The South African Pastry That Split a Nation — and Both Versions Are Delicious

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Ask for a koeksister at a bakery in Cape Town, and you might get two completely different things — depending on which side of town you’re in.

One is golden, twisted, and soaked in cold syrup until it glistens. The other is soft, round, and rolled in coconut. Both are called koeksisters. Both are delicious. And South Africans have been debating which is the real thing for nearly 200 years.

Two Pastries, One Name

South Africa has two distinct koeksister traditions that evolved largely separately — one in Afrikaner farm kitchens, one in the Cape Malay community of Bo-Kaap.

They share a name and a love of sugar, and almost nothing else. The Afrikaner koeksister and the Cape Malay koeksister are structurally, texturally, and flavour-wise completely different things.

Meeting one for the first time when you expected the other is genuinely startling. Understanding the difference is, in its small way, a lesson in South African history.

The Afrikaner Koeksister — Crisp, Sticky, and Completely Addictive

The Afrikaner koeksister is a braided pastry. Strips of dough are twisted together, deep-fried until golden, and then immediately plunged into ice-cold sugar syrup.

The temperature difference is the whole trick. The hot pastry draws in the cold syrup as it contracts, creating a crystallised shell with a syrup-soaked centre. Get it right and it shatters slightly when you bite it. Get it wrong and it turns soggy.

The name likely comes from the Dutch word koek (cake), with recipes passed through Afrikaner families for generations. Every grandmother is convinced hers is the definitive version.

You find them at church fetes, Saturday markets, and roadside farm stalls across the Western Cape, the Free State, and the Karoo. They are almost always made in pairs — two strips twisted together, then fried as one.

The Cape Malay Koeksister — Soft, Spiced, and Something Else Entirely

The Cape Malay version looks nothing like its Afrikaner cousin.

It is round, soft, and steamed before frying. It is then dipped in cold syrup and rolled in desiccated coconut. The dough itself is spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and aniseed — a flavour profile that reflects the spice trade heritage of Cape Town’s oldest community.

Where the Afrikaner koeksister is about texture and sweetness, the Cape Malay version is about fragrance. Biting into one fills your mouth with warm spice and coconut long before the sweetness arrives.

These are sold on Saturday mornings in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town’s colourful Malay quarter, by home cooks who have been making them the same way for decades. They rarely appear in supermarkets. You have to go looking for them.

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The Debate Nobody Has Won Yet

Both communities will tell you their version came first.

The Afrikaner tradition points to Dutch koekje baking culture that arrived with settlers in the 1600s. The Cape Malay tradition points to the enslaved and freed people from Indonesia, India, and East Africa who brought their spice knowledge to Cape Town and created something entirely their own.

The honest answer is that both traditions developed in parallel, in different communities, drawing on different heritages — and ended up with the same name through some long-forgotten coincidence. Food historians are still not certain of the full story.

What is certain: both versions taste extraordinary. And much like bunny chow, koeksisters prove that South Africa’s most-loved foods come with layers of history that no recipe card ever quite captures.

Where to Find Koeksisters in South Africa

You do not have to choose sides to enjoy both.

Neighbourgoods Market

Cape Town’s beloved Saturday market in the Old Biscuit Mill is one of the best places to find both koeksister styles side by side. Local bakers set up from early morning, and queues form quickly around the pastry stalls.

Oranjezicht City Farm Market

This weekend market hosts independent food producers from across the Cape. Traditional South African baked goods, including both koeksister styles, appear regularly alongside seasonal produce and artisan food.

Bo-Kaap on a Saturday Morning

The best Cape Malay koeksisters are sold informally in the streets of Bo-Kaap on Saturday mornings. There is no fixed stall or signage — ask locals, and you will be pointed in the right direction.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an Afrikaner koeksister and a Cape Malay koeksister?

The Afrikaner koeksister is a braided, deep-fried pastry dipped in cold sugar syrup until crystallised and slightly crisp. The Cape Malay version is rounder and softer, steamed before frying, then rolled in coconut and spiced with cinnamon and cardamom. They share a name but are entirely different in texture, flavour, and cultural origin.

Where can I buy koeksisters in Cape Town?

The best spots are the Neighbourgoods Market in Woodstock, the Oranjezicht City Farm Market, and informally in the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood on Saturday mornings. Most South African bakeries and supermarkets also sell the Afrikaner version year-round.

Are koeksisters eaten on special occasions in South Africa?

Koeksisters appear at everyday family gatherings, church fetes, and weekend markets rather than being reserved for celebrations. The Cape Malay version has particularly strong ties to Saturday community life in Bo-Kaap. Both are comfort food — eaten whenever the craving strikes.

Can I make koeksisters at home?

Yes, and many South African families do regularly. The Afrikaner version requires attention to temperature — the syrup must be ice cold when the hot pastry goes in. The Cape Malay version requires patience with the spice mix and the steaming step. Neither is quick, but both reward the effort.

There is something quietly wonderful about a country where two communities independently arrived at the same sticky, sugary idea and then argued for two centuries about who got there first.

South Africa’s food is like that — layered, complicated, and warm in ways that are hard to explain until you’re standing at a market stall at 9am on a Saturday, syrup on your fingers, trying to decide between the two.

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