Introduction
Next Tuesday, 21 February 2023, is Terça-feira Gorda, also known as “Fat Tuesday ” in English-speaking countries. This is the last day before the Christian liturgical season of Lent begins. In many places this is a day of celebrations, like Mardi Gras or Carnival (which is a big deal in Portugal). One aspect of those celebrations is eating – it is traditionally a day for using up fats and sweets in a last binge before taking on Lenten restrictions.
A Portuguese pastry typically associated with Terça-feira Gorda is the malasada – a yeast-leavened donut with no hole that is deep-fried and rolled in sugar.
There’s a recipe for malasadas down below.
If you’re anxious to get started, press the button to jump ahead
We’ve been thinking about (maybe “lusting after”) malasadas since we first tried them at Leonard’s Bakery in Honolulu a few years ago.
It seems odd to say, but if you want to eat a malasada regularly, you’ll do better in Hawai’i than in Portugal. The malasada was brought to Hawai’i from the Portuguese islands of Madeira and the Azores in the late 1800’s. During that time, thousands of Portuguese moved to Hawai’i to work on the sugar plantations.
Malasadas were also brought to other places where immigrants from Portugal settled, including the northeastern United States. Our good friend Carol, whose grandparents moved to Rhode Island from São Miguel in the Azores, recalled having malasadas as a child and finding them in local bakeries.
My father would buy a dozen or so of them for the family whenever the Holy Ghost Church in the Fox Point section of Providence would have a festival. That’s where some of the best ones were as the Portuguese women parishioners would bake and cook a variety of Portuguese foods in the church kitchen. They often sold out, so you had to get there early.
Carol Wilcox
Read Carol’s excellent blog – Our Portugal Journey
Where to find them?
Finding this treat in mainland Portugal is difficult. Malasadas are often included in the lists of “things to eat in Portugal”, but we have yet to see them in any of the places where we have shopped. Carol told us she has occasionally found them in the local mercados, usually around holidays like Christmas or Easter. One writer visiting Lisbon called them “the unicorn of baked goods”.
Not a donut!
We’re in a new neighborhood, and our search for malasadas has given us an excuse to visit some of the local padarias – bakeries. (Sure…like we needed an excuse!) Mike thought he had struck gold earlier this week when he stopped in a busy cafe on our way home from our morning walk with Sox. This place always had tempting pastries in their window, so Mike thought they might have malasadas.
He talked to an older gentleman behind the counter and asked “Por favor, você tem malasadas?” (Please, do you have malasadas?)
The man asked him to repeat the question, then nodded and replied, “Sim. Quantos você quer?” (How many do you want?)
Mike held up two fingers. “Dois, obrigado.” (Two, thank you.)
The man went to the far end of the counter and returned with two small foil containers with cardboard lids.
Mike thought this was a strange package for pastries, but maybe that’s the way it’s done here. One more new thing to learn about Portugal. The man switched to English. “Do you want a sack?” Mike said “Não” and pointed to his backpack. The man looked dubious, but gave him a ticket and pointed to the cashier next to the front door. “Take this and pay him over there.”
While Mike was paying for the order, the man from behind the counter came out with a small plastic bag. He picked up the two containers, put them in the bag, and tied it tightly. Mike took this as a sign of great customer service, thanked him, and left.
When he got home he discovered why there was such a concern about bagging the containers. Perhaps it was Mike’s southern Indiana / middle Tennessee accent, or maybe the gentleman had trouble hearing, or maybe it was the clatter of plates in the background, but for whatever reason, Mike’s request for malasadas was apparently heard as maçãs assadas – baked apples! With plenty of juice around them.
Sadly, they didn’t taste any better than they looked.
Have No Fear, Mary is Here!
So… we weren’t having any luck finding malasadas for sale, and a trip to the Azores wasn’t possible this week. But Mary was determined that we would have some. She consulted our Guidebook, Mimi Sheraton’s “1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die”*, for inspiration. As always, Mimi didn’t let us down. She provided a pointer to a recipe for malasadas – from Leonard’s Bakery in Hawai’i! Perhaps not authentic Portuguese, but then, neither are we!
They were a bit tricky to make, but turned out to be delicious!
Here’s the recipe.
Leonard’s Bakery’s Hawaii Malasadas
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
- Plastic wrap
- Knife
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheets
- Large bowl
- 6 quart Saucepan
- Deep Fry Thermometer
- Scissors
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar
- 3 each Eggs
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Half & Half
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 4 cups Bread flour (1 lb. 2 oz.), sifted
- Canola oil, for frying
Instructions
- Combine yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, and 2 tbsp. water heated to 115° in a bowl; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes; set aside. Beat eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until fluffy. Add yeast mixture, 1⁄2 cup sugar, butter, milk, half & half, and salt; mix until combined. With the motor running, slowly add flour; beat until dough is smooth. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap; set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1⁄2 hours.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12″ square about 1⁄2″ thick. Using a knife, cut dough into 3″ squares; gather and reuse scraps. Place on greased parchment paper-lined baking sheets, at least 3″ apart; cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Place remaining sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Heat 2″ oil in a 6-qt. saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Using scissors, cut the donuts out of the parchment paper, leaving about 1″ of paper around the sides of each donut (the paper makes it easier to transfer them to frying oil). Working in batches, place donuts in oil, paper side up, using tongs to peel off and discard paper. Cook, flipping once until puffed and golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer to a baking sheet with a wire rack; let cool completely, then toss with sugar.
Notes
Hearing the call
You see that plate of malasadas in the pictures above? Well, it’s sitting in our kitchen right now. Calling our names.
So please excuse us if we wrap things up quickly this week so we can get the coffee started.
Until next time / Até a próxima vez
Mary and Mike
The Cook and The Writer
What special food do you associate with holidays? Share your memories with us in the comments below or with a note via the Contact Us form.
* This link is direct to Amazon.com. At the time of this writing (February, 2023), we receive no affiliate payment if you buy a copy. If that changes in the future, we’ll let you know.
Looking forward to trying these out. Thank you!
Hey Jon, let us know what you think of them.
Mike
They look wonderful.
Hey Pat,
They taste wonderful, too!
Mike
They remind me of beignets from New Orleans. My favorite. Powdered sugar instead of regular sugar. Fried the same way. I’ve cheated and made them out of the box they sell in some stores. Soooo good. Yours look excellent Mary. I can taste them.
Hi Alice,
I think the main difference would be that beignets have powdered sugar and malasadas have granulated sugar, so they have a sweeter, grittier taste and texture. But I’d have either one on any given morning, especially if there was good New Orleans chickory coffee involved.
Have a great week,
Mike
C’MON. you guys…it’s breakfast time here and I’M TRYING TO DIET!!
C’MON Joy!
You can diet after Fat Tuesday! (That’s what we’re going to do.)
Thanks for commenting,
Mike
Good luck to you and Mary in the dieting game…and it IS a game, you know.
Yay!!! I’m excited about trying these legendary donuts! Thank you!
Hi Nan,
We knew you would be happy to see this post and we’re happy we could finally publish it.
Have a great week,
Mike
Also similar to the Dutch oliebollen. 🙂
OK. Another variation that we need to track down. Do we need a trip to Amsterdam?
Yum! They remind me of priganice (pree-gah-nee-sah), fried yeast donuts of Montenegro and Hercegovina.
Hi Melinda,
Yum, indeed! There’s a comment that runs through all of the articles. It boils down to “everybody, everywhere loves fried dough”. I have to agree. Thanks for weighing in.
Mike
Wow, you really had me going as I couldn’t wait to grab some malasadas! We’ll have to join in on your search, so maybe este terça-feira gorda we can scout out a dozen or two! Sarah can’t wait to try your recipe . . . 🙏
Olá David,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, we need to go all out on the search for malasadas on the mainland. And please let us know the results when Sarah tries the recipe.
Regards,
Mike