Seed and nut rusks (saad en neut beskuit)

This is one square meal in a rusk, and it is a healthy one too, being high in fibre and packed with seeds and nuts.

It's a flexible recipe, so you can adjust it to suit your preferences. See the notes below the recipe for some ideas.

Ingredients

Marietjie's variation, adapted for New Zealand

  • 1,1 kg selfraising flour
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) baking powder
  • 1 1/2 (7 ml) teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (250 ml) oat bran
  • 4 cups wheat bran (4 x 250 ml)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon (7 ml) anise seed
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml / 50 gram) sesame seed
  • 3/4 cup sunflower seed (180 ml / 100gram ), blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds and drained
  • 2/3 cup (160 ml / 100 gram) pumpkin seed
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml / 40 gram) poppy seed
  • 1/3 cup (90 ml / 60 gram) linseed / flaxseed
  • 1 1/2 cup (375 ml / 140 gram) pecan nuts (2 x 70 gram packets), roughly broken
  • 375 gram butter
  • 3 extra large eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar (450 ml)
  • 600 ml buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Original ingredients, using South African sizes and measurements

  • 1 kg selfraising flour
  • 1 cup (250 ml) dessicated coconut
  • 5 cups wheat bran (5 x 250 ml)
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) baking powder
  • 1 1/2 (7 ml) teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup (375 ml) seedless sultanas (or use pecan nuts)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon (7 ml) anise seed
  • 1 cup sunflower seed (250 ml), blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds and drained
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml / 50 gram) sesame seed
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) pumpkin seed
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml / 40 gram) poppy seed
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) linseed / flaxseed
  • 375 gram butter
  • 3 extra large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar (375 ml)
  • 500 ml buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method

  1. Line oven pan with foil or baking paper
  2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together
  3. Add bran, nuts and seeds. Mix well.
  4. Rub butter into the flour mixture. This is easier if cold butter is grated first.
  5. Whisk eggs and sugar together. Add milk, lemon juice and oil to egg mixture and and mix well.
  6. Add fluids to flour mixture and mix.
  7. Spread mixture into the greased tin.
  8. Bake for approximately an hour in an oven preheated to 180°C. Test with a skewer to ensure it is baked throughout before removing from the oven.
  9. Cool slightly before turning the tin out.
  10. Let it cool down, cut into slices, and then cut the slices into blocks.
  11. Dry overnight in a cool oven at about 80°C. Ensure that they dried out completely.

Notes

The original recipe called for sultanas. Because sultanas harden when dried in the oven, Marietjie replaced it with pecan nuts.

You can leave out the anise seed if you do not like the taste of anise.

You can use five cups of wheat bran if you prefer rusks that are darker in colour.