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On this page, I will expose you to Bean cake and everything you need to know about the delicious snacks common in Nigeria.

Akara is also called fried bean cake, koose, bean fritters, and acaraje. This is a common breakfast in Nigerian families. It is vegetarian or vegan, tasty, and easy to make.

Let me show you how to prepare the best akara recipe that is fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside.

Bean Cake Recipe

Bean recipe is quite straightforward with the modern way of peeling beans with a blender. Once you have peeled beans, the other steps are quick and you can get akara on the table in minutes.

I remember back in Nigeria the different types of akara sold. The ones fried with vegetable oil, the ones with palm oil, and also a special one called Akara kengbe‘ fried with palm oil. Akara goes with almost everything.

You can eat it with bread, yam, pap, and custard. It can also serve as a snack or even a light dinner. It is rich in protein.

Ingredients for Bean Cake

1. Black-eyed beans or brown beans

2. Scotch bonnet/ habanero – rodo

3. Bell pepper (optional)

4. Brown or red onion

5. Vegetable, sunflower, or palm oil for frying

6. Maggi (bouillion) cube

7. Salt to taste

How to Make Bean Cake

Peel the beans. The easiest method of doing this is by using a blender. click to learn how to peel beans using a blender.

Blend the peeled beans with the scotch bonnet, bell pepper, and onion. You mustn’t add too much water to blend as what you want is a thick paste for the akara so blend with as little water as possible.

*Pour the blended beans into a bowl, add Maggi cube and salt to taste, and mix thoroughly.

If you like the inside of your akara fluffy, then use a mixer and whip for 10 minutes.

*Pour the vegetable, sunflower, or palm oil into a frying pan and put on the stove. You need it deep-fried so make sure you have enough oil in the frying pan.

When oil is heated start scooping in the bean paste. For this, I usually use a small cooking spoon which is just slightly bigger than a tablespoon.

To know if your oil is heated enough drop a tiny bit of the paste in the oil. If it floats to the top then the oil is ready.

When a side is done, flip to the other side.

Fry both sides till it’s brown and when done remove from oil and put on a paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

Serve with pap (ogi) or custard. It can also be eaten with bread. On this occasion, I had mine with pap.

With the recipe above, you can make your own bean cake without a mistake.