Loading ...Azorean Doughnuts
Malassadas
by Cherie Hamilton
from Cuisines of Portuguese Encounters
(Hippocrene Books, 2001)
Makes 24
These cakes are very popular during Carnival in Portugal’s Azorean Islands. The traditional method of preparation calls for the dough to rest for 6 hours in a dry place. Pieces of dough should be well stretched before frying. Some women stretch the dough over their knees to get the desired triangle shape. Others use a linen napkin folded diagonally.
convert Ingredients
7 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup clear brandy or aguardente, a Portuguese distilled spirit
5 large eggs
2 ounces baker’s yeast
1/4 cup warm milk (110°F to 115°F)
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Method
1. Pour the flour into a large bowl; add the melted butter, sugar, and the brandy and mix well. Then add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating the egg after each addition.
2. Mix the baker’s yeast with the warm milk and add to the flour mixture. If the mixture is too dry add a little more warm milk. Knead the dough briefly and place in a large bowl. Let rise in a warm place for 6 hours.
3. Grease hands with some oil. Tear off a small piece of dough and stretch it out by hand into the shape of a triangle. Fry in small batches of in 1 or 2 inches of hot oil (350°F/180°C). Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over warm malassadas. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe © 2001 Cherie Y. Hamilton. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.
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I want to make these for my daughter’s wedding. Can they be cooked ahead of time and frozen? And if so, do I put the sugar on them before freezing or after i take them out? Thanks.
Tracy, some cooks do fry then freeze malassadas, but, to me, they never taste same. Any fried dough is best eaten right then and there. Obviously, it would be hard to make a whole raft of malassadas on the spot at a wedding. My advice is to fry up a batch, sugar half of the doughnuts, let them all cool, then freeze them. Defrost them and see if either version works for you.