Malay koeksister

The syrup - to be made the day before and left in the fridge to cool.

Ingredients

6 cups of water
24g of root ginger
2.5kg granulated sugar

Method

Boil 3 cups of water with the peeled and sliced root ginger. Remove the ginger and add 3 more cups of water. Bring to boil again. Add the sugar and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and store in fridge. NB - it has to be in the fridge as you need your syrup to be chilled!

For the pastry:

Ingredients

6 cups plain flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
125g of butter
2 eggs
125ml evaporated milk
312ml lukewarm water
a pinch of salt
oil for frying

Mix all the above together and knead well, then leave to rest for 2 hours. Roll the dough flat into an oval/square until it is 5mm thick. Cut the dough into strips 2.5cm across. Then cut these strips into lengths of 6cm so that you are left with rectangles 2.5cm x 6cm Make two cuts along the length of the rectangles so that you can plait them – you are aiming for a plait similar to a 3-strand hair plait. When you have plaited each one, press the three strands together firmly at each end so that they do not come undone. Deep-fry each koeksuster in hot oil until crisp and golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and dip the whole cooked koeksuster immediately into your cool syrup. Remember - the koeksuster has to be hot and the syrup cold in order for the syrup to be absorbed by the dough! Remove from the syrup and allow to cool on a paper towels before eating.