Lilikoi & Thyme

What’s a malasada, you ask?  Oh, let me tell you.  A malasada is a kind of Portuguese donut–since it’s Portuguese, it’s amazingly rich with egg yolks and butter–that I’ve routinely overindulged in to the point of illness since I was 6 years old.  Malasadas are a local favorite in Honolulu and, not to brag, but my high school’s recipe is legendary.  Every February, the school puts on the Punahou Carnival and the fist-sized malasadas are sold by the thousands at the impressive price of 50₵ per donut. The Carnival supplies the scholarship fund for the school, so it isn’t much of an exaggeration to say that my education was sponsored by these rich, soft, sugary treats.

I mentioned a milestone a while back, and as promised, here comes the first of a string of event-based recipes. Here’s the deal–I’m getting married!  We’re deep into the planning stage, and my mind is a flood of hors d’oeuvres, cocktail recipes, and other nice little yummy touches to make the guests feel welcome and make the day a memorable one for all.

As far as I’m concerned, a malasada means festivity and special occasion indulgence. So, I’m excited about this little beverage as a welcome-to-the-party/good-morning-sunshine for the bridal party. High quality Kona coffee is a hard thing to beat. Spiked with a bit of Kahlua or maybe some Bailey’s Irish Cream it’s a great way to begin a day of celebration. Garnished with miniature malasadas, could there be anything better?

So now I have a favor to ask you. We’re entered in a contest to win $100,000 for our dream wedding, of which these mini malasadas are a small (& essential) piece.  We need you to vote!! The final round is decided by number of votes then after that it’s up to the judges, but we need your help to get there.  Pretty please???

I’ll make you a dozen malasadas each if we make it to the finals–Promise!

Malasadas

• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
• 8 oz flour, about 2 1/2 cups, more for the work surface
• 3 teaspoons sugar, more for sugaring finished donuts
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 quart oil, more as needed for frying

Makes 16 large, or about 100 mini malasadas

Bring the milk to just below the boiling point and leave to cool tepid, about 100F.  Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and leave to dissolve until foamy, about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, stir the flour and sugar together in a large bowl (use the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one). Make a well in the center. Pour in the butter, eggs and yeast mixture, and stir them together with a wooden spoon. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients until a very loose and sticky dough forms.  Leave it to rest and hydrate about 5 minutes, then beat vigorously until very elastic, about 5 minutes on medium-high with a stand mixer or 5-10 minutes beating by hand.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Fold the risen dough over itself two or three times to gently knock out the air, cover again, and leave to rise until doubled in bulk once more, about 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare a draining pan lined with paper towels to drain the fried malasadas, and fill a shallow dish with sugar to roll them in while still hot. Heat another sheet pan in a low oven at 275F to keep the finished ones warm.

When the dough is puffy and light, gently scoop it out onto a well-floured work surface.  Use a large sharp knife to cut the dough to the sizes you prefer. For full-sized malasadas, cut 3-inch balls of dough, or for mini malasadas, divide the dough into 1-inch little knobs.  Heat the oil in a deep fryer or heavy pot with a thermometer to 365F. Use a slotted spoon or spider to gently lower them into the hot oil. Fry until brown on the outside, turning once, 1-2 minutes per side for full-sized malasadas or 30 seconds per side for minis. Lift them from the oil, drain, and transfer to paper towels, then toss them in sugar to coat. Transfer them to the oven to keep warm while frying the remainder of the dough. Serve warm, and eat too many.