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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. 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I’ve had custard, chocolate & coconut custard fillings! Do you have a recipe for these?
Sorry but I don’t.
Do you have a bakery somewhere? I’d love to purchase from you.
No I don’t!
I liked the recipe! Thank you so much for sharing.
😊👍
Hello do you have the sweet and sour sugar recipe or what I would add that’s my favorite and I miss it.
Hi, try this link https://rasamalaysia.com/😊s=sweet+and+sour
The recipe I used for ages was from the old Hawaiian Electric cook book. I’ve had mine since the early 90’s and used it on the ship’s I worked on when I worked in the Galley.
I know for a fact that leanord bakery uses there own special blend of flours.
Also the magic is the yeast. Trick is water temp of 105-110* and 10 mins to activate the yeast and cover. Also dont use old yeast- this will kill the process.
Thanks.
ok I’ve been making these for ages, but use a smaller ice cream dishes and portion right into the hot oil= if I was to scale out, would I allow for a 2nd proof= and what weight would I go for.
Thanks.
Can Malasadas Dough recipe be made in bread maker?
You can try.
i would not even try- these are meant to be a fried product. I would not try to change the recipe, just tweek it. I grew up in Hawaii and Leanords bakery is Ledgen.
Hi. I was wondering if I air fried them how long it would take and at what temp should I cook them at.
Sorry I am not sure I don’t use air fryer.
how do you put the filling in them once fried?
You can use an inserter to put the filling in.
i’m trying to find a recipe close to the malasadas i’ve had from Leonards, they all of course say they are close. But they are all so different. Some say to scald the milk, some say to heat up the milk but not tell what temperature. Some of the biggest differences are the use of flour and eggs. I just made a recipe that called for 4.5 cups of flour, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1.25 c milk. other recipes call for 2.5 c flour, 3 eggs, your recipe calls for 8 C FLOUR and 8 EGGS! HOLY MOLY. Thats a lot of flour and eggs. BTW, each recipe calls for the same amount of yeast and sugar pretty much., I found the 4 c flour recipe i just did was good but heavy, not as light and fluffy, i thought that is either due to the extreme amount of flour or the milk not being “scalded” Maybe the latter if your recipe calls for 8 c flour. Why these huge differences i am wondering. Unsure which route to follow next. Thoughts?
thank you so much. i like this recipe but i was questioning the amount of flour and eggs!
sorry for the late response just saw this post i have a recipe from my grandmother who brought it over to hawaii in the late 1800s its all beating the dough by hand to get lots of air in it also uses 4-5 cups flower and 1 dozen eggs if you would like to try it i can send it to you. growing up we only had them 1 time per year fat tuesday but after my mom passedwe found another recipe from hawaii and i make them year round my grandma’s ive tried to make them other then fat tuesday and they dont come out must be my grandma and mom telling me no we only make them on tuesday before ash wednesday
Hi Edward Mattos, that is such an amazing story of such an old recipe. I grew up in Hawaii and am now in another state. Would you please share your recipe? You can email me at mahinalehua88@gmail.com
By the way, the real spelling is MALASSADAS (two S). Nobody in Hawaii spells it right but ask anyone who lives in Portugal. Aloha!
Hello Edward, I’m interested in your grandmother recipe. Can you please email that to me? Eveetrujillo@yahoo.com
Thank you,
Yvonne Kaupiko
Please share your malassadas recipe with me. My mother in law is Portuguese and I would love to surprise her with some one day. My email is kehaukaau1@aol.com
Mahalo,
Da Kaauwai’s
Hello – can the dough be frozen?
No.