Cachapas – Venezuelan Corn Pancakes with Cheese
Cachapas are thick, faintly sweet corn pancakes made from fresh corn, filled with cheese and folded over — Venezuela's street food par excellence. Naturally gluten free.
Unlike the arepas, which are made from pre-cooked cornmeal, cachapas are blended from actual corn kernels; the cornmeal only goes in as a binder. That is why they taste of corn rather than of dough.
Tinned corn works if you drain it very thoroughly. The batter must not go runny — otherwise there is no turning the pancake over.
🔎 What is precooked corn flour? — where it comes from, what goes in it and how it differs.
Ingredients
- 450 g sweet yellow corn kernels (fresh off the cob, or 2 tins very well drained)
- 2 eggs
- 2 heaping tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 3 tbsp melted butter (plus extra for greasing the pan)
- 60 ml whole milk (1/4 cup), only if needed for blending
- 3 heaping tbsp pre-cooked white cornmeal, P.A.N. type
- 350 g fresh mild cheese, block mozzarella or a soft young cheese
- Soft butter, as needed, for brushing at the end
Method
- 1
Blending the corn: put the well-drained corn kernels into the blender or food processor along with the 2 eggs, the sugar, the fine salt and the melted butter. Blend for a couple of minutes until you have a coarse but cohesive paste — avoid over-blending, or the texture goes completely liquid.
- 2
Binding the batter: tip the mixture into a bowl and stir in the 3 tablespoons of pre-cooked cornmeal. Mix well with a spatula and let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. This lets the flour hydrate and gives the batter the body it needs not to break when you turn it.
- 3
Getting the pan right: heat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Brush the surface generously with a little melted butter.
- 4
Shaping the cachapa: pour a generous ladleful of the mixture into the middle of the hot pan and, with the back of the same ladle, spread it gently in a circle into a disc about 12-15 cm across and just under 1 cm thick.
- 5
Turning it: cook the cachapa over low heat for about 4 to 5 minutes. You will see the surface start to fill with small bubbles and the edges look dry and golden. With a wide spatula, turn it in one decisive movement and cook the other side for 3 or 4 minutes more, until golden.
- 6
Filling and melting: take the cachapa off the pan, brush the surface immediately with a touch of soft butter, put a generous portion of cheese on one half and fold it over on itself into a half-moon. If you want the cheese really molten, fold it in the pan with the heat switched off, using the residual warmth.
- 7
Serving: serve the cachapas very hot, one each, brushed with a little more butter on top.