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Arepitas dulces
Sweet fried corn cakes
Arepitas dulces: small fried sweet arepas with anise and papelón from the Venezuelan Andes
VenezuelanIn Lara and the Andean states of Trujillo and Mérida, breakfast often comes with a basket of arepitas dulces: small, puffy fried arepas made with corn and wheat flour, sweetened with papelón (unrefined cane sugar) and scented with anise seed. They are crisp outside, soft and cakey inside, and are split and filled with salty white cheese or eaten with coffee. The common mistake is frying them in oil that is too hot, so they brown before the middle cooks; keep the oil at about 170 °C. If you fill them with cheese, note that some white cheese is made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one. Chef's tip: dissolve the papelón in the warm water first, so the sugar is spread evenly and doesn't form dark burnt spots in the oil.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 3 ½ oz papelón or dark brown sugargrated
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp anise seeds
- 3 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅔ oz buttermelted
- 3 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor frying
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Stir 3 ½ oz papelón or dark brown sugar into 1 cup warm water until dissolved, then add 1 tsp anise seeds.
Step 2: In a bowl mix 7 oz precooked white maize meal (masarepa), 3 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder and ½ tsp salt. Pour in the sweet water and ⅔ oz butter and knead for 2–3 minutes into a soft, smooth dough that doesn't crack at the edges when pressed. Add a spoon of water if it cracks.
3 minStep 3: Cover and rest for 10 minutes so the maize meal can absorb the water.
10 minStep 4: Divide into 12 balls and flatten each into a disc about 7 cm across and 1 cm thick.
Step 5: Heat 3 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep pan to 350°F, or until a crumb of dough sizzles steadily and rises in about 5 seconds.
Step 6: Fry 4 at a time for 4–5 minutes, turning once, until puffed and deep golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped. Drain on kitchen paper.
15 minStep 7: Serve warm, split open, with white cheese, butter or just a cup of coffee.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arepitas dulces take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of papelón or dark brown sugar?
- White sugar + 1 tbsp molasses or treacle per 200g.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
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