Nkate cake (also nkati cake) is a Ghanaian snack made with just two ingredients: groundnuts and granulated sugar. If you ever have a lot of groundnuts (peanuts) and you don't know what to do with them, you can make nkate cake.
Written properly, "Nkateɛ" is the word for groundnuts(peanuts) in Twi, and well cake is cake. Loosely translated Nkate cake is a groundnut cake which is fair if you ask me.
Nkate cake is very similar to peanut brittle and the only difference is in the number of ingredients and the process used to make them.
Peanut brittle typically has additional ingredients like butter, water, baking powder, honey, and so on. Nkate cake is usually limited to two main ingredients. You will find that nkate cake is sometimes referred to as peanut brittle and generally that is not too far off.
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Ingredients for Nkate cake
For this recipe, you only need unsalted, crushed, roasted groundnuts and granulated sugar.
Instructions
If you have raw unpeeled groundnuts, the first step is to roast them and peel them. You can roast the groundnuts in the oven or in a pan over a stove. Make sure the heat is medium so that they don't burn.
The next step is to crush the groundnuts into smaller pieces but not into a paste. This can be done in a couple of ways. You can use a food processor to pulse the groundnuts or place the peanuts in a Ziploc back and break them into smaller pieces with a rolling pin.
Once that is ready, rub enough oil on a wooden board, making sure to get the entire surface. You will need to do this before preparing the caramel as everything has to go fast after the caramel has been mixed with the groundnuts.
Prepare the caramel by letting the sugar, dissolve slowly over low heat. Once the sugar has turned a caramel colour and all the sugar is properly dissolved, add the crushed groundnuts and keep stirring until it all comes together as one ball.
Immediately pour the mix on the oiled wooden board and use an oiled rolling pin to roll out a rectangular shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the nkate cake into diagonals and leave them to cool. You will need to work as quickly as you can while the nkate cake is hot - once it gets cold there's nothing else to do but eat it.
Substitutions & Variations
- Large groundnut pieces - you can also use groundnut pieces that are large like the ones you would see in a traditional peanut brittle. It really is up to you.
- Sugar - for this recipe I use a ratio of 1:1 but you can adjust according to your taste and add more groundnuts if you wish.
Equipment
Where possible, choose a heavy bottom pan so that the sugar doesn't start burning before it fully turns into caramel.
Tip
- When roasting unpeeled groundnuts in an oven or over a stove, ensuring that you use a wide baking sheet or wide pan will make your life easier. This helps in overall keeping an even cook and not having to keep stirring the groundnuts to make sure they are all cooked.
- Try to avoid stirring the sugar too often until all of it has melted. The problem with stirring too much is that the sugar begins to clump together. This means while the sugar around the clump is already dissolved and turning brown, that clump still needs to dissolve fully.
Some other Ghanaian favourites you may like are:
- Kelewele - a spicy, sweet and salty snack made from ripe plantains
- Groundnut soup - a deeply satisfying soup made with groundnut paste and chicken
- Plantain chips - green, thinly sliced plantains deep-fried in oil.
How to make Nkate Cake
Ingredients
- 200 grams groundnuts or peanuts unsalted, roasted and peeled
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon neutral-tasting vegetable oil for wooden board and rolling pin
Instructions
- Place the groundnuts in a Ziploc bag and break them into smaller pieces with a rolling pin. If you have a food processor you can use the pulse function. See notes 1.
- Pour the oil on the board and rub it all over. Oil the rolling pin as well. See notes 2.
- In a heavy bottom pan, melt the sugar over low heat until all the sugar is dissolved and the colour is caramel. See notes 3.
- Add the crushed groundnuts to the caramel and stir quickly until both are properly combined.
- Immediately turn the nkate cake on the oiled board and shape it into a rectangle, making sure to work quickly. See notes 4.
- Using a sharp knife, divide the rectangle into diagonals and leave it to cool.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can also leave the groundnuts whole or crush them slightly.
- This is necessary so that the nkate cake does not stick to the board or the rolling pin.
- While melting or dissolving the sugar, if possible, do not move the sugar around too much until most of it has dissolved. The problem with stirring it too much is that it can form clumps. This in turn means while some of the sugar is dissolved and already turning brown, the other bit is still hard and undissolved.
- Work on the nkate cake while it is hot. Once it turns cold it is impossible to cut it into shape.
- If you find the ratio of sugar to groundnut too much, you can increase the number of groundnuts. A ratio of 1:1.6 (so for instance 100 grams of sugar to 160 grams) of sugar works very well too. My personal preference is a 1:1 ratio.
Gertrude Buabeng says
Good Job Edinam, Keep up the good work
Edinam says
Thank you very much 🙂