Portuguese Hawaiian Doughnuts Recipe: You Need Malasadas In Your Life by 30Seconds Food

Originating from Portugal and now a popular Hawaiian treat, malasadas are a rich, eggy doughnut sprinkled in sugar.

A malasada, sometimes called "Portuguese fried dough," is a Portuguese confection. It is a fried type of doughnut, made of flattened rounds of yeast dough, flavoured with lemon zest and coated with granulated sugar and cinnamon.

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Cuisine: American / Hawaiian

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Ingredients

• 2/3 cup half and half
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast 
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• large pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• vegetable oil, for frying

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Recipe Notes

Here's how to make it: 

In a small saucepan, combine the half-and-half and butter, and heat until it just simmers. Turn down the heat and let stand on the burner.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl (use the bowl for your stand mixer, if you have one), combine the yeast, sugar, flour and salt. If you’re using a stand mixer, put on the paddle attachment, and turn it to medium-low. If not, combine the ingredients by hand.

Once the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed, add the warm butter and cream, and continue mixing until the wet ingredients are incorporated.

Crack one egg into a small bowl and ensure that it is good, then add it to the mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Beat until the mixture is smooth and elastic. If you’re using a mixer, you can use the medium or medium-high setting. Depending on the humidity and the size of your eggs, you may need to add more flour to get a smooth, but tacky to the touch, ball of dough.

Scrape the dough out of your mixing bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it a few times to form it into a smooth ball, and place it into a fresh, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size, whichever comes first.

Dump the dough out of the bowl and onto your lightly floured surface, and dust the top with flour. Roll the dough out to approximately 1/2-inch, and cut it with a 2-1/2-inch cookie cutter. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can use a Mason jar, a drinking glass or another circular object. Don’t worry too much about getting the size exact. Place the cut malasada dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Let rise for 15 more minutes.

While the doughnuts are rising, prepare your frying station. Pour frying oil into a heavy-bottomed saucepan that’s at least 12 inches in diameter—you’ll want about 1 inch of oil in the pot—and put the pot over medium heat. Make sure you have a high-heat thermometer and a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

Cover a wire rack with paper towels, and set it up so that you can place malasadas onto it as they come out of the oil. Finally, pour granulated sugar onto a plate for dipping.

Check your oil temperature frequently. You will want it to be around 350°F when you cook the doughnuts. If it’s heating up too quickly, turn down the heat. If the doughnuts have risen before the oil is ready, that’s OK. When the oil reaches the correct temperature, start a 1-minute timer and add your first six malasadas, one at a time. I like to hold the dough round just above the hot oil, and let it slip in gently.

The oil temperature will drop when you add the dough, and you’ll want to turn the temperature back up toward 350° but doesn’t continue rising above that. This can take some regular adjusting of the heat.

When the timer goes off, start it again, and carefully flip the doughnuts using your slotted spoon or skimmer. They should be between golden brown and chestnut colored. If they are lighter or darker, you’ll want to keep a closer eye on the oil temperature.

If the doughnuts are richly colored when the second timer goes off, use the slotted spoon to remove them to the paper towel-lined rack. If not, keep cooking, flipping as needed, until they are. It should only take a few more seconds.

Continue cooking batches of doughnuts as described above. While the new doughnuts are frying, roll the slightly cooled doughnuts in granulated sugar so that all sides are lightly coated.

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

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