Venezuelan Cachapas Recipes

CACHAPAS (VENEZUELAN CORN PANCAKES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Add the crema, half of the corn, eggs, sugar and salt to a blender and blend until the mixture is evenly combined but still chunky. Add the arepa flour and the remaining corn, then blend until a thick, even batter forms with pieces of corn still visible. Let the batter sit a couple of minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet or a griddle over medium heat until warm and spray generously with cooking spray. Add two 1/4-cup scoops of the batter, spacing them apart, to form 2 pancakes. Smooth each out with the back of your measuring cup to form a 5-inch-wide pancake, making sure the center is thin and flat -- the center takes longer to cook and if mounded will make the pancake much harder to flip. Cook until the bottoms are dark brown, almost black, about 5 minutes. While the pancakes cook, shred or slice your cheese, if necessary.
• Flip the pancakes and top one of them with a quarter of the cheese. Cook until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes, then top the cheese with the second pancake. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
• Make more cachapas with the remaining batter and cheese, wiping out the previous oil and spraying the skillet or griddle generously with cooking spray for each batch. Once all of the cachapas are filled with cheese, top each with a half tablespoon of butter and serve with crema on the side, for dipping.

CACHAPAS

Steps:

• If the corn is frozen, thaw it completely.
• Whether the corn is frozen, canned or fresh, drain it well and place it in the bowl of a blender.
• Add the milk, cornmeal, sugar and salt to the blender and blend for just a few seconds so that the mixture is a little homogeneous but it is also important that it stays somewhat lumpy.
• Add 1 tablespoon of melted butter and the eggs and blend again for a few seconds.
• The texture should be quite crumbly, so rectify it if necessary: ​​all types of corn do not have the same amount of liquid, if necessary add 1 to 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and mix again for a few seconds until obtaining a thick mixture, which can be poured into a pan with a ladle.
• Place the batter in a container, cover it and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
• Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
• Brush the bottom of the skillet with melted butter.
• Pour in a ladle of batter and spread it quickly with a spatula into a circle of about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter and ¼ inch (½ cm) thick.
• Wait for bubbles and holes to appear on the surface (about 2 to 3 minutes), before turning over the cachapa very gently using a large spatula. Cook again for 2 to 3 minutes and gently place it on a plate using a large spatula.
• Repeat the operation until the batter is used up.
• As the cachapas cook, place a portion of cheese inside and fold them in half.
• Brush the cachapas with a little melted butter.
• Serve and enjoy hot.

VENEZUELAN CORN CAKES: CACHAPAS

Steps:

• Remove kernels form husk of corn using a sharp knife. Puree in a blender. Mix in the sugar, milk, and salt. Heat griddle to medium heat, lightly coat with canola oil. Spoon mixture onto hot griddle to form "pancakes" of your desired size. Cook for 2 minutes on each side. Garnish with sour cream.

CACHAPAS FROM VENEZUELA

Steps:

• Blend corn, milk, egg, masa harina, sugar, and salt together in a blender until the mixture has the consistency of pancake batter.
• Heat oil in a a large skillet over medium heat. Add enough batter to form the size of a taco shell, 4 to 5 inches around. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining batter.