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Cachapa (Venezuelan Sweet Corn Pancake with Cheese)

Name: Cachapa (Venezuelan Sweet Corn Pancake with Cheese)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Venezuelan
Ingredients: 600 g Corn kernels; 2 tbsp Sugar; 1 tsp Salt; 3 tbsp Milk; 1 tbsp Melted butter; 2 tbsp Masarepa or plain flour; Butter for the pan; 300 g Queso de mano; 4 slices Ham; 60 g Grated queso blanco; Butter; Nata (thick cream)

A Venezuelan corn pancake: fresh corn blended coarse, griddled thick, then folded over fresh cheese. The batter is essentially just corn, so tinned corn won't do — and because the corn is sweet, it has to be cooked slowly over medium-low heat.

Ingredients

4servings

Corn kernels · from 4–5 fresh ears; frozen works, tinned does not600 g
Sugar · adjust to how sweet the corn is2 tbsp
Salt1 tsp
Milk · a little at a time, watching the batter3 tbsp
Melted butter1 tbsp
Masarepa or plain flour · only if the batter is runny2 tbsp
Butter for the pan · generously
Filling
Queso de mano · Venezuelan fresh cheese; fresh mozzarella substitutes300 g
Ham · optional — the photo above is the version with ham4 slices
To finish
Grated queso blanco · finely grated feta substitutes60 g
Butter · a knob on top
Nata (thick cream) · optional

Steps

Strip the kernels off fresh cobs, or thaw frozen corn. Blend the corn with sugar, salt, milk and melted butter coarsely — you want some kernel texture left. Blended smooth, it turns into a bland crepe.
⏲ 7 min
The batter should mound on a spoon rather than run off it. If it's runny, work in masarepa or flour a tablespoon at a time. Rest 10 minutes.
⏲ 10 min
Heat a heavy pan over medium-low and melt a good amount of butter. Ladle in the batter and spread it to about 15 cm — thicker than a crepe.
⏲ 5 min
Cook 4–5 minutes without touching it, until the edges dry and lift and the underside is deep brown. The sugar in the corn scorches over high heat, so don't rush.
⏲ 5 min
Flip, lay the cheese (and ham) over one half, and cook 3–4 minutes more until the cheese softens. Fold it over.
⏲ 4 min
Plate it, top with a knob of butter and a generous pile of grated white cheese, and serve hot.

Tips & Variations

Variations

Cachapa con queso y jamón: Cheese plus ham — the version in the photo, and the most common one now.
Cachapa de hoya: Rural style, where the batter is wrapped in corn husks and boiled rather than griddled. Much moister, almost like a dumpling.
With nata: A spoon of thick cream bridges the salty cheese and sweet corn.
Queso telita: Stretchier than queso de mano. If you can find it, it's the more dramatic choice.
Savoury lean: Drop the sugar and raise the salt for a plainer breakfast version. How sweet a cachapa should be varies household to household in Venezuela too.

Tips

Don't use tinned corn. The batter is the corn here. Tinned is watery and already sweetened, and the batter won't come together. Fresh cobs are best; failing that, thaw frozen corn and drain it well.
Blend coarse. Blended smooth you get a thin, bland crepe. Bits of kernel you can feel are the texture of a cachapa.
Medium-low heat, and give it time. The sugar in the corn scorches fast on high heat. Hold to 4–5 minutes a side.
Wait before flipping. Leave it alone until the edges dry and lift; flipped early, the batter tears.
Use a fresh, melting cheese. Queso de mano is canonical and fresh mozzarella is the closest easy substitute. Low-moisture pizza mozzarella is too rubbery.
The cheese on top has to be salty. The batter itself is sweet, so without a salty cheese it drifts into dessert. Finely grated feta gets close to queso blanco.
In Venezuela it's breakfast or lunch, and sold from roadside stands all day.

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