Crispy Custardy Cachapas

If you’ve never had cachapas before, you’re in for a treat! These tender, golden Venezulean corn pancakes are filled with cheese for the ultimate sweet-salty flavor explosion. Made from fresh or frozen corn plus a handful of pantry ingredients, cachapas are cooked like pancakes until they’re burnished brown outside and soft and custardy inside. 

Using frozen corn keeps these cachapas accessible year-round. Because the corn available Stateside isn’t super-starchy, a little flour helps to hold everything together. A touch of oil keeps things tender, salt and sugar bring out the flavor of the corn, and a pinch of baking powder provides the slightest lift so the cachapas are never pasty. 

Traditionally filled with queso de mano, which may be difficult to source from your neighborhood grocery store, this version uses fresh mozzarella as a worthy substitute. Other soft, mild cheeses (such as low-moisture mozzarella or Jack cheese) will also work well. 

• Cachapas are made from fresh or frozen corn kernels that are ground to a purée and cooked much like pancakes.
• Arepas are made from pre-cooked cornmeal that is reconstituted with water to make a stiff dough. The dough is shaped into rounds and cooked or grilled on a skillet. Arepas are usually stuffed with a variety of fillings.

Cachapas are most commonly filled with cheese, like the fresh, white queso de mano. For a more substantial cachapa, fill it with shredded meat, avocado, or black beans. 

Cachapas are always best served warm and fresh off the griddle when they’re a bit crispy on the outside and custardy on the inside. Offer a bottle of hot sauce on the side to perk up the flavor, if desired.