As South Africa celebrates Heritage Month, one of the country’s best-known indigenous ingredients has found a delicious new place in a much-loved Cape favourite.
The 2026 World Koesister Day Competition, held on 6 September, challenged chefs and aspiring young cooks to reinterpret the traditional Cape Malay koesister using Rooibos as this year’s heritage ingredient.
Following last year’s use of spekboom, the competition continues to introduce young culinary talent to indigenous South African ingredients while celebrating the history and character of the koesister.
The winning creation came from 24-year-old chef Huwitt Strydom, who incorporated Rooibos into the warm spices and sweetness traditionally associated with the koesister.
And just to clear up a common confusion: a koesister is the soft, spiced, doughnut-like pastry associated with Cape Malay cooking. It is fried, dipped in syrup and traditionally coated with coconut. A koeksister, meanwhile, is a plaited pastry with a crisp texture that is soaked in syrup.
More than simply a cooking competition, World Koesister Day celebrates Malay food heritage and the recipes and stories passed down through generations. It also creates an opportunity for young culinary talent to explore traditional South African food through a contemporary lens.
The competition’s second and third places went to Kiare Arendse and Amber Williams, respectively, with Chelsea Hendricks representing False Bay College among the other finalists.
This year’s event also saw collaboration between Culinary & Service Professionals of South Africa (CSP-SA), weRproudly NPC and Makers Landing, bringing young culinary talent, heritage and the professional hospitality industry together.
For Heritage Month, the Rooibos koesister is a delicious reminder that South Africa’s traditional ingredients and recipes can continue to evolve while keeping their stories and cultural roots alive.
Want to try the winning creation yourself? Here’s Strydom’s Rooibos Heritage Koesister recipe:
Rooibos Heritage Koesisters
Koesister dough — 12 portions
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Cake flour | 500 g |
| Fine caster sugar | 50 g |
| Instant yeast | 7 g |
| Ground cinnamon | 4 g |
| Ground cardamom | 2 g |
| Ground ginger | 3 g |
| Ground aniseed | 1 g |
| Fine salt | 6 g |
| Whole milk | 220 g |
| Water | 80 g |
| Unsalted butter, melted | 40 g |
| Egg | 50 g |
| Vanilla | 3 g |
Method: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the milk, water, egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gradually incorporate the melted butter. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth.
Cover and rest at 25–27°C for 60–75 minutes. Knock back, divide into 12 pieces of approximately 75 g each, shape into ovals and rest for 15 minutes.
Fry at 170–175°C until deeply golden, turning regularly. Drain on a rack.
Rooibos Syrup
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Water | 300 g |
| Rooibos | 12 g |
| Caster sugar | 220 g |
| Glucose | 30 g |
| Lemon juice | 12 g |
| Orange peel | 3 g |
| Cinnamon stick | 1 |
| Cardamom pods, crushed | 3 |
Method: Steep the Rooibos in 300 g water at approximately 95°C for 8 minutes, then strain.
Combine 250 g of the Rooibos infusion with the sugar, glucose, orange peel, cinnamon and cardamom. Simmer to 106–107°C. Add the lemon juice, strain and cool.
Brush lightly over the fried koesisters — do not soak.
