Cachapas (Venezuelan corn pancakes with cheese)
Sweet, golden corn pancakes folded around slices of melting fresh mozzarella, a Venezuelan favorite that’s crisp at the edges and soft in the middle.
- 35 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.04 a serving
- 480 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 cups frozen corn, thawed
- ½ cup cornmeal
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp butter, 2 tablespoons melted
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 480 calories, 18 g protein, 43 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $2.04 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Blend the corn, cornmeal, milk, egg, sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons butter until mostly smooth with a little texture left, about 30 seconds.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Let the batter sit 5 minutes to . It should be like thick pancake batter.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Too runny? Stir in a spoonful of cornmeal. Too thick? A splash of milk.Heat a large nonstick over medium heat and brush it with a little of the remaining butter. Pour in ½ cup batter and spread it into a 6-inch circle.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
Cook until bubbles form on top and the bottom is , 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until golden and cooked through.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: They’re softer than regular pancakes. Flip with a wide spatula in one smooth move.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
While it’s hot, lay 2 slices of mozzarella over half of the cachapa and it over. Keep it warm under an upside-down plate and cook the rest.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Serve 2 per person with the sour cream and avocado.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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