Traditional Dominican recipe for a sweet cornmeal cake made with coconut milk, cinnamon, yellow cornmeal, vanilla and raisins
Dominican Arepas are truly one of a kind. Theyโre not like the typical arepas from Venezuela or Colombia. In fact, Dominican Arepas go by different names and some are savory while others are sweet. Todayโs Arepa Dulce de Maiz is sometimes even called Torta. I grew up calling this dish Arepa Dulce, and my husbandโs family calls it Torta. Arepa Dulce de Maiz is a traditional Dominican dish made with sweet yellow cornmeal, coconut milk, cinnamon, Dominican vanilla, and raisins! Much like Arepitas de Maiz, Arepa Dulce is best enjoyed warm with a cup of coffee! Itโs also a dish that I absolutely love having as a sweet treat during the Spring and Summer!
How Do You Make Arepa Dulce de Maiz – Torta Dominicana?ย
You can make Torta Dominicana in a variety of ways. You can make this dish in the oven or you can make it over an open flame! I love listening to stories of how my Mother-In-Law grew up making this dish in Santiago, Dominican Republic. All in all, Dominican Arepa Dulce de Maiz is fairly easy to make.
Simply warm up regular milk, evaporated milk, butter, cinnamon, sugar, and Dominican vanilla. Once the milk has warmed up, add the yellow fine cornmeal or masarepa and gently whisk it in. As the cornmeal is mixed with the milk, it will thicken. Reduce the flame and add the raisins. Then transfer the batter to a greased non-stick cake pan and bake in the oven at 350F. Bake the Torta Dominicana until the batter settles and until the tops of the cake slightly browns. Afterwards, remove the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting into it.ย
When it comes to Dominican Arepa Dulce de Maiz, you can also make it as sweet as you like. You can even add chunks of coconut for another layer of sweetness. I personally like to keep it simple. I mix all of the ingredients in a non-stick pot and then transfer into a baking dish. I bake for about 35 minutes until the top is nice and golden brown. Afterwards, I let it cool and then enjoy it either as a snack or for breakfast.
What Are The Ingredients for Dominican Arepa Dulce de Maiz?
- Yellow Fine Cornmeal or Masarepaย
- Evaporated Milk – this milk is sweeter and creamier than regular milk and really makes a flavor differenceย
- Coconut Milk – this adds a depth of flavor that I love!ย
- Coconut Chunks – this is optional. My Mother-In_Law adds this and it adds an extra layer of sweetness and another layer of the tropics
- Raisins – I personally donโt like raisins in this dish, but itโs a must since itโs a traditional ingredient. However, feel free to omit it if you’re not a fan
- Dominican Vanillaย
- Butterย
Raisins are traditionally added to this dish for a sweet surprise along with coconut milk. These two ingredients give the dish extra layers of flavors. The coconut chunks especially remind you that this is a Caribbean dish.ย Itโs similar to the anise seeds in the Arepitas de Yuca and Arepitas de Yuca with Cheese. The anise seeds give these dishes their undeniable and authentic Dominican – Caribbean flavor. Don’t miss out another sweet Dominican delight – Habichuelas con Dulce!
Dominican Arepa Dulce de Maiz Tips & Tricks!
If youโve never made Arepa Dulce de Maiz – Torta Dominicana, youโre in luck! Even though this dish is surprisingly easy and quick to make, hereโs a few things to note when making this dish.
- This dish thickens very quickly as it cools so itโs important that you work twice as fast when switching potsย
- The thicker you cook the arepa on the stove, the thicker the torta is going to be after you bake itย
- Donโt forget to butter the sides of your baking dish when making Arepa de Maiz | Torta Dominicanaย
- Feel free to bake the torta is the same pot that you cooked it in! This is the super old school way of doing it. Just make sure youโre working with a pot that can handle this sort of heatย
- Feel free to use whatever types of milk that you want. You can use whole milk, skim milk, evaporated milk, coconut milk, and more. You can even mix different types of milk as well.ย
- The beauty of this dish is that you can make it as sweet as you like. You can also use sweet condensed milk to sweeten it as well.ย
- Use a whisk and continuously mix so that clumps don’t form when making your Arepa Dulce | Dominican Torta
- Bake this dish uncovered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the top begins to brown ever so slightlyย
Recommended Tools for Making Torta Dominicana
Ingredients
- 2 ยฝ cup Fine Cornmeal
- 3 cups Evaporated Milk
- 1 ยฝ cup Coconut Milk
- 1 ยผ cup Sugar or to taste
- โ tsp Salt
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 ยฝ tbs Unsalted Butter
- 1 ยฝ tbs Raisins*optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheitย
- Butter your baking dish and set aside. Feel free to use a 9inch round dish or a 9x13" rectangular, or 8x8" square dishย
- With the heat OFF- In a non-stick pot, combine all of your dry ingredients-- fine cormeal, sugar, and salt. Whisk together.ย
- Now is add your wet ingredients-- evaporated milk, coconut milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks, and butter. Whisk together until well combined.ย
- Turn flame to medium-low and continuously whisk until arepa mixtures begins to thicken-- about 5-10minsย
- Once arepa mixture begins to thicken, remove cinnamon sticks and transfer arepa mixture into baking dish. Be sure to move quickly as mixture will continue to thicken on its ownย
- Bake arepa UNCOVERED for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the very top of the arepa begins to brown even so slightlyย
- Once cooked, remove from oven and let cool before servingย