Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer is a sweet opportunity to contribute to the fight against a pernicious disease.

From Monday through Mother’s Day, May 10, 100 percent of the proceeds from a designated dessert at 173 area restaurants, cafes and bakeries will go to breast cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

In the past decade, Boston Bakes has raised more than $280,000, according to organizer Carol Brownman Sneider, who was 16 years old when she lost her 44-year-old mother Eva Brownman to breast cancer.

She credits the generosity of the Hub culinary community for the event’s success.

“This year, when the economy went south, I was so afraid to even call the restaurants,” said Sneider. “(But) I have more participating this year than last.”

Every year, Boston Bakes is dedicated to a local chef’s relative who battled breast cancer. The 2009 honoree is Lucy Fonseca, the 92-year-old grandmother of Four Seasons Hotel Boston executive pastry chef Tim Fonseca.

“It was around the time when I was 17 or 18 and she was recovering from breast cancer that I made a strong commitment as a young adult to get to know my grandmother,” Fonseca said. “In turn, we forged a friendship and a bond that really grew.”

Fonseca, an accomplished singer/songwriter who has released several CDs, credits his grandmother for both his love of baking and his musical career.

“My baking genes and my cooking genes come from my grandmother,” he said. “She’s never been a professional chef but her approach to it is very natural and very instinctual. She played piano and I played music growing up and sang, so she quasi claims credit for a few things in my life – pastry being one and music being another.”

Fonseca says the money raised by Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer couldn’t go to a better purpose.

“If they weren’t doing this kind of research at the level they do it at, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have a friendship with my grandmother,” he said. “I wouldn’t have had her around to ask about my history, my culture and my family.

“Boston Bakes is a chance for me to take something that I’ve excelled at and maybe actually help raise more money and more attention for a cause that’s very close to home for me.”

bostonbakesforbreastcancer.org.

Recipe: Lucy Fonseca’s Portuguese Filhos  (Portuguese Fried Dough)

• 1 1/4 c. warm milk
• 1 T. sugar
• 2 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 lb. margarine or butter
• 1 package dry yeast
• 6 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 6 c. flour
• 3 1/4 c. olive oil
• 3 c. corn oil
• Granulated sugar

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, scald 1 cup of milk. Stir in the sugar, salt and butter and remove from the heat. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the remaining 1/4 cup of milk. Remove from the heat and sprinkle on the yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir until the yeast is dissolved.

In a large bowl, combine the two milk mixtures with the beaten eggs.

Gradually add the flour, beating with a wooden spoon until stiff. Move the dough to a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and place in bowl coated with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Turn the dough so that it is lightly coated with the oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until it is double in size, approximately 2 hours.

Meanwhile, in a deep pot, heat the remaining 3 cups of olive oil and the corn oil to 350 degrees. Break off golf ball sized pieces of the dough, stretch to an oval/round shape and fry, in batches, in the hot oil until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with granulated sugar before serving.

Makes 3 dozen.

Recipe: Lucy’s Rice Pudding

• 1/2 c. long-grain rice
• 1/2 orange
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 t. salt
• 4 c. milk
• 2 c. heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 c. sugar (or more according to taste)
• Cinnamon

Rinse the rice in cold water, drain and set aside. Cut the peel from the orange half into thin strips. In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the orange peel, salt and rice. Cook until the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk and cream. Add the warmed milk and cream to the rice. Continue cooking over a very low heat for about 1 hour, stirring with a wooden spoon as needed, until the mixture is creamy.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. Whisk a quarter of a cup of the cooked rice into the eggs, being careful not to curdle them. Stir the rice and egg mixture back into the rice along with the sugar. Cook 2 or 3 minutes and then pour into a shallow dish. (The mixture will have the texture of a creamy pudding; it will thicken, as it cools.) Cool in the refrigerator. When cool, score the top in a diamond pattern and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Serves 10 to 12.

- mschaffer@bostonherald.com