Hey Guys!

It’s the end of August already!! For a lot of people, this means parents moving their kids into college for the first time. For others, it’s a labor day weekend barbeque, or, for students like me, its our last few days before the calamity of school starts.

Last week my family came up to visit when dropping my cousin off to college. After dealing with the myriad of emotions that come with leaving your child at college, I figured that a warm, comforting dessert would be nice before they head on home-something simple, not too sweet, and easy to eat. For this, I have a recipe for a donut called malasadas.

Malasadas  are the Portuguese version of a yeast donut. There are many versions of this, including Beignets, the French version, and American yeast donuts (to my knowledge, there isn’t a cool name for them, they are simply referred to as yeast donuts :/). Malasadas in particular are popular in bakeries in Hawaii; how they became popular in Hawaii and missed the rest of the USA, I’m not entirely sure, but I have been up and down the East coast, out west, and the Midwest, and have never heard of any place where these little donuts are popular.

I found out about these donuts from a family friend, who recently returned from visiting family in Hawaii, asked me to make them. I found a few recipes online, but they were vague and often skipped steps or left out ingredients. As a result, I had to improvise a little. The first time I attempted them, my mom and I left the house to go to the store. Upon returning home, the dough was over-risen, had lots of air bubbles, and was not very structured. I was worried, because in most cases, the dough is pretty much beyond repair at that point. However, because I was somewhat tired, I figured I would fry the donuts anyway to see how they turned out. These donuts were absolutely delicious!!!!! The extra time spent rising allowed the flavor to develop and produce a fluffy, flavorful, and addicting snack.

If you ever go to Hawaii, I would highly recommend that you try them. However, if you don’t happen to be heading to that part of the country, try making them on your own. This recipe is closest to the way I make them:

http://www.hawaii.edu/recipes/dessert/malasada.html

• You can use rapid rise yeast instead of active dry, and let it rise ONCE for 1 1/2 hours.
• I would also suggest keeping the yeast measurement the same, but cut amount of the rest of the ingredients in half.
• If your oven does this, set the temperature to 100 degrees Fahrenheit and allow the dough to rise in their, it truly helps the rising process. If your oven does not, I would suggest letting it rise longer.

You can find pictures on the “Others” page under Jazzy Dessert

Have fun! Enjoy your Summer! Ttyl 🙂