Miss A was having a tough week and she texted me saying maybe we should celebrate Epiphany with malasadas. I did not have a clue what these were but I said yes. What is more yeastie beasties and boiling fat in my life?
The malasadas are a doughnut type pastry made in Hawaii. Shaped very similarly to a beignet. They are pretty good. I did tweak them with sourdough, a bit of heavy whipping cream, and a tad of whole wheat flour. Actually, I did not use any true white flour which is the reasons they are so dark. I only have heritage flours in the house currently and nothing is bleached.
I also tried my best to screw up this recipe. I do not know why but every time I turned around, I did something wrong. Even being that distracted, these turned out well. I did make the whole recipe and it does make twelve large doughnut type pastries. It is a good thing if you have a backyard full of boyos (who wondered why these have not been in their lives before) or cut the recipe down.
malasadas
Note: I modified the recipe from Saveur to use sourdough. I am also keeping some of my screw ups.
sourdough starter
1 cup whole wheat flour
about 3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
oil for frying
sugar for dusting, we used both granulated which is authentic and powdered
The night before you wish to make the pastries, mix the starter, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Cover and let become bubbly.
When ready to start the next day, save a couple tablespoons of starter for the next baking.
Mix in the eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, butter, milk, whipping cream, and salt. Mix in the flour and beat until smooth. This is a very soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap but do not seal. Let rise until double.
When the dough has risen to double, roll the dough in about a twelve inch square that is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into 3 inch squares. If you have any extras, you can roll the dough out again and cut it. This next part is key: place on a buttered parchment paper about three inches apart. Cover and let proof in a warm place for about an hour.
Put the oil in a pot for frying. Bring it up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put about a cup of either sugar in a large bowl and set aside. When the oil is up to heat, cut the parchment between the pastries, leaving a border that is large enough to hold. Put the pastries in the oil paper side up. The recipe suggested to use tongs but I used my fingers to put the pastries in the oil and gently peel the parchment off. The dough is this soft. Cook and flip once. They should be puffy and golden, two to three minutes per side. When warm, put in the bowl with sugar and toss.
I will need to make these again soon. The boyos will be pleased and Miss A will need a call. They were very much a hit.