Malay Koeksisters are spice, light and puffy.
They are not plaited but oblong in shape.

2 cups cake flour
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup sugar
½ t salt
2 t ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
2 t ground aniseed
1 t ground cardamom
2 t ground naartjie peel
¾ cup sunflower seed oil
1 egg
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups hot water
1 T active dry yeast
1 t sugar
                                  1 bottle sunflower seed oil for frying (750ml)

                                                               Sweet Syrup

                                                               ¾ cup sugar
                                                               ½ cup water
                                                               1 stick cinnamon
                                                               2 cardamom Seeds
                                                               1 cup desiccated coconut

Sift all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and add those spices that will not pass through the strainer, like the naartjie peel. Rub in the oil to form a crumbly mixture. Combine the milk with the hot water. Using half of this liquid, dissolve the yeast and sugar and add this to the flour.

Add the egg to the remaining milk-and-water mixture and beat well. Add this liquid to the flour and mix until a soft dough is formed. Cover and set aside for 2 hours until the dough has risen to double it volume.

On an oiled surface, roll the dough into a 5 cm thick coil. Cut into 2 cm pieces and shape into flattened walnut shapes. Cover and set aside for half an hour until the dough begins to rise once more.

Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the Koeksisters 4 – 5 min on each side until brown. Drain on absorbent paper. Boil a few Koeksisters at a time in the hot sugar syrup for 1 min. Drain and sprinkle with the coconut.

Must refers to the foam formed when raisins ferment.

The Must

½ cup unseeded raisins

1 T brown sugar

Warm water (it must not be boiling)

The Dough

2 kg flour

500 g sugar

250 g butter

1 T aniseed

2 T softened butter

Pinch of salt

The Must: Gently crush the raisins in a mortar or press them with a rolling pin. Place in a liter jar. Add the and almost fill the jar with warm water. Place this in a warm part of the kitchen for a day or two. This will allow fermentation to start and all the raisins to float to the service.

The Dough: Sift the flour, sugar, salt and the aniseed into a large basin. Make a small well in the flour mixture. Strain off the must and place it in the well to start the rising process. Next, strain all the liquid and use it to form a stiff dough and then work in the butter. Set it aside overnight to allow it to rise. Form the dough into egg sized balls and stack them closely together in well greased baking pans.  Cover and allow them to rise to double their height. Brush the dough with egg and mil and bake for 1 hour at 200°C.

Because it is only kneaded once, Mosbolletjies have a lovely feathery texture that distinguishes it from other types of rusks.

This flan case is particularly suitable for sweet as well as fresh fruit, or preserves

Flan case 20 cm

1 t butter

½ cup + 2 t flour

¼ cup + 2 t castor sugar

2 eggs, separated

½ t vanilla essence

½ t baking powder

¼ salt

¼ t arrowroot, dissolved in ¼ cup water

Filling

1 cup gooseberry jam

1 cup fresh gooseberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 20 cm flan tin. Mix 2 t flour with 2 t castor sugar and lightly dust the flan tin, shaking out the excess. Set aside. Place the egg yolks and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl and beat until the mixture is pale and thick. Add half of the remaining sugar and beat well. In a second mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar and continue beating until the white are stiff. Fold this mixture into the egg yolk mixture.

Sift the remaining flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and quickly fold this in with a metal spoon. Spoon mixture evenly into the flan tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 15 – 20 min until its firm. Remove the tin from the oven and invert flan case on a wire rack. When cool, spread the syrup from the gooseberry jam over the base of the flan to seal it. Decorate by alternating the fresh gooseberries with the berries from the jam. Heat the arrow root mixture and glaze the flan

Goosberry Jam

One kg of gooseberries to 750 g sugar. Prick each berry twice and layer them between the sugar in the preserving pan. Add 1 cup of water and let simmer until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat and boil briskly for about 2 min.

12 firm pears

1 bottle dry red wind (750ml)

2 cinnamon sticks

1 bay leaf

3 cloves

2 cups sugar

Cream

1 cup cream

2 T icing sugar

¼ t vanilla essence

Peel the pears using a potato peeler and leave the stalks on. Arrange the pears upright in a pot. Add wine, sugar, spices, and enough water to cover the pears. Cook over a low heat, turning the fruit by the stems occasionally to coat them with the syrup. Simmer for 2*3 hours, until the pears are a deep burgundy and the syrup has been reduced and becomes rich and thick. Remove the pears and chill.

Pour the whipped cream into individual serving bowls and place a chilled pear on top of the cream. Pour the syrup over the pears.

Enjoy!