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Malasadas
Soft, fluffy, pillowy and sweet Malasadas that you just can’t stop eating. This easy Malasadas recipe is Leonard’s Bakery copycat, it’s fail-proof and super easy.
If you have been to Hawaii, I am sure you have had the world’s famous Leonard’s Malasadas on the island of Oahu.
You hadn’t been to Hawaii if you didn’t try Leonard’s. I am one of the fans of malasadas, ones that I am constantly craving.
Malasadas is Portuguese in origin. They are basically yeast-based fried dough balls coated with sugar. The dough is soft, puffy, pillowy and once you sink your teeth into one, you just can’t stop eating. I am hooked since my first trip to Hawaii.
My baker Kendoll and I decided to try the recipe from My Pinterventures, which is the easiest malasadas recipe ever! It’s very straight forward and it doesn’t take a long time. The active time is pretty short and the proof time is about 1 hour.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This easy Malasadas recipe is only 238 calories per piece.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
This sweet treat is best served with a cup of coffee or tea. For an afternoon tea party, I recommend the following recipes.
The end results are the most amazing malasadas that transport me instantly to Leonard’s Bakery. Every bite is utterly satisfying. Try this recipe, I guarantee you it’s fail-proof!
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Malasadas (The Best Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 packet active dry yeast (1/4 oz. (5mm) or 2 1/4 teaspoons or 7 g) )
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups scalded milk
- 1/2 cup butter (melted)
- 8 large eggs (beaten)
- oil for frying
- sugar (for coating)
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast and the 1 tablespoon of sugar in warm water. In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar and salt and make a well in the center. Add the milk, butter, eggs and yeast mixture.
- Beat thoroughly to form a soft and smooth dough. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour. Heat oil to 350 °F (176 °C).
- While the oil is heating up, shape dough into flat round discs, pulling the dough outwards and leaving a small indentation in the center (see picture below).
- Place the dough into the oil and fry until browned. Drain on paper towels, then shake in a bag with sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Can you bake these? Love all your recipes. Do you have any with Ube?
Can these be baked? I love your recipes but I prefer baking instead of deep frying.
Hi Phyllis. I am not sure if these will bake up nice and fluffy as I’ve not tried to bake them.
Isn’t there nutmeg in them?
Hi Patty. This is based on the original recipe of masaladas from Leonard’s bakery in Hawa’ii. There is no nutmeg in the original recipe, however there are various twists to the recipe that you can tweak for yourself. Happy baking!
Just wondering if you meant to skip the 30 min proof after you roll into disc or cut into rectangles I think the short proof makes them puff a little and creates a lighter airy donut. If it’s puffy, one can fill the inside like Leonard’s malasada puffs.
Hi are you able to put the fillings (custard)inside of these like they have at Leonard’s in Hawaii.
Good idea but I prefer the plain malasadas.
I prefer plain myself. I tried the filled last week (strawberry and cream). My dog loved them but I’ll stick to the plain. I may experiment with flavored sugars.
How do you make sweet and sour sugar? I had Malasadas from Leonards bakery that had sweet and sour sugar on them.
Absolutely amazing!!!
Hi. Can I use instant dry yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Yes.
This recipe turned out great! The 8 cups was a lot of malasadas. It wasn’t as light as Leonards but looked and tasted very good.
Ono