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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Havaí
Fried yeasted dough ball, without a hole, rolled in sugar and served hot. It arrived in Hawai‘i with Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and the Azores, and Carnival Tuesday is called Malasada Day on the islands.
Traditional sweet from Havaí
Also known as: malassada
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Malasada — Havaí, the United States
The malasada came from Portugal. Immigrants from Madeira and the Azores, who arrived in Hawai‘i at the end of the 19th century to work on the sugarcane plantations, made the doughnuts on Fat Tuesday, before Lent, to use up lard, sugar and eggs they had at home. In the plantation camps they shared malasadas with neighbors of other backgrounds.
The custom stuck: in Hawai‘i, Carnival Tuesday is known as Malasada Day, and bakeries open at dawn to handle the lines. In the 1950s a bakery in Honolulu began selling malasadas year‑round, and the sweet became a regular part of island life.
The Hawaiian malasada is round, without a hole, with a golden crust and a soft interior, rolled in sugar and sometimes cinnamon or the tart powder of li hing mui. There are filled versions with coconut cream (haupia), chocolate, guava or passion fruit.
Wheat flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar and yeast; fried in oil; sugar on top; optional fillings of coconut cream, chocolate, guava or passion fruit.
Hot, right after frying, eaten with the hands; packed in boxes to share at work or with family.
All year round; especially on Carnival Tuesday, Malasada Day.
Your questions
It’s what Hawaiians call Carnival Tuesday, the day when bakeries sell malasadas from before dawn.
It came from Portugal with immigrants from Madeira and the Azores, and in Hawai‘i it gained its own fillings and toppings.
Hot, right after frying, rolled in sugar, eaten with the hands.
Flavors of the United States
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