← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 1 kg Self-raising flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 200 g Sugar
• 250 g Butter, melted
• 500 ml Buttermilk
• 2 Eggs
• 100 g Raisins (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a large roasting tin or two loaf tins (about 30 x 20 cm in total).
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and raisins, if using, in a big bowl.
3. Whisk the melted butter, buttermilk and eggs together, pour into the dry ingredients and mix to a soft, sticky dough.
4. With floured hands, shape the dough into golf-ball-sized pieces and pack them snugly side by side in the tin. Bake for 50–60 min, until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
5. Cool in the tin for 15 min, then turn out and pull or cut into fingers. Lay them on oven racks.
6. Dry the rusks in the oven at 90°C (195°F), with the door slightly ajar, for 5–6 hours or overnight, until completely dry and crisp right through. Cool and store in an airtight tin.

Tips

• They should be bone dry inside, or they won't keep; they last for weeks in an airtight tin.
• Dunk them in coffee or rooibos tea, the South African way.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Woolworths TASTE Simply Delicious