Portuguese Doughnuts Recipes

MALASSADAS | PORTUGUESE DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Heat the milk, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until it just begins to steam and form bubbles around the edges, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool until lukewarm.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in the warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the eggs on medium-high until thick and luscious looking, about 5 minutes.
• Switch to the dough hook, add the milk mixture, the yeast mixture, and the flour, and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms, about 7 minutes, adding more flour if needed. The dough should be just slightly tacky but not sticky.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, shape into a ball, and place in a lightly buttered large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until double in size, about 2 hours.
• Lightly coat a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and turn the dough onto the pan. Press and poke it with your fingers, much like making focaccia, to help stretch it until it's about 1/2 inch thick. Lightly coat the top of the dough with cooking spray, loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest at room temperature until double in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
• Fill a medium saucepan with 3 inches of oil and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F (177°C) on a deep-fry or candy or instant-read thermometer. Monitor the heat to keep a steady temperature.
• Using scissors or your hands, cut or pull a 2-to-3-inch piece of dough from the baking sheet and stretch it into a 4-to-5-inch circle, then lower it into the oil and fry, turning frequently, just until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, 45 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes, depending on the size. Drain the doughnut on paper towels for 30 seconds and then toss in the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with the remaining dough. Devour warm.

PORTUGUESE DOUGHNUTS (SONHOS)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter and sugar. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and stir in the flour. Stir until the mixture forms a ball. Move the batter to a medium bowl and let cool.
• Use an electric mixer to beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add lemon extract and a pinch of salt.
• Fill a medium pot with about 3 inches of canola or vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches a temperature of 375 degrees. See Recipe Notes below if you don't have a thermometer to check the temperature.
• Drop the doughnut batter into the hot oil by teaspoon (no bigger than an actual teaspoon because they will puff up a lot while cooking). You can fry about 15 doughnuts at a time. Fry until they are lightly browned all around. Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain.
• Roll in sugar while the doughnuts are still warm, and serve immediately.

PORTUGUESE DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, eggs, sugar, butter and salt; beat until smooth. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough (do not knead). Place in a greased bowl turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , In an electric skillet, heat oil to 375°. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough, a few at a time, into hot oil. Fry for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or each side or until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Roll warm doughnuts in sugar or serve with syrup.

PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS (PASTEIS DE NATA)

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, and cold water in a bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough just comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough should be sticky; adjust with more flour or water to achieve what's shown in the video.
• Transfer dough onto a well floured surface. Dust a little more flour over the top. Knead for a minute or two to form a round. Cover and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Roll dough into a square about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour as necessary; dough should still be sticky.
• Spread 1/3 of the butter over 2/3 of the square using a silicone spatula, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Flip the unbuttered side over the middle of the square and fold the opposite end over it like a letter. Straighten the edges as needed.
• Turn dough with a bench scraper to unstick it from the counter; dust with flour. Flip and sprinkle more flour on top. Roll dough into a 1/8-inch-thick rectangle, carefully stretching edges as needed. Spread another 1/3 of the butter over 2/3 of the dough. Fold into thirds. Transfer onto a lined baking sheet and freeze until butter is slightly chilled, about 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle dough with flour and roll into a square a little over 1/8 inch thick. Spread remaining butter over the dough, leaving a 1- to 1 1/2-inch border on the top edge. Dip your finger in water and lightly moisten the unbuttered edge. Roll dough into a log starting from the bottom edge. Dust with more flour and polish the ends as needed. Seal with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
• Combine sugar, 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, cinnamon, and lemon zest in a pot. Boil over medium heat, without stirring, until syrup reaches 210 to 215 degrees F (100 degrees C). Remove from heat.
• Preheat oven 550 degrees F (288 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
• Whisk flour, salt, and cold milk together very thoroughly in a cold pot. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until milk thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
• Whisk egg yolks into the cooled milk. Add the sugar syrup and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Strain custard into a glass measuring cup.
• Unwrap the dough and trim any uneven bits on the ends. Score log into 12 even pieces using a knife; cut through.
• Place a piece of dough in each muffin cup. Dip your thumb lightly in some cold water. Press thumb into the center of the swirl; push dough against the bottom and up the sides of the cup until it reaches least 1/8 inch past the top. Fill each cup 3/4 of the way with custard.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is browned and bubbly, and the tops start to blister and caramelize, about 12 minutes. Cool tarts briefly and serve warm.

MALASADAS (PORTUGUESE-STYLE DOUGHNUTS) RECIPE - (4.7/5)

Steps:

• Combine 1 egg, 3/4 cup sugar, butter and salt in bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with dough hook attachment; beat until blended. Add 5 cups flour and yeast; beat 1 minute. Add 1 cup hot water, milk and vanilla and beat until well blended. Beat in remaining 2 eggs, then 1/2 cup flour. Beat until dough is smooth, soft and slightly sticky but begins to come away from sides of bowl, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if very sticky, about 10 minutes. Scrape down dough from sides of bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 2 hours. Punch down dough. Cut into 2 equal pieces. Roll out 1 piece on lightly floured surface to 12x16-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 3 strips and crosswise into 4 strips, making twelve 4-inch squares. Repeat with remaining dough. Pour enough oil into large saucepan to reach depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 350°F. Fry 2 or 3 malasadas until puffed and golden brown, turning once, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer malasadas to paper towels and drain. Repeat frying with remaining dough squares, heating oil to 350°F for each batch. Generously sprinkle warm malasadas with additional sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MALASADAS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/4 cup warm water; set aside.
• In small bowl, beat eggs until thick.
• Put flour in large bowl, making a well in the center. Into the well add yeast, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, milk, 1 cup water, and salt. Beat thoroughly to form a soft, smooth dough. Cover, let dough rise until doubled.
• Heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Drop dough by big teaspoonfuls into oil, fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, shake in a bag of sugar to coat, and serve hot.

PORTUGUESE DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
• Add the milk, eggs, sugar, butter and salt, beat until smooth.
• Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough (do not knead).
• Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• In an electric skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees.
• Drop tablespoonfuls of dough, a few at a time, into hot oil. Fry for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side or until a deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
• Roll warm doughnuts in sugar or serve with syrup.

FILHOS (PORTUGUESE DOUGHNUTS)

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together with hands for 5 minutes until dough is smooth.
• Let rise 1 hour.
• Pull off various size pieces and fry in hot oil.
• Drain on towels and sprinkle with sugar.

MALASADAS (PORTUGUESE DOUGHNUTS)

Steps:

• 1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, butter, and sugar over low heat until the butter melts. Remove from heat and let stand until tepid. 2. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir until dissolved. 3. Lightly butter a medium bowl. In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. With the machine running, add the yeast mixture, then the milk mixture and eggs. Process until the mixture forms a soft dough. To make the dough by hand, mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture, milk mixture, and eggs to make a soft dough. 4. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead just until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overknead the dough. Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn to coat the dough with butter. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until almost doubled (if you insert a finger 1/2 inch into the dough, it will leave an impression), about 1 1/2 hours. 5. Punch down the dough, turn it again to coat lightly with butter, and cover. Let rise again until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. 6. Line a large baking sheet with waxed paper. Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll each into a ball. Place a ball on an unfloured work surface. Roll the dough underneath your hands, moving your hands apart in a horizontal movement while rolling, until the dough is rolled and stretched into a 6-inch rope about 1/2 inch wide. Place on the waxed paper and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining dough. 7. Place a large wire cake rack over a jelly roll pan. In a deep Dutch oven, melt vegetable shortening over high heat to a depth of 2 to 3 inches and heat it to 365°F. In batches, without crowding, deep-fry the doughnuts, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a wire-mesh skimmer, transfer to the wire rack to drain. 8. In a large paper bag, mix the sugar and cinnamon. Add a few doughnuts at a time to the bag, close the bag, and shake it to coat the doughnuts. Serve warm or at room temperature.