Local Baker’s Spin on Portuguese Malasadas
Bay House Cakes makes a wide selection of malasada pastries filled with various flavors, including Lilikoi, Cookies n Cream, Guava, Nutella, and Raspberry Jam.
Isabella Garcia (seen here with her new baby) is a Castro Valley native and owner of Bay House Cakery.
What do you call a misshapen doughnut that is lightly covered with sugar? If you are of Portuguese or Hawaiian heritage, you might call them malasadas. And now, one local baker is pouring her worldly experience into making these delicious treats.
Isabella Garcia is a Castro Valley native and an Our Lady of Grace and Castro Valley High School graduate. She says she has always had a passion for baking, including cakes, tarts, pies, and other original pastries. Her mother is Denica Freitas of Denica's Real Food Kitchen, where she does her baking and where customers pick up their online orders.
"I just trying to make everyone happy by feeding them with what I like and by what I am inspired by," Garcia told the Forum.
While she is not Portuguese, she has family members who are. The family also spends vacations in Maui, where family gatherings and feasts with lots of treats like malasadas are common. It's also where Garcia says she learned to apply the Hawaiian spirit and vibe to her life. After high school, Garcia traveled and worked, including a pre-COVID trip to New Zealand with her boyfriend because it was one of the few countries where Americans could get a work visa.
"I got a job at the Double Black Café, and it was fun because the entire kitchen and café staff were women," Garcia said. "New Zealanders are super big on their cafes where each has specialty dishes. We had specific recipes, but I could be as creative as I wanted to. Since I started at 5:30 in the morning, I got off work around 2 p.m. and could explore the beautiful country."
After the pandemic hit, Garcia came home and decided to try making malasadas with a twist: custard or jam fillings.
"Traditional malasadas are just dough and sugar. I tried to make mine a bit more pretty because people like taking pictures of their food and posting them on social media. Americans also like their fillings, and that inspired me to try different things," Garcia said.
She started with Hawaiian-style filings like coconut cream, pineapple jam, and passion fruit. During the holidays, she tried different flavors like pumpkin spice, coffee, and apple pie. She says her most popular malasada flavor is guava crème.
"I also have a malasada with fresh whipped cream with vanilla bean. I haven't seen any bakers around the Bay Area do a variation like that," she said.
After a year and a half, Garcia has sold her pastries at pop-up stands in Livermore but does more business now taking orders online. Her company—Bay House Cakery—is a two-person operation between Garcia and her cousin Miranda. During crunch time, Garcia says she gets help from other family members as well.
This past January, Garcia had a baby and has had to cut back on her hours. But she is preparing to take orders for Easter next month and working two out of four weeks going forward.
To see more of Bay House Cakery's wares and order malasadas, visit their website (bayhousecakery.com) or Instagram page (@bayhousecakery).