muesli rusks

Slightly sweet and lightly crunchy, rusks are South Africa’s version of biscotti.

What’s the difference between the two versions, you ask? I’m not exactly sure, but I think rusks are more tender, and less blatantly sweet, than biscotti.

When we were staying at St. Benedict’s in Johannesburg, we sometimes (ie, not often enough) had rusks for breakfast. They were heaven with my morning coffee, but I could’ve eaten them all day long. Something about that subtle sweetness and starchy crunch, mmm.

When my plan to buy a whole bunch of rusks before heading back to the states was foiled by my lack of planning, I consoled myself by promising to learn to make them myself.

Which I did, of course. You know me.

So far I’ve made two kinds — muesli and buttermilk — and while both are fantastic, we’ve taken a particular liking to the muesli version. I keep thinking I’ll branch out and try other variations, but then I never do. Why mess with a good thing?

My husband has recently figured out that eating a little somethin-somethin with his morning coffee eliminates his caffeine jitters, and it turns out that these muesli rusks are just the thing. Most mornings after pouring his cuppa, he reaches for the jar of rusks atop the fridge. They are light yet satisfying, and not too sweet. 

Actually, though, these are a fantastic anytime of day. They store well at room temp, are an easy, portable treat, make a good stand-in for cookies, and please the masses. 

One thing: I don’t like the word rusk. It sounds harsh like a dog’s bark, or raspy and rough like a hacking cough. Though I guess the name is actually fitting, considering the texture of the rusk and all.

And now that I’m thinking about it, the word is actually onomatopoeic: “rusk” is the sound a knife makes when it’s drug across one. 

Muesli Rusks
Adapted from the blog Wander Cape Town.

I use rolled oats, but quick are fine, too. I’m sure you could sub in a bit of whole wheat pastry flour for some of the all-purpose flour, if you want. If you don’t have buttermilk, substitute some plain yogurt thinned with a bit of milk. 

Any kind of dried fruit is fine, but I’m partial to craisins or dried sour cherries. For the seeds or nuts, you can use anything: sesame, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds, or almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc. (In this batch, I used almonds.) To help minimize the inevitable crumbling, I chop my fruit and nuts.

4 cups flour
1½ cups oats
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried fruit, chopped
1 cup seeds or chopped nuts
1 cup coconut
¼ cup honey
250 grams buttermilk
125 grams butter, melted
70 grams oil
2 eggs
3 tablespoons demerara sugar, optional

Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Combine the two. The dough will be stiff and spoonable. Spread the dough in a parchment-lined 9×12 baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with the demerara sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

After cooling for about 20 minutes, lift the cake from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the cake into fingers — I cut it into thirds longways, and then into thin fingers. (If cut too thick, they are hard to eat.) These rusks are very crumbly, so work carefully and firmly, and plan on making a mess. I waited too long to cut the rusks in the photo above (had to go jump in a frozen pond, whee!), so I think the cooled cake made a bigger mess than normal. (Don’t throw out the crumbs! They’re delicious eaten like a dry cereal, or get fancy and put them on top of yogurt.)

Place the rusks on their sides on a baking sheet, cut-side touching the pan. Bake at 200-250 degrees for 1-3 hours, carefully flipping each of the rusks partway through. The finished rusks should be lightly golden and crunchy all the way through. Store in an airtight container.

This same time, years previous: the quotidian (1.30.23), eight fun things, butter dumplings, omeletty egg bake, the quotidian (1.30.17), crispy pan pizzas, sour cream and berry baked oatmeal, about a picture.