Well, to tell you the truth I am always scared of baking, but sometimes I crave my favorite Colombian “parva”, so I bake. Parva is what we call our baked goods in the region of Antioquia. Although this recipe is very easy to make, the problem I have is that in the USA, I don’t find “cuajada”, a fresh white cheese made with non-pasteurized milk, and this is the base for Colombian almojábanas. So, I have tried this recipe at least 4 times with various kinds of cheese and although the bread is not quite the same as I make in Colombia, it is pretty close and delicious!
Ingredients
(8 Almojábanas)
¾ cup masarepa or pre-cooked white cornmeal, sifted
2 cups cottage cheese
1 tablespoon melted butter
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Mix the cottage cheese and masarepa in a food processor.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Divide into 8 equal-size portions and shape into a ball.
5. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are golden. Serve warm.
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
You had me when I saw bread and cheese in the same title! These look and sound sooo good!
They look so soft and appealing to me. I bet they smell so tempting. We generally put the cheese inside such balls and then bake in Turkish cuisine. But this one sounds easier. I can try this with cottage cheese here.
I’m still looking for masarepa! Now, I’m even more determined to find it – these looks delicious. I’ve had pão de queso (Brazilian cheese bread) before; I would love to try these to add to my list of cheese bread favorites!
This cheese bread looks divine!
We are part of a cooking club and each member (12) gets the opportunity to host 1-2 a year. I think you have me convinced that when our opportunity comes around again, that Colombian will be the theme.
note: A friend of ours who is in the cooking club is an American who grew up in Columbia and although he may not be a registered follower is following your blog.
Ummm! Erica. este pan tiene una pinta estupenda! y tiene que estar buenísimo.
Me apunto la receta.
Una pregunta, ¿El queso lo pones rallado?.
Un beso.
Hola Empar,
El cottage cheese es cremoso, entonces no tienes que hacer nada con el.
Gracias por visitarme y por el comentario!
MMMMMMMMM,…Erica!!
These little cheese breads look so tasty & must be light & yummie with the cottage cheese in it!
Thank you all very much for the comments!!!
This looks so nice and fluffy! I would love this bread!
yummy cheesy bread give me some !
Yay!! Can’t wait to try them! I have the same problem…I can find queso fresco, and queso blanco…but no cuajada. When I was in Florida I found it, but that didn’t help me much!
sounds really good & easy to make. & i like the way they look so cute & soft.
Baking is not my first choice either, but I always seem to surprise myself in a good way with how it turns out. I may have to have another one of those attempts with this yummy looking bread!
Mmm… cheese bread! Those look so light and fluffy, super delicious!
Looks delicious!! Erica, can you use any kind of raw white cheese? Raw meaning unpasteurized? Would raw white cheddar be too strong? Check out azurestandard.com. They sell various raw cheeses that you can order online or join a group in your area.
Besos!!
diana
Thank you for the info Diana!
Looks like it might be similar to Brazil’s pao de quejo. P.S. Baking scares me too but it looks like you were very successful.
mmm.. sound delish yet simple to make.. will give a shot!! love cheeese!!
We had these at our wedding. There are a ton of Colombian bakeries in Jackson Heights, Queens, and one day we walked up and down the neighborhood trying each and every one until we found the perfect cheese bread. We had them delived to our reception and served them with the appetizers. So so good! I’m going to surprise Alejandro and make these for him
What should I do if my batter is too soft to form into a ball?
Hi Felisha,
The batter should be soft:)
Thank you for visiting my blog!
I am so grateful that you share your recipes. My grandmother always measure “al calculo” which makes it so hard for me to cook Colombian food. But your exact measurements give me so much confidence in trying Colombian recipes.
I made this recipe yesterday and the flavor was very close to the real thing. However, I will try it with both Queso Fresco and Queso Cotija next time. My step mother says both cheeses are available in Mexican Markets. If it turns out well, I’ll post it on my blog: http://thehorttshearawho.blogspot.com.
Thank you Veronica.
I made them with queso fresco, but next time I am going to use queso cotija, sounds great
Gracias, Estoy en Francia y a pesar de la variedad de quesos, tampoco he encotrado cuajada, solo “Fromage blanc” que es una crema, tuve que adicionar mas harina porque la masa estaba muy liquida
, quedaron deliciosas, Muchas Gracias
Charles-Thank you for your feedback!
What type of cottage cheese? Dry? 1%? 2%?
I want to make these for a Colombian friend!!
Your website is wonderful!
Courtney- Regular cottage cheese.
I Will try the recipe and get back and let you guy know how it turned out
These are just as delicious as bunuelos, especially if you love cheese like me!!!!
Thanks for the recipe, Erica!!
Saludos,
SC
Erica, what a fantastic blog! My boyfriend and I (un pereirano) have been trying out all number of recipes, but ingredients and substitutes are even more difficult to find in Australia than in the US. In the US I was often able to find good substitute ingredients, such as non-pasteurized milks, cheeses and dairy products, in health food stores. You might want to try one of those, and if near a Whole Foods suggest that they start stocking them. Gracias para las recetas!
Erica,
i just got an email from my sister and she brought up something I overlooked earlier…this recipe calls for “Cottage Cheese”… My family has always used Ricotta instead.. I have never tried it with cottage, does it make a big difference in taste??? Still loving your site!!
El Paramedico-
I did not use ricotta before, but I would try it next time. They taste delicious, but nothing like cuajada
Bueno las hice no salieron tan mal jajaja eso si si les falto un poquito de sabor no se que me falto pero deliciosas!!! gracias por compartir tus recetas pues a traves de la comida se siente cerca de la tierrita!!!
Gina- Gracias por el comentario. Yo pienso que la proxima vez que las prepare, voy a usar queso fresco y queso cottage.
I have a recipe for cuajada if you can find raw milk. I milk my own cow, so it is not a problem for me. I have not tried this cheese recipe yet, but it looks like others that I have tried, and seems fairly accurate. Try to find raw milk from pastured cows, it will taste more similar to those in Colombia – they have such a nicer way of doing things, more natural, with their livestock and agriculture. Thanks!
Cuajada
5 1/4 quarts fresh raw milk
1/2 rennet tablet (junket rennet will not work)
1 tbs salt (cheese salt or kosher)
sieves and cheesecloth
Place milk in large stainless steel pot near a heat source (fireplace, warm oven). Take 1/2 cup milk and warm it to 110 F. Mash rennet tablet with back of spoon and stir into warm milk. Add to larger pot, add salt. Stir gently in up and down motion for 30 seconds. Place in warm spot but not over heat for 3 hours until curd sets.
Cut the curd and mix with a fork to break up curd completely. Set aside for 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Ladle the curd out into five portions (5 seives lined with cheesecloth. Drain whey out over bowls for 4 hours. Discard whey. Fresh cheese should keep 5-7 days refriderated in zip bags.
For info on cheesemaking, go to cheesemaking.com
Also, know your source for the raw milk. Make sure the milk is handled properly and the cows have been tested for disease. See realmilk.com for details.
Charity- Thank you so much for the recipe.
My sister-in-law loves this bread. She is from Columbia. Now I can make them!
Hi Erica! My boyfriend is caleno and I tried to make almojabanas…but they didn’t taste like the ones I’ve had before. The masa was really runny so I couldn’t make them into balls. I am going to try regular cottage cheese next time, but do you have any other recommendations so that the masa won’t be so runny? Thanks!
No veo la hora de hacer esto para el desayuno!!! Espero que me salgan bien porque desde ya tengo la baba chorriada. 4 hours to breakfast:)
oh mine didn’t come out so good…la masa estaba muy aguada:(
Marian- La masa es un poco aguada por lo del queso…..por que normalmente se hacen con cuajada, pero si cuelas el cottage cheese la proxima vez a lo mejor te salen mejor. Esta receta me dio mucha dificultad la trate como 4 veces con differentes quesos y esta fur la mejor aunque no igual que con cuajada!
Gracias Erica. Hoy voy a intentar otra vez:)
Hi Erika: thank you for the information! I would like to make these and found a company here in the east coast that sells cuajada! it is called tropical . how would the recipe change if you had cuajada? thanks!
I love all of these recipes and I am so excited to make these! I was able to find cuajada today, would all the measurements be the same?
Liz-Yes!
Hi Erika, i’m will be going to try la almojabana, el pandebono y banana orange bread, I really like cooking and baking, thanks for the recipes , I’m from Colombia too y ahora vivo en un pueblito pequeño en Alabama, no se si voy a encontrar yuca flour o cassaba starch, pero quiero intentar los tres, puedo preguntarte si tienes la receta de la arepa de choclo? gracias, felicidades
Conny,
Here is the link:
http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/arepas-de-chocolo-con-quesito-colombian-corn-cakes-with-fresh-cheese
Hola Erika estuve intentando las almojabanas con maseca y cottage cheese, pero me quedaron muy aguadasy aqui en este pueblito no encuentro masarepa ni cuajada, yo estoy a3 horas de Panama City y no se si encuentre esos ingredientes alla, pero mi familia quiere que yo haga almojabanas y pandebonos, tambien arepa de choclo, gracias por tu ayuda, tienes una receta facil de empanadas de dulce de leche? y de guayaba? yo estoy haciendo de carne y de pollo y los americanos estan felices, pero me pidieron de dulce, perdona si te molesto mucho ,gracias
hello,
i am a frenchy married to a colombiano !!!
In France everyone cooks, and we don’t really have a particular food ( except for breads, cheeses and wines ^^). I, like millions other frenchies, love cooking !!!
i have introduced my hubby to our french cuisine, and he loves it but i decided it might be time that i try to “take him back home”.
I don’t have my mother in law around to help me with Colombian delicacies so i was happy to find your website.
i have just tried to make almojabanas for my husband, and happily i found cuajada.
Unfortunately it turned out pretty bad. In fact the almojabanas were very dry !!! nothing like the ones we buy at the colombian bakery. I used the same measure for cuajada than cottage cheese… maybe there is the mistake ??? i want to try again, do you have any advice ?
thank you
solene
Solene- Maybe the cuajada was dry.
Used to eat these all the time in Bogota and Medellin. I also miss natilla and bunuelos at Christmastime!!! AY La vida PAISA
I made these yesterday and they were delicious and very easy to make!
Erica -
So do you find cottage cheese the best substitute for cuajada. My sons love arepas boyacenses, which also requires cuajada and which I also cannot find in the United States. I have substituted many different cheeses with great failure. I have never tried cottage cheese though.
Could we use feta cheese instead?
Lucia-Yes, but add more milk.
Erica what is the difference between Colombian almojábanas and Pande Bono? In Jackson Heights and other Colombian bakeries in NY they always used both names for the same product.
Almojabanas are made with masarepa and Pandebonos are made with a mix of yuca starch and masarepa. The taste and the texture is different.
hi i want to make these ..any cottgae cheese you would recommend?
i made them anyway..very good..but they stuck to sheet pan…even though i greased it..do u use parchment paper?
one more question sorry,,what is the crumb texture supposed to be like…dry and light or a bit wet soft?
These were amazing! I used a soft cheddar cheese, that I shredded and then stirred some sour cream into to make the texture of cottage cheese. The constancy reminded me of a drop cookie dough, so I used my small disher to make 50 small balls instead of 8 large rolls. I’ve never tried the ‘real’ thing, so I don’t know how these compare, but we really enjoyed snacking on them, and my husband asked me to ‘definitely repeat this recipe.’ Thank you so much for sharing!
Hey Erica- I had some trouble with this recipe…I had to nearly double the masarepa in order to be able to make a consistency that would give me a ball (and it still seemed quite wet). Also, I cooked it for 30 minutes at 400…the outside was quite dark, but the inside still was slightly undercooked (again seeming to indicate the dough was still too wet). Is there a specific type of cottage cheese you use? Small curd vs large curd….4%, 2%, 1%…It’s the only thing I can think of that would make a difference. My husband said the flavor was definitely there, but obviously it wasn’t quite right. Thanks for your help! (I’ve made many of your dishes quite successfully for my Colombian husband- he’s always happily surprised; but, this one gave me trouble).
Querida Erica,
Me encanta tu blog pues tienes las recetas de platos colombianos acomodadas a lo que uno encuentra por aquí en Estados Unidos y eso ayuda bastante.
Quería hacerte una pregunta: mi hijo de seis años tiene que hacer una presentación en su colegio sobre Colombia. Yo estaba pensando mandar algo de comer típico y pensé en almojabanas. Que opinas sobre esta receta? Será que les gustaría a los niños de esa edad o podrías recomendarme algo más? No se me ocurre nada…. Te agradezco la ayuda desde ya!
Jacquie, a mis dos hijos (2 y 6 años) les encantan las almojabanas y los pandebonos.