Photo: Malassadas at my house in Nashville, February 2023
I was introduced to malassadas by my friend Ben, a Portuguese professor from Massachusetts, where he grew up in a community of people who had immigrated from Portugal, the Azores, and Cape Verde. Carnival was a part of his New England childhood. A few years ago we had a Carnival party at our house and Ben graciously fried up these beautiful malassadas for everyone. It’s a warm memory with friends that I cherish.
Malassadas are a regional food from the Azores, an achipelago off the coast of Portugal, and are typically eaten during Carnaval. As Azoreans immigrated around the world, they brought this tradition with them. Malassadas are popular in both the U.S. Northeast and in Hawaii, both of which have historic Azorean immigrant communities.
I found this recipe from an Azorean blogger and it looks close to what I’ve eaten in the past. The Hawaiian version is sometimes stuffed like a Krispy Kreme but these are flatter and they go really well with a beer. You can replace a Portuguese Sagres with a Jamaican Red Stripe, on Ben’s recommendation.
Recipe from Azorean Greenbean: Malassadas by Maria Lawton
A look at the ingredients list shows why malassadas are a carnivalesque treat:
3 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
7 large eggs at room temperature
1 stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup of sugar
2 envelopes of active yeast 1/4 oz in each envelope
1/4 cup of lukewarm water to dissolve the yeast
Zest of 2 lemons
Milk as needed for dipping hands
3 cups of oil for frying
3 cups of sugar for dredging
Cinnamon for sprinkling
Rich in fat and sugar, these are party fuel. Let me know if you decide to fry up a batch. Send a photo to heatherleila3@gmail.com
Poster for a Malassada Festival during 2024 Carnaval Açoreana
A short video of a Carnaval parade in Angra, Terceira, Azores in 2024
Do you have a Carnival-related recipe you would like to share? Please send me!
We were introduced to malassadas last February here in Rhode Island. We starting seeing signs that said "We have malassadas" at bakeries and markets, so we had to find out what they were. We had our first ones from Ma's Donuts and More in Middletown and they were fantastic! This year I'll wash one down with a Red Stripe.
good with a beer!!! So like pancakes that are not sweet!! I like that.