A very sticky South African sweet which originated from the Malayan slaves brought to Cape Province by the European settlers. The Malays made this deep-fried spiced sweet in round balls.

The Afrikaaner version is shaped like a short, fat plait. Koeksisters dough is divided into strips with a special koeksisters cutter. It’s then plaited and deep-fried. To finish, it is plunged straight from the hot oil into an icy cold sugar syrup made by simmering cinnamon sticks, glycerine, lemon juice, ginger and cream of tartar.

'You can feel it sucking up the syrup as it hits the cold mixture,’ says Bea Smith-Vaughan. She and husband John have perfected the art of making them and, as Bea says, ‘Home-sick South Africans just love them.’