By her own account, Soraya Sheppard’s recipe for koeksisters (pronounced “cake-sisters”) goes back to “my grandmother, who learned it from her mother.” The fried dough cakes dipped in chilled syrup are a popular treat in South Africa, where Sheppard grew up. Though her ancestry is Malaysian, the family had migrated to Johannesburg by the time she was born, and her grandmother ran a business selling koeksisters. “Most of the women those days weren’t even educated,” says Sheppard. “It was a way that many women could make a living, by selling their desserts and treats from home.”
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Mona Essa, Sheppard’s mother, preferred to make the dessert just for family occasions. “She did not have my grandmother’s entrepreneurial spirit,” says Sheppard. “Instead she spent her time experimenting with the formula. My mother loved cooking and baking, but not as a business.”
it’s amazing.”
Her mother has come to Chicago to help with the business. Sheppard (whose day job is as a personal shopper at Neiman Marcus) has also enlisted the services of her two daughters, Bianca and Nadia, and her son, Safir.
