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Malassadas
Malassadas: Azorean fried yeast doughnuts rolled in sugar for Carnival
On Terça-feira Gorda, the last day before Lent, kitchens all over São Miguel smell of hot oil and sugar, as families fry malassadas to use up eggs and butter before the fast. Emigrants carried them to Hawaii and New England, but on the islands they are still a Carnival treat: irregular, puffy and light, with a crisp sugared outside. Eat them within an hour of frying. Chef's tip: stretch each piece thin in the middle with oiled fingers; it puffs up dramatically and stays airy.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the dough
To fry and coat
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What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (4)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Stir ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast into 1 cup whole milk. In a large bowl, mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, 2 ⅛ oz sugar, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp lemon zest.
Step 2: Beat 4 eggs until frothy and add them with the milk and 2 ⅛ oz butter. Beat with a wooden spoon or a mixer for 8–10 minutes, until the soft, sticky dough turns elastic and pulls away from the bowl in strands.
10 minStep 3: Cover and leave in a warm place for 1½–2 hours, until doubled.
100 minStep 4: Heat 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep, heavy pan to 350°F. If you have no thermometer, a scrap of dough should rise at once and turn golden in about 1 minute. Put 5 ½ oz sugar (mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon if using) in a wide bowl.
Step 5: Oil your hands. Pull off a piece of dough the size of an egg and stretch it into a rough disc about 10 cm across, thin in the middle and thicker at the edges. Lower it carefully into the oil.
Step 6: Fry 3 or 4 at a time for 1–2 minutes a side, until puffed and golden brown all over. A common mistake is oil that is too cool: the malassadas soak it up and turn greasy, so let it come back to 350°F between batches.
25 minStep 7: Lift out with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper for a few seconds and toss in the sugar while hot. Serve warm.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 31 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does malassadas take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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