Corn Cakes with Guasacaca Sauce

These corn cakes are gluten free and made with fresh corn sliced right off the cob! Venezuelan guasacaca sauce is avocado-based and full of fresh herbs, the perfect complement to this summer treat!

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I could eat corn on the cob every single day during summer. But that might start to get a little annoying to others in my household so it becomes necessary to seek out other, more varied options for corn consumption.

Corn cakes are a great idea if you're looking for new, fun ways to use fresh corn on the cob. They're tender and sweet, with a little smoky spice from jalapeños and brightness from cilantro.

But what to serve with them? I came across a glorious green sauce while browsing NYT Cooking. What could it be? I had to know and then when I knew, I had to put it on top of the corn cakes. It was a match made in heaven. It was guasacaca. It's creamy, spicy, citrusy and bright, the perfect complement.

Jump to:

• What is guasacaca?
• Ingredients
• Step by step instructions
• Tips
• Related recipes
• Recipe

What is guasacaca?

Guasacaca is a Venezuelan sauce made with avocados, chiles, fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro, lime juice and olive oil. It is NOT guacamole. It's smoother than guacamole, and has a ton of herbs. It is its very own thing. Like any traditional recipe, there are many variations. Some have onion. Some use corn oil. This one is from Yewande Komolafe via NYT Cooking.

Guasacaca is often served as a sauce with arepas, which are corn cakes made with harina precocida (a pre-cooked cornmeal) that are prevalent in South American cuisine. So this makes it a perfect companion to these fresh corn cakes, that are chock full of herbs and a little hint of spiciness.

Ingredients

For the guasacaca:

This is such an easy sauce to make. Just give most of the ingredients a rough chop and zip it in the food processor.

• Avocado: Choose an avocado that is ripe and ready to eat. You can test it by pressing on it just a little, it should give slightly, but it shouldn't be mushy. Kind of like how you know a peach is ripe.
• Parsley and cilantro: Don't be afraid to use the tender stems along with the leaves. They have so much flavor, and you're going to blend these down so you don't have to worry about the texture.
• Lime juice and zest: You get so much zing from the lime in this recipe. It's always my motto to never leave citrus zest behind. It adds a heaping helping of fantastic aroma.
• Jalapeño and garlic: I like to grate the garlic with a microplane grater, so it's evenly distributed throughout the sauce and no one is biting down on a hunk of raw garlic.
• Rice vinegar and olive oil: Rice vinegar has a mellow sweetness that complements the lime juice. Olive oil will bring this all together and truly turn it into more of a sauce.

For the corn cakes:

This is an easy batter that comes together using just two bowls.

• Corn meal: These cute little pancakes are entirely gluten free. We are just using corn meal, not too coarse, not too fine. I used Arrowhead Mills organic corn meal.
• FRESH CORN! Sweet corn sliced right off the cob has the best flavor. You can use the same amount of drained frozen corn if you can't find corn on the cob. It may still add a bit more moisture to the batter.
• Since we are only using cornmeal, we really need a lot of rising agents, so buttermilk, baking powder, and baking soda are all necessary.
• Jalapeño, fresh cilantro, and a dash of hot sauce round out the flavors.

Step by step instructions

Corn cakes adapted from Ina Garten.

First, make the quasacaca sauce.

Use a good chef's knife to roughly chop the jalapeño, the herbs and their stems, zest the lime, then squeeze the juice. Grate the garlic on a microplane grater, cut the avocado into large chunks.

Add all of the ingredients except the olive oil to a food processor and pulse until it's fully combined but not liquified. Then turn on the machine and slowly pour in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth.

Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Now let's make the corn cakes.

Melt 3 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Finely dice the jalapeño. Chop the cilantro leaves and tender stems. Set both aside.

To cut the corn off the cob, place a clean, slightly damp dish towel on the counter. Stand the corn on its large end. Slice the corn off the cob starting with the end of the knife closest to your hand and let the knife fall down the corn cob toward the tip of the blade. This is much easier than trying to slice straight down with the middle of the blade. (A little tip I picked up from Jaques Pepin.)

Combine the cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl and whisk together until combined.

In another bowl, beat the eggs together, then add the buttermilk, cooled melted butter and a dash of hot sauce.

Add the corn, cilantro, and jalapeño to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold together until everything is completely incorporated. Be careful because the dry cornmeal likes to hide in there. Don't overmix, but make sure there are no dry pockets.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. I used my Lodge carbon steel skillet and it worked beautifully for these.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Lodge Blogger Network. This skillet was provided to me free of charge. All opinions are my own.

Melt some butter in the skillet, then use a ¼ cup measuring cup to drop the batter into the pan. I was able to cook about 3 at a time. Cook for about 2 minutes, until you see bubbles coming through and the edges are starting to get golden brown. Then use a very thin spatula to flip them over gently. Cook for another minute or two on the other side.

Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment while you cook the remaining pancakes.

Transfer the corn cakes to a serving plate and put a bowl of the guasacaca sauce on the side.

Tips

• Because these are made entirely of cornmeal, they are a bit delicate. Use the thinnest spatula that you have to flip them. I used my metal cookie spatula. They might not flip over perfectly, but that is okay. Just flatten them back out and get on with your life.
• Make sure the cornmeal is fully incorporated. It has a tendency to hide little pockets of itself in the batter. Just use a spatula and fold gently until you're sure it's all mixed in.
• If you like, you can set the oven on 200 degrees F, and place the cooked pancakes on the baking sheet in the oven to stay warm while you're making the rest.
• If you happen to have clarified butter or ghee, you can use that to fry up the corn cakes to keep the butter from smoking as much. But I found that if you watch the heat and keep it more in the medium range they turn out perfectly golden without burning.
• These are best eaten right away, but you can store them in the fridge for a couple of days if you have leftovers. Put layers of parchment between them so they don't stick together, but they may still crumble a bit.

Related recipes

Give me all the corn in the summertime!

• Did someone say creamed corn? I'll do you one better and give you Chicken Thighs with Coconut Creamed Corn, Green Chiles, and Cilantro
• If it grows together it goes together so give this Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes, Corn, and Basil a whirl on a hot summer day.
• And this Corn Chowder with Bacon and Sweet Potatoes is a great way to use the last of the summer corn as the seasons transition into fall. It freezes well so make it ahead!

Recipe