Classic Venezuelan Cachapas Recipe

Venezuelan cachapas can be described as round corn pancakes that are folded in half and stuffed with queso de mano cheese. They're traditionally made with fresh yellow corn kernels, which give the batter its distinctive yellow color and impart a fresh and strong corn taste to the cakes. Cachapas are also noticeably sweet from the addition of sugar. Don't confuse these with arepas, which are made from precooked white cornmeal and don't contain fresh corn. In Venezuela, cachapas are usually served for breakfast or for dinner. Filling and delicious as-is, they are eaten alone, without sauces or sides.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for classic Venezuelan cachapas that uses frozen corn (but you can opt to use the kernels from fresh corn cobs and boil them first if you prefer) and mozzarella cheese, since queso de mano is difficult to find in the United States. If you've never made cachapas before, there may be a learning curve to making your first one. Make each cachapa from ¼ of the batter in a standard-sized frying pan so they're the right size. Spread them out in a round shape to fill the pan so they're not too thick or too thin, and flip them carefully after loosening the bottom first. Follow these tips to make delicious cachapas that are both moist and perfectly browned, have a hearty corn flavor married with sweetness, and a thick and creamy layer of melted cheese inside.

The main ingredient of cachapas is corn, and this recipe calls for frozen sweet yellow corn kernels, which don't need to be cooked first the way fresh corn does. Fresh corn has an edge over frozen or canned corn because it has the firmest texture and sweetest flavor, but frozen corn is still pretty good as it's frozen right after the harvest. Canned corn will be the softest and wettest, and if you decide to substitute canned corn, as do many modern Venezuelans, just make sure to drain it well and pat it dry. The other batter ingredients are milk, eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and precooked white cornmeal. Finally, mozzarella is used for the filling.

The kind of cornmeal included in cachapa batter is precooked white cornmeal, and it's the same kind that's used to make Venezuelan arepas. Precooked cornmeal is a unique ingredient that comes in white and yellow varieties. This may be found in the United States under brand names that include P.A.N. and Masarepa. Since this product has already been cooked, it's softer and finer than some other kinds of cornmeal or flour. This is not to be confused with corn masa flour, also known as masa harina, which is used to make tortillas and is often found in this country under the brand name Maseca.

Place first the milk, and then the corn, eggs, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend until well mixed. The mixture will be thick, so scrape down the sides as needed for an even blend.

Add thec butter and cornmeal and blend until just incorporated.

Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl, cover, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Melt a little butter in a nonstick frying pan on medium-low.

Spoon ¼ of the batter into the pan and flatten it with the back of a ladle, moving the ladle in a circular motion to form an even round shape.

Cook for 8-10 minutes and then flip it when holes form on the upper surface, the underside is browned, and the underside comes away from the pan easily with a spatula. Flip it very carefully so it doesn't break.

Let the other side cook for 3-4 minutes until browned.

When the cachapa is almost finished cooking, spread a little butter on the surface until it melts.

Arrange ¼ of the cheese slices on half of the cachapa, and then carefully fold it in half with a spatula and press the top down lightly to adhere it to the cheese.

Remove the cachapa from the pan and repeat frying and filling for 3 more cachapas.

Serve immediately while hot.

Cachapas and arepas are two examples of delicious traditional dishes hailing from Venezuela and Colombia. While they have similarities — they're both round and made from corn — they are distinct in terms of appearance, taste, and ingredients. Cachapas are made from a dense, moist batter that contains whole corn kernels, a small amount of precooked white cornmeal, milk, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt. They're cooked in a pan pancake-style and served folded in half stuffed with thickly sliced, easy-to-melt cheese inside.

Arepas are also made with precooked white cornmeal, which is mixed by hand with water and salt until a very soft dough forms. Sometimes a little sugar is added. The dough is formed into small, flattened balls that look like very thick tortillas, which are cooked in a dry pan on low heat until cooked through with browned spots on the surface. Arepas don't taste sweet like cachapas do, they're smaller, and they are white, not yellow. The surface of arepas is dry and crispy, but the inside is hot and moist.

Arepas are served partially sliced in half and stuffed with a variety of fillings, which can include butter and cheese, shredded chicken, ham, avocado, and black beans. Arepas can vary depending on where they're made. For example, there are Colombian versions made with butter and cheese mixed into the dough and served whole, without fillings.

Venezuelan cachapas are traditionally served with queso de mano, a local cheese, stuffed inside. Queso de mano is a soft white cheese that's stretched by hand (mano means hand in Spanish). With a mild taste, a soft texture, and great meltability, it's delicious in cachapas.

Such a specific cheese can be hard to find in the United States. For this reason, Venezuelans living in this country often substitute mozzarella instead. Like queso de mano, mozzarella is a handmade stretched-curd cheese, it has a white color and mild flavor, and it melts easily. The biggest difference is that queso de mano is a little more liquidy, but mozzarella works quite well in this recipe. Mozzarella also has the advantage of being easy to find in many parts of the world.

Another cheese that can be used to make cachapas is Oaxaca (pronounced wa-HA-ca), which comes from the eponymous state in Mexico. It's a white, stretchy, semi-soft cheese and, like queso da mano and mozzarella, melts well.