Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Malasadas.......


 Yesterday was Valentine's Day. After being lazy the day before to re-coup from the wedding, I felt energized and made a to-do list that kept me hopping all day. Chores around the house during the day and a wonderful evening dinner out with my hubby at night brought a smile to my face and heart.

In between those things, I decided to pull out a recipe I had been intimidated with for years. It is Nana's recipe for Malasadas. What are Malasadas? They are a Portuguese fried doughnut dipped in a sugar boiled glaze. These are not like anything you have ever tasted or found in a traditional bakery.

Nana used to make them all the time. I remember smelling that sweet yeast scent as I walked down the driveway from school. I also remember the game of trying to imagine what the different shapes were since spoon dropped dough makes no two ever alike.

Nana would triple the batch and freeze  most of it so that we would have doughnuts to eat for weeks on end.  And if that wasn't a temptation all by itself; she would cut them up into thin slices and fry them in butter until toasted and serve them with eggs at breakfast time. Oh so bad and oh so good!

I don't know why the recipe intimidated me all these years. Maybe it was my childhood perception of seeing how hard she worked over a triple batch of dough when a single batch makes about 4 dozen. I found yesterday that it is a pretty easy recipe. I was hoping to take some over to her today to have her stamp of approval. But after sharing some with a friend and then hubby and girls taking for their friends today.....there are only 3 left in the bowl. I guess that is a stamp of approval all by itself.

If you are interested, here is the recipe.

Portuguese Malasadas

2 1/4 tsp dry yeast (1 package of yeast) dissolved in a 1/3 cup warm water
8 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup cream
1 1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup melted butter
8 slightly beaten eggs

Mix eggs, butter, warm water and cream together in a large bowl. Add yeast after it has dissolved and activated (It will foam and rise.) Add flour, sugar and salt. Mix together well to become a sticky dough. Cover dough bowl with a towel and set it in a warm dry place to rise and double in size. This takes about 2 hours.

Drop spoons of dough into hot oil to fry until deep dark golden brown. Then remove and let drain on rack or absorbent paper towels.

Malasada Glaze

Malasadas may be served plain, sugared or glazed. For glazing do the following:
Rapid boil 2 cups of water along with 2 cups of sugar until it becomes slightly thickened (about 5 minutes).
Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla.

Dip each doughnut in and out of the glaze quickly, rolling as necessary to completely cover. Let set on a rack to drain and set.

Enjoy!

(After posting this I thought about two things that you may find good to know about this recipe to ensure your doughnuts are cooked all the way through.

#1 Use a SMALL spoon when dropping the dough into the oil for frying. The dough expands as it cooks and if you are not careful you will end up with monster sized doughnuts.
2# Be sure to follow the rule of DARK golden brown.



4 comments:

  1. I love recipes that have been handed down through families. It means they're tried and true. I'll be making me some of those delicious looking things soon. The sugar glaze convinced me!

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  2. This is a very tempting recipe my worry will be never having them how to tell if they are done right?? lol but I am willing to give it a try they sound to yummy not to thank you for sharing, you are such a creative lady."."
    p.s. I am attempting a diaper cake for my daughters shower this week I seen your post just now on your input on them it made me smile. The wedding was beautiful I loved the colors you are so blessed. You are invited to follow my blog at janice's footsteps.

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  3. Hi Jules,

    Okay, I found the right one. Your pics are beautiful, and I love the quotes!

    LeAnne

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  4. Good to catch up here finally Jules.
    Love this recipe...yum!

    Have enjoyed reading all your recent posts...and hearing all your recent news. How lovely.

    God bless.

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I love to hear from other. Your opinions and viewpoints are always a blessing and encourage other readers as well.