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 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.

CACHAPAS: VENEZUELAN CORN CAKE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the corn, cream, salt, melted butter, and cornstarch (if using) in a food processor or blender. Process until you have a fairly smooth, thick batter.
• Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium-low heat.
• Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the batter to a skillet. Spread it with a spatula to make a circle.
• Cook the pancake until it starts to bubble and the spatula can easily slide underneath it.
• Flip the pancake and cook for several minutes on the other side. Keep the temperature on the low side, or the outside of the pancakes will burn before the inside is completely cooked.
• Continue cooking pancakes until you have used all the batter.
• Spread the pancakes with butter and cream cheese or top with grated ​ queso fresco cheese .
• Fold the pancakes in half and serve. Enjoy!

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.

JIMMY'S CACHAPAS

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, puree the corn with milk, sugar, salt, pepper, egg and cornmeal. The batter should be the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
• Heat a large nonstick saute pan over low heat. Add 1 tbsp butter.
• When the butter has melted and is hot, add batter, forming 3 inch rounds. Cook for 2 minutes on each side.
• Repeat process with remaining butter and batter.
• The cachapas may be made 2 hours in advance and kept uncovered at room temperature. They may be reheated in a 350°F oven until heated through.

VENEZUELAN CORN PANCAKES (CACHAPAS)

Steps:

• With a knife, remove the corn kernels from the cobs. Put the corn kernels and the other ingredients in the food processor and process. You must get a pancake-like consistency, not too thick.
• Preheat your griddle or a non-stick fry pan to medium high heat and lightly grease it with oil spray. Measure about half cup of the mixture and spread it with a round spoon over the pan until you get a circle of about 4 to 5 inches of diameter.
• When the surface starts to bubble, turn it over with a spatula and cook it on the other side. Each side takes about 2 minutes, depending on the thickness.
• Fill them with fresh cheese,in Venezuela, we fill them with "queso de mano" which is a white fresh cheese, delicious, but you could use for example a low fat soft white cheese or anything you want like nonfat slices of turkey or ham. Or even non-sugar jam Or no-fat cream cheese, ricotta, -- anything you want.