Malassadas

Eaten warm, they are light and airy inside, with a wafer-thin crust that crackles and, in many versions, a thread of orange running through the dough. The sugar and cinnamon outside bring the sweetness; the dough itself is restrained, more bread than cake. Well-drained, they never cloy — the secret is to eat them straight from the pan.

Malassadas are found in both the Azores and Madeira, with differences in dough, shape and serving. In the Azores, some are scented more strongly with orange and others include aguardente; on Flores, the cultural inventory records the spelling ‘melaçadas’ among Carnival fritters liberally dusted with sugar and cinnamon. That spelling also preserves the old explanation that the name came from molasses, although DGADR considers ‘mal-assadas’ the likelier origin. Madeira's official tourism board highlights a version served with cane honey. They may be round and flat like a filhó or larger and stretched, sometimes with a hole; Hawaiian malasadas tend to be larger and may be filled.

First and foremost at home, at Carnival — that is when they are best, fresh from the pan. Around Fat Tuesday they appear in bakeries, fairs and festivals across São Miguel and the wider archipelago. Visitors outside the season will find them in a few traditional houses that keep them year-round.

A strong espresso or a cup of Azorean tea — São Miguel is home to Gorreana, the oldest tea plantation in Europe, and the only tea grown on Portuguese soil. For the full festive spirit, a small glass of aguardente alongside.