Ingredients
Peanuts
- 500 graw shelled peanuts, skins on
Sugar
- 500 ggranulated sugar
- 60 mlwater
- 1/4 tspsalt
Sometimes added
- 1 tspground ginger
- a pinch of chilli powder
Equipment
- a sugar thermometer
- a heavy pan
- a greased tray or a greased slab
- a greased rolling pin
Directions
- Use raw peanuts so you control the roast. Spread them in a single layer on a baking tray. Roast them at 170C for about eighteen minutes. Shake the tray every five minutes so they colour evenly. They are ready when the skins darken and split.
- Break one open to check the colour inside. It should be light golden brown all the way through. Rub them off in a cloth if you prefer them removed. Keep the peanuts warm until you need them. Cold nuts will seize the hot caramel and cool it too fast.
- Grease a tray, a rolling pin and a spatula thoroughly. Set them out beside the stove. Once the sugar is ready there is no time to look for anything. Keep children and pets out of the kitchen. Never touch it or taste it while hot. Put the sugar, water and salt in a heavy pan. Set the pan over a medium heat.
- Stir it only until the sugar has dissolved. Then stop stirring completely. Brush the sides of the pan down with a wet brush. Let it boil steadily without touching it. It will go from clear to pale straw to golden. Swirl the pan gently if it is colouring unevenly.
- Take it off the heat when it reaches a deep amber. Caramel keeps darkening off the heat, so stop slightly early. Tip the warm peanuts into the pan all at once. Add the ginger or chilli now if you are using them. Stir hard with a greased wooden spoon.
- Work until every peanut is coated in caramel. The mixture stiffens quickly, so do not pause. Press it out with the greased spatula. Roll it flat with the greased rolling pin. Work it out to about a centimetre thick. Move quickly, since it becomes unworkable within a minute. Wait about four minutes until it is firm but not hard. Score the surface deeply with a greased knife.
- Score right down through most of the thickness. If you wait until it is cold it will shatter at random. Leave the tray at room temperature until completely hard. Do not put it in the fridge, since condensation makes it sticky.
- Break it along the scored lines. Storing it needs to be airtight. Wrap the pieces individually or layer them with paper. Keep them in an airtight tin or box. They keep for several weeks in it. Serve them broken into small pieces, since they are very hard.
Technique
- Molten sugar causes severe burns; keep others out of the kitchen and never touch it hot.
- Stop stirring once the sugar dissolves, or it will crystallise.
- Score it while still warm, since cold brittle shatters at random.
Substitutions
- Roasted peanuts from a packet, though roasting raw ones is better.
- Dark brown sugar for a deeper flavour, though it burns more easily.
Variations
- With ginger through the caramel.
- With a pinch of chilli, which some vendors add.
- Made thinner, as a brittle sheet.
History
Groundnuts spread through West Africa from Brazil via Portuguese trade; Ghanaian vendors set them in molten sugar and sell the slabs in traffic.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nkate cake?
Nkate cake is a snack from Ghana: brittle slab of roasted peanuts set in caramelised sugar. Groundnuts spread through West Africa from Brazil via Portuguese trade; Ghanaian vendors set them in molten sugar and sell the slabs in traffic.
How long does Nkate cake take to make?
Nkate cake takes 20 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 pieces. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Nkate cake?
Yes, within limits. Roasted peanuts from a packet, though roasting raw ones is better. Dark brown sugar for a deeper flavour, though it burns more easily.
What is the most important thing to get right in Nkate cake?
Grease a tray, a rolling pin and a spatula thoroughly. Set them out beside the stove. Once the sugar is ready there is no time to look for anything. Keep children and pets out of the kitchen. Never touch it or taste it while hot. Put the sugar, water and salt in a heavy pan. Set the pan over a medium heat.
