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Saturday 17 August 2013

Different South African Pastries And Desserts

By Helga Stokes


In the United States, and many other countries, African cooking is not commonly heard of. However, African cuisine actually has a lot of flavor and is very nutritious. South Africa, specifically, has it's own unique style of food that includes soups, stews, seafood, wild game and any different desserts. A combination of French, German, Dutch, Indian and British culture have cultivated amazing foods, especially South African pastries.

An item that favors a fried doughnut, known as koeksisters, is very common in the region. Melktert, or milk tart, is also quite common. Melktert is custard based and it is thought to have derived from influences of the Dutch settlers that came to the area. Even the name itself combines the dutch word for milk and the African word for tart.

Mulva pudding is another common South African dessert. It has a cake like appearance and consistency, but with a condensed milk sauce poured on top. Like many other sweets from the region, milk and eggs are primary ingredients in the recipe. Most desserts and pastries from the region use these two ingredients, which is due to their common availability in Dutch settlements.

Soetkoekies are another famous dessert from the region, although some have difficulty considering them a dessert. They are basically biscuits that are spicy and contain almonds and port. The spicy notes do not come from peppers or the like, but rather ingredients such as cloves, cinnamon and ginger.

Crunchies are a very popular cookie bar that contain oatmeal and shredded coconut. They are just as popular in South African as the chocolate chip cookies is in the United States. They are popular among both adults and children. The ingredients list is very short and basic for these sweets. In fact, most of the items would already been in the refrigerators and pantries of most people. They also contain milk, as mentioned before due to the Dutch influence in the region.

Peppermint Crisp Tart is also a very popular dish in the region. It's main ingredient is Peppermint Crisp chocolate, which is a type of candy bar made by Nestle and sold only in Australia and South Africa. Tennis biscuits are also a primary ingredient, which are essentially a cookie with a coconut base. These ingredients are common in this region, but they will be difficult to find in others. However, because of the internet they are still easy to find.

Krakelinge is also a cookie very common in the area. Very basic pantry items and almonds make up the ingredients list, like many of the other recipes. However, they don't look like your typical cookie though. They actually favor biscotti more than a cookie with their shape and texture. The difference between the two is in how they are sliced, which is thicker and in a more squared shape in comparison.

There are numerous South African pastries and desserts to be made. Almost all of them use basic ingredients and do not involve any labor intensive steps. There are a few common ingredients, such as almonds, that are seen throughout South African desserts. Although many ingredients are the same in these recipes, the taste of each is uniquely different.




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