Skuinskoek is a traditional confectionary that originated in the Namaqualand region in South Africa. It is a deep-fried sweet doughnut-like confectionary flavoured with aniseed. Its name is derived from the angular, diamond-like shape of the doughnut.
It is likely that the first skuinskoek was made from left-over mosbolletjie dough. Mosbolletjies or mosbeskuit as it is also known when it is dried out to make rusks is typically flavoured with ‘warming’ spices such as aniseed, nutmeg and cinnamon. The latter two are less common, especially in more modern recipes.
Skuinskoek is best eaten shortly after it comes from the deep-frier. But it keeps and freezes well and when it begins to dry out, it is eaten like a rusk dipped in coffee or tea.
Skuinskoek
Course: RecipesCuisine: South African, NamibianDifficulty: Easy50-60
servings1
hour20
minutesSkuiskoek is a traditional confectionary from the Namaqualand region of South Africa. It is made by deep-frying, diamond-shaped strips of sweet dough flavoured with aniseed.
Ingredients
1 kilogram cake flour
250 grams sugar
110 grams butter
10 grams yeast
10 grams salt
10 grams aniseed
550 milliliters water or milk
Vegetable oil, enough to deep-fry
Directions
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add water or milk (whichever) you prefer. Bring it all together to make a dough. Knead for a few minutes and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Set aside and let it proof to double in size.
- Punch down and roll out to about 1 cm thick. Cut the dough into diamond shapes. Place on a baking tray and cover once more with a damp cloth. Let it proof for another 15 or so minutes.
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pot. Test the heat by dropping a little bit of dough into the oil. It should sizzle.
- Deep-fry the cakes a few at a time. They should expand some more. Fry till golden brown all over.
Hi Christie – there is a authentic recipe from the Sandvelders – the origin of Skuinskoek. No butter – and to make this more Namibian authentic use the Bokomo/Namib Mills Vetkoek mix. Also you need to add the syrup in which the skuinskoek is glazed in. If you don’t want the syrup then icing sugar is an option.