It is a dough made with flour, a teaspoon of salt, and a little warm water, fried in a round, flat shape in a frying pan or paila, resulting in a crispy sheet with good flavor, and very popular among low-income communities in the Dominican Republic.

There are several versions about the origin of this preparation, but the most widely accepted one indicates that its consumption began in the eastern province of San Pedro de Macoris, where the Black cocolos, brought from the Lesser Antilles, British islands of the Eastern Caribbean, to work in the sugar industry, made a simpler version of what are known as pancakes. This adaptation is attributed to a baker named Jhony, who prepared some cakes (breads) with few ingredients, but with a distinctive shape and flavor. Through transliteration, "Yani" (from Jhony) was combined with "queque" (from cakes), giving rise to the name "yaniqueque."

Over time, yaniqueque has evolved and includes different variants: filled with ham and cheese, chicken, vegetables, and even gourmet versions with seafood or shrimp. It is part of Dominican cuisine known as cocolo gastronomy.

In Samana, there is another variety of yaniqueque, introduced by freed Black people from the United States, brought by the Haitian invaders between 1822 and 1825. This version consists of baking wheat flour in a caldero, resulting in a round bread, characteristic of Samana cuisine.