Venezuelan sweet corn pancakes filled with queso mano cheese — the beloved street food of the llanos.
Cachapas are Venezuela's great corn pancakes — made from fresh or frozen sweet corn ground into a thick, slightly sweet batter and cooked on a clay budare griddle until golden, then folded around a generous filling of queso de mano (hand cheese) — a fresh, slightly elastic Venezuelan cheese that melts inside the hot pancake. They are the soul food of Venezuela's llanos (plains) and are sold from roadside stands throughout the country. The combination of sweet corn and salty fresh cheese is simple, comforting, and irreplaceable.
Serves 6
Blend sweet corn kernels in a food processor until roughly puréed — leave some texture, not completely smooth.
Mix blended corn, corn flour, sugar, salt, melted butter, eggs and milk into a thick batter. Rest 10 minutes.
Heat a wide non-stick pan or griddle with a little butter over medium heat. Pour in a large ladleful of batter (about 15cm diameter). Cook 4–5 minutes until bubbles form on the surface and the edges look set.
Flip carefully — cachapas are delicate. Cook 3–4 minutes on the second side until golden.
While still in the pan, add cheese slices to one half. Fold the other half over. Press gently. Remove and serve immediately — the cheese should be melted and slightly stretchy.
Do not make the cachapas too thin — they should be thick and substantial like a small griddle cake, not a crêpe.
Queso de mano is the authentic cheese; fresh mozzarella is the best widely available substitute.
Add butter fresh to the pan for each cachapa — each one needs its own fat for best results.
Add diced ham or pulled pork inside with the cheese for a heartier version.
Some versions add grated queso blanco mixed with the batter for a cheesier cachapa.
Best eaten fresh and hot. Refrigerate unfilled cachapas for 1 day and reheat in a dry pan.
Cachapas predate Spanish colonisation — the Amerindian communities of the Venezuelan llanos made corn griddle cakes long before European contact. The queso de mano filling is post-colonial, introduced with Spanish dairy farming. Cachapas remain most strongly associated with the Venezuelan interior — the llanos states of Guárico, Apure, and Barinas — and are sold from traditional roadside stands (cachaperas) throughout these regions.
Yes — drain and rinse well. The flavour is slightly less fresh than frozen or fresh corn, but canned corn works well for cachapas. Avoid creamed corn.
Per serving · 6 servings total
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