If you’re looking for a heart warming, cinnamon-fueled dessert, then this is it! Imagine soft cinnamon-sugar coated dumplings drenched in a cinnamon-sugar syrup. It’s sweet, spiced, spongey and saucy, it’s everything you want.
‘Souskluitjies’ is the South African name for a cinnamon dumplings dish. Directly translated it means ‘sauce dumpling’. Dumplings are thought to have originated in the Netherlands. When the Dutch settlers arrived at South Africa in 1652, they brought with them their cooking tradition, and by that time, dumplings were already known in Holland. But the dumpling’s ingredients have changed. Because during the old time in South Africa, there was no milk, water has been used instead of milk in the dessert.
Souskluitjies , melkkos, and dombolo are dumplings found in South Africa. Souskluitjies are a steamed sweet dumpling, sometimes made with plain flour and sometimes with the addition of dried fruits or other flavors. They are often served with a syrup flavored with cinnamon or a custard sauce. Melkkos are formed by putting milk, one teaspoon at a time, into a dry flour mixture. The flour clings to the milk and forms dumplings, which are then boiled in a mixture of milk and butter. They are served hot and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Dombolo, also called ujeqe or steam bread, is made from steamed dough and is often consumed with different kinds of side dishes such as chicken stew, beef stew, oxtail stew, lamb stew, or tripe.
overview
preparation
Read through the whole recipe so that you can have an idea of what will need to happen. Prepare all the ingredients and place them in the order that you’re going to use them and then get cookin’, tastebud.
time:
The batter comes together in just a few minutes. You’ll then warm up water in a saucepan, drop the dumplings in, cover and simmer until doubled in size. This takes 5-8 minutes.
perfect for:
Those who enjoy dessert similar to milk tart, melkkos and cinnamon-sugar coated pancakes or crêpes.
Below: Before you smother them in all that syrup.
South African Souskluitjies
Ingredients
Kluitjies
- 150 grams cake flour or heaped cup of flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 50 grams butter room temperature
- 50 ml milk
- 2 large eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla essence optional
Cinnamon Sugar
- 20 grams sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Syrup
- 30 grams sugar
- 30 grams butter melted, separated
- ½ tsp cinnamon sugar
- ¼ tsp salt optional
Instructions
- Start by assembling all the ingredients.
- To a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt together. Mix lightly.
- Add butter to the flour mixture and rub it in using your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- In a separate bowl, whisk milk, eggs and vanilla essence together.
- Add the egg mixture to the flour and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until you have a firm dough.
- Let the dough rest while you bring 700ml water to a boil - lid on. Once boiling, lower the heat to low-medium. Note: You was a slow boil but not too slow.
- Once boiling, remove the lid, wet two dessert spoons in the boiling water. Scoop a tbsp worth of batter into the simmering water and repeat until you've filled half of the saucepan. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes undisturbed. Note: Do not lift the lid otherwise the dumplings will fall flat. Don't overcrowd the saucepan, the dumplings expand quite a bit. So depending on the size of saucepan you use, you might need to cook the dumplings in batches.
- Meanwhile, melt 30g of butter and set aside. Mix 20g sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon together and set aside as well. Once the dumplings are done, use a slotted spoon to strain them and place on or in your serving dish. Coat in some of the melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. Note: make sure every dumpling is coated in melted butter and cinnamon-sugar.
- Cover the dumplings and keep warm while you prepare the syrup. It should only take about 5 minutes.
- Add the sugar, cinnamon, remaining melted butter and salt to the remaining water in the saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil. Allow to reduce and thicken slightly. Pour over the dumplings and serve warm.
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