Cinnamon dumplings, or souskluitjies, are a traditional Afrikaans dessert that I only came across recently. Teaming up with Amarula, a bunch of home cooks have contributed their recipes to a local recipe book. I will share more about that at the end of the month. In the meantime, enjoy my first recipe from the book.

Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Souskluitjies ♥
Let’s talk about dumplings
For many people, when they hear the word dumpling, they think of Chinese food. And this seems to be obvious, as Chinese dumplings date back over a thousand years. One also tends to think of them as savoury dishes as usually they are a form of dough wrapped around a filling. And the filling can be any form of protein, cheese, vegetables, or a combination of them. In Britain, dumplings refer to small balls of dough cooked by simmering on top of a dish such as a meat pie. Or by steaming or boiling dough that has a sweet or savoury filling. In South Africa we have dombolo which is basically a steamed bread. This staple is served with stewed beef, oxtail, mutton, chicken or tripe. And then we have Souskluitjies, a sweet, steamed dumpling.
Souskluitjies and why I made them
Traditionally, souskluitjies are made with plain flour to which spices are added. One can also use dried fruit when forming the dough balls. These are served with a custard sauce flavoured with cinnamon. I first tried these at Vergelegen Wine Estate and decided I had to make them at home. And then I was sent a copy of The Great Marula Menu and saw a recipe for Amarula Souskluitjies. I knew as soon as I saw the photograph that they would be served at my next dinner party. And after meeting Derek (the recipe creator) at the launch for the book, and hearing his story behind the recipe, I was determined to make them straight away. They make for the perfect comfort dessert on a cold evening. And even better, they can be prepared ahead of time, and steamed when you are ready to serve dessert.
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Souskluitjies ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Souskluitjies
Equipment
- Steamer basket with lid
Ingredients
for the sauce
- 95 g fructose
- 125 mls milk
- 60 mls Amarula *
- 6 g butter
for the dumplings
- 270 g self raising flour
- 60 g salted butter
- 160 mls Amarula *
- 5 mls ground cinnamon
for serving
- fresh berries
- ice cream
Method
for the sauce
- Place the fructose, milk, Amarula and butter into a small saucepan
- Bring to a boil over a medium temperature, stirring until the sugar has dissolved
- Simmer for 3 minutes, turn off the heat and leave on the stove until needed
for the dumplings
- Place the flour and butter into a stand mixer bowl and using a beater, beat until the butter is rubbed in
- Add the Amarula and cinnamon and combine to form a dough
- Shape the dough into 12 x 40g balls and place into a steamer basket, lined with baking paper **
- Place a pot filled with 2cm of water onto the stove and bring to a boil over a high temperature
- Place the steamer basket on top, and then place the lid on the steamer basket
- Cook for 10 minutes, then serve warm, with the custard sauce as well as some berries and / or ice cream ***
Notes
** You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your steamer.
*** The dumplings can be reheated in the microwave for 1 minute on high
See the links below for blog posts I published on January 21:
- 2024: 23 ½ Lies
- 2022: Roasted Cherry Tomato Chutney
- 2019: Coriander Hummus
- 2016: Ghee
- 2015: Rust En Vrede
- 2014: Apple And Fennel Sauce
- 2013: Orange Berry Muffins
- 2012: Food Quiz Number 21 For A Friday
- 2011: Chillies For The Something Savoury Challenge
Dumplings? Huh, I think of my birth country of Estonia and ‘klimbid’ or ‘klimbisupp’, not necessarily of China! Served savoury or, sometimes, sweet and often and cinnamon is a beloved spice! I am usually pretty good at ‘spelling-stuff’ but this South African name looks quite hard to remember – the dish however looks as if it needs to be made soonest
I had to take care with the spelling as well, haha 😉
You had me at cinnamon
It is such a lovely spice 🙂
Something different and fun! I love the add of cinnamon. Here in Germany, you will see those dumplings made with either potatoes or bread.
that is what we had as children as my grandparents were German 🙂
How fun! They sound delicious. Can’t wait to hear more about this project!
It was so great to be a part of it 🙂
I guess sous means sauce and kluitjies means little lumps, so the name is little lumps in sauce. I am considering to travel to South Africa on a culinary discovery tour. I’ll have to see if I can find Amarula in Amsterdam. Is the cinnamon added after mixing the butter and flour on purpose, so the cinnamon is in specks rather than evenly distributed? This is not like any Dutch recipe (at least not one that still exists) so I am curious about the origins.
If you would like some Amarula, and you cannot find some, let me know. We will be in Amsterdam later this year. You will love South Africa for sure as there is so much amazing food here. Yes, the cinnamon is added like that on purpose. It does distribute evenly enough. This recipe would have been adapted from what the Dutch brought with them when they landed in the Cape 🙂
Oh I love Amarula – so these tempting dumplings are calling my name. Saving it to try later!
Please let me know what you thought of them 🙂
This does sound like a delicious dessert, especially with the sauce.
Thanks, it really was delicious 🙂
dumplings to me are the fluffy ones my mum used to make with suet and put on top of soups and stews. Definitely savoury. In my adulthood i started making sweet ones with a caramel sauce. so delicious! i bet cinnamon is fabulous with them.
And the caramel sounds delicious as well 🙂