) tartaric acid
  
• for the dough:
  500g flour
  2ml (½ teaspoon) salt
  30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder
  55g butter, grated
  1 egg
  250 – 375 (1-1½ cups) milk or water
  Sunflower oil for deep-frying
  
  Method:
• To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a large pot. Heat (stirring) until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cover the mixture and boil for a minute.
  Remove the lid and boil another 5 minutes but do not stir.
  Remove the syrup and allow it to cool. Place in a refrigerator (not deepfreeze) overnight.
  The syrup should be thick and ice cold before it is used. Remove ginger before using syrup.
  
• To make the dough, sieve together the dry ingredients and rub in the grated butter.
  Beat the egg, add 250ml of the milk or water and mix lightly with the dry ingredients to make a soft
  dough. Add milk or water if the dough is too stiff.
  Knead well until small bubbles form under the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and
  allow to stand for 30 minutes – 1 hour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm, then form
  koeksisters: Cut dough into 8cm x 4cm pieces. Cut two vertical slits into the pieces and plait the 3
  strips of each piece as you would plait hair and pinch together the loose ends.
  
• Method:
  Heat the oil in a deep-frying pan (7-8cm deep) to 180-190 degree C.
  Slip the koeksisters into the pan – they will sink to the bottom and then puff up and rise.
  Turn them around to fry on both sides evenly brown.
  Take them out with a slotted spoon and plunge them (press them down) into the syrup.
  They will “suck-in” the syrup.
  Place them on a wire rack over a bowl.
  Ensure that the syrup remains cold as the koeksisters will not absorb warm syrup properly.
  Put koeksister in a refrigerator.
  
  Tip: Koeksisters should be left overnight in the fridge as they taste best the following day.

KOEKSISTERS (Johanna) Deutsche Version

1. Zuckerlösung
15 Tassen Zucker zu 8 Tassen Wasser.
1 – 2 Stücke Ingwer (leicht geklopft) hinzufügen.
Aufkochen und rühren bis klare Flüssigkeit entsteht.
Ingwer entfernen und die Zuckerlösung im Kühlschrank abkühlen.

2. Teig
2 Eier, 1/8 Butter, 1 Tasse Milch, Prise Salz, Backpulver und Mehl
Pro Tasse Mehl 1 gehäufter Löffel Backpulver.
Gut mischen zu einem Teig.
Teig muss sehr lose und feucht sein.
Teig ausrollen und in Streifen schneiden.
In Zöpfe flechten (2 oder 3er).
1 bis 2 Stunden stehen lassen.
Öl (in tiefer Pfanne wie für Berliner) erhitzen.
Die Küchlein einzeln hineintun.
Sie gehen unter und treiben dann. Wenden damit sie beidseitig schön goldbraun sind.
Dann herausfischen und in die Zuckerlösung tauchen (hineindrücken).
Sie saugen sich voll.

Herausfischen und auf einem Gitter abtropfen lassen.
Dann in den Kühlschrank zum abkühlen.

Koeksisters können zwar frisch gegessen werden, schmecken allerdings nach einem Tag im Kühlschrank am Besten.