On a beautiful sunny day we set out on a road trip to Malasada World in Cambridge, Ontario. What is a Malasada? Some people say it is a Portuguese donut without the hole. Malasadas are originally from the Island of Sao Miguel in the Azores.
Malasada World is about an hour west of Toronto off the 401. The owner, Steve Chaves, opened his shop on Portugal Day June 10, 2016 to great success.
Before opening the shop Steve was an entrepreneur and a private chef. He also ran a small catering business in Prince Edward County. Steve’s inspiration came from noticing “the specialty donut craze happening in North America” as well as the popularity of the Malasadas in the Portuguese migrant communities in Hawaii. This includes Leonard’s Bakery among other Malasada shops throughout the Hawaiian Islands. He also came to realize that the Cambridge and Kitchener/Waterloo area was in need of this niche product. Steve says, “So why not create a specialty donut concept of my own that is centered around the Malasada…I created a whole new style of Malasadas to hit the market! We call them our signature style. A traditional Malasada shell topped with different items…”
Steve only uses seasonal fruits for his signature toppings from the local market across the street from his shop. He visits the market regularly and we were happy to join him on his quest to buy fresh strawberries.
All Malasadas are made with a special dough using the finest ingredients from Ontario, based on Steve’s grandmother’s recipe. The shop offers 3 Malasada specialities: Traditional, Hawaiian and Signature. They are made fresh every day, throughout the day, and very popular with his clientele. Recently Malasada World had a contest inviting their followers to create a new signature malasada. The winner was the “Pineapple Upside Down Cake Malasada”.
Traditional – Original Portuguese style donut without a hole and coated with sugar or cinnamon-sugar
Hawaiian – Malasadas filled with a variety of flavours
Signature – Traditional Malasada shell topped with different ingredients such as pasty creams, caramel, brownies and even seasonal fruit.
The shop also offers a lunch menu of fusion sandwiches (portuguese-canadian, portuguese-mexican, and more), soup with a malasada bun and the chef’s choice on Saturdays and Sundays. A favourite among his clientele according to Steve is the caldo verde (kale soup) served with a malasada bun.
Are you having an event or party? Malasada World has a catering service and will deliver malasadas to your door. Steve’s next goal is to purchase a “food truck” to serve you on the spot. Malasada World is also planning to franchise. For more information please contact Steve at 519-267-7177 or email him at [email protected]
Indulge yourself with a box of sugary treats without feeling guilty. Get the Traditional Malasada or be adventurous like us and get the mixed dozen (4 Traditional, 4 Hawaiian, and 4 Signature). Some of our favourites are the Dough-Nata (custard tart Malasada), Ontario Strawberry, the Poached Pear Caramel Almond, and of course the Traditional Malasada which always brings back to Ilda childhood memories of the Azores.
There is something for everyone. It’s well worth the trip to Cambridge.
Join us on our visit to Malasada World and watch the video.
Be sure to follow Malasada World on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Thanks for coming by,
