Cachapa Pancake Stack with Honey Butter and Cheese Crust
Palm-sized cachapas with a lacy crisp cheese crust, stacked three high with whipped honey butter, flaky salt and chilli: a brunch-café hit.
Method
Whisk the softened butter with half the honey for , by hand or with a mixer, until pale and fluffy: that is your honey butter.
Add in this stepSoft butter (for whipping) 40 gHoney 1 tbsp
Blend the corn, milk and salt, leaving a few bits of kernel, then stir in the corn flour and baking powder and leave for . The batter should be thick enough to hold a round shape when dropped from a spoon.
Add in this stepCorn kernels 300 gMilk 40 mlSalt ½ tspPrecooked white corn flour 40 gBaking powder ½ tsp
Heat a 26 cm non-stick pan on medium-low heat for and wipe it with a thin film of butter.
Add in this stepButter (for the pan) 10 g
medium-low heatDrop 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake, 3 or 4 at a time, into 10 cm rounds and cook on medium-low heat for . When the edges are set and small holes appear on top, sprinkle a thin layer of cheese over each one, flip and cook for more. Lift them out once the cheese has spread like lace on the pan and turned into a golden crust. Make 3 per serving, cooking the rest of the batter the same way.
Add in this stepMozzarella or queso blanco, finely grated 100 g
medium-low heatStack them three high, cheese crust facing up, spreading honey butter between each layer. Top with a spoonful of honey butter, drizzle over the rest of the honey and finish with flaky salt and chilli flakes. Serve straight away.
Add in this stepHoney 1 tbspFlaky salt 2 pinchRed chilli flakes ½ tsp
Cook's tip
Keep the heat at medium-low: if the pan is too hot the cheese crust burns before it crisps, and if you lift it before it turns golden it will be chewy rather than crunchy. Not into heat? Swap the chilli for crumbled crisp bacon.
Cooking it at camp
Make the honey butter and batter at home and carry them in sealed tubs in the cooler. At camp, a wide cast-iron griddle on a medium-low burner lets you cook several at once; charcoal runs hot, so use the edge or the cheese will scorch.