Have THE MUNCHIES and want to try something South African?

South Africa has all the sweets available that you could wish for... some local and others imported. Some strange and some well known or similar to what you may get somewhere else in the world.

Nougat:

• Sally Williams, Coach House, Damascus

Nougat with macadamia nuts, chocolate, cherries, orange peel, peanuts and even jelly sweets

Chocolate:

• Cadbury, Beacon, Geldhof, Lindt, Ritter, Bliss

Every flavour and filling you can imagine - nuts, fruit, caramel, honey crunch, peanuts

Chips or Crisps:

• Willards, Pringles, Lays

Flavors range from lightly salted, salted, peppadew, mexican chilli, beef, chicken, boerewors, braaivleis, fruit and chutney, cheese, cheese and onion

Toffees:

• Wilson, Toff-o-lux

Suckers or lollipos:

• Yoguetta, Cadbury

Weird and wonderful things you'll only get in South Africa:

• Biltong and boerewors flavoured crisps
• Real milk tart
• Koeksisters (deep fried in oil then soaked in a thick, sugary syrup)
• Biltong

What is Biltong?

Traditional biltong is dried beef with a blend of added spices and salt. It is cut into strips, then rolled into the spices and then hung to dry for a week or two. Biltong is available in beef, game, chicken, ostrich meat.

What is Koeksisters?

Koeksisters are a sweet syrup covered pastry type dessert. It is deep fried and then dunked into a liquid syrup to sweeten it. There are two variations. The first type is the traditional Boere variation - it is about as long as your index finger and about 2cm in diameter with 3 strands braided together. The second variation is a non traditional longer version of about 15cm long with 2 strands being braided together.

Just to add more syrup to the koeksister part of this article... There is a koeksister monument in Orania (a town in South Africa)!

If you are feeling brave enough to attempt making a South African Milk tart at home, here is a recipe you can try.

Milk tart Recipe:

This is a crustless milk tart recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons of melted butter
• 4 cups of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 1 cup of cake flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup of sugar (preferably white)
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1.5 tablespoon cinnamon mixed with sugar to sprinkele on top of the milk tart

Method:

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees C
• Coat a 3 cm deep pie or tart dish plate with oil or cooking spray (glass)
• Mix the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth
• Add the egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy
• Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt in and stir until blended completely.
• Mix the vanilla and milk in.
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks
• Fold into the batter
• Pour into the prepared plate and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top
• Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven
• Then reduce the temperature to 165 degrees C
• Continue to bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the centre is set when it is gently wiggled
• Can be served hot or cold