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Cyflaith Trefaldwyn (Montgomery Toffee)

Cyflaith Trefaldwyn (Montgomery Toffee) is a traditional Cymric (Welsh) recipe (from Trefaldwyn) for a classic sweet (candy) made from a boiled blend of brown sugar, butter and lemon juice. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Welsh version of: Montgomery Toffee (Cyflaith Trefaldwyn).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

40 minutes

Total Time:

60 minutes

Additional Time:

(+cooling)

Makes:

20

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesBritish RecipesCymric/Welsh Recipes

Original Recipe

‘Roedd cynnal ‘Noson Gyflaith’ gynt yn arfer draddodiadol mewn rhannau o ogledd Cymru i ddathlu’r Nadolig neu’r Flwyddyn Newydd. Yn eu tro, byddai teuluoedd yn gwahodd eu ffrindiau i’w cartrefi fin nos. Paratoent swper mawr ar eu cyfer, yn cynnwys gŵydd a phwdin Nadolig, fel rheol, ac yna byddai’r cwmni’n ymuno mewn chwaraeon, yn adrodd straeon ac yn tynnu cyflaith. Ar ôl berwi’r defnyddiau angenrheidiol i ryw ansawdd arbennig, tywelltid y cyflaith allan ar lechen neu garreg fawr wedi’i hiro ag ymenyn. Byddid yn glanhau carreg yr aelwyd a’i hiro ar gyfer yr achlysur hwn weithiau. Yna byddai pob aelod o’r cwmni yn iro’i ddwylo ag ymenyn ac yn cymryd darn o’r cyflaith i’w dynnu tra byddai’n gynnes. ‘Roedd hon yn grefft arbennig ac anelid at dynnu’r cyflaith hyd nes y deuai’n rhaffau melyngoch. Byddai’r dibrofiad yn edmygu medrusrwydd y profiadol ond ‘roedd aflwyddiant y dibrofiad yn destun hwyl i bawb. ‘Roedd cyflaith yn cael ei wneud mewn rhannau o dde Cymru hefyd, yn enwedig yn y cymoedd glo. Hyd y gwyddom ni chysylltid ef ag unrhyw ŵyl arbennig yno, ond ‘roedd yn arfer gan wragedd i’w werthu o’u cartrefi neu yn y farchnad leol. ‘Roedd ‘dant’ a ‘ffani’ ymhlith yr enwau a roid arno, ac weithiau rhoid enw’r gwneuthurwr arno, er enghraifft, ‘losin Magws’ neu ‘losin Ansin bach’. Gwerthid ef yn ddarnau bach, tua dwy owns am geiniog. Daw'r risét yma o Bennant, Trefaldwyn.

Cynhwysion:

1.5kg o siwgr llwyd, meddal 225g o ymenyn hallt sudd un lemon 150ml o ddŵr berw (neu ragor os bydd y siwgr o ansawdd sych)

Dull:

Tywalltwch y dŵr berw dros y siwgr yn y sosban, a thoddi’r siwgr yn araf uwch ben tân gloyw, gan ei droi’n gyson â llwy bren hyd nes iddo doddi’n llwyr. (Cymer hyn ryw ugain munud, yn ôl ansawdd y siwgr.) Codwch y sosban oddi ar y tân, ychwanegwch sudd y lemon a’r ymenyn (wedi’i feddalu) at y siwgr, a’u cymysgu’n drwyadl. Berwch y gymysgedd yn weddol gyflym am ryw chwarter awr heb ei droi o gwbl. I brofi, gollyngwch llond llwy de o’r cymysgedd i lond cwpan o ddŵr oer. Os bydd hwn yn caledu yn y dŵr ar unwaith fe fydd y cyfan wedi berwi digon. Arllwyswch y cymysgedd yn raddol i ddysgl fawr, agored, wedi’i hirio ag ymenyn ymlaen llaw. (Peidiwch â rhoi crafion y sosban yn y ddysgl rhag iddynt droi’r cyflaith yn siwgr drachefn.) Irwch eich dwylo ag ymenyn a thynnu’r cyflaith yn rhaffau hir, melyn eu lliw.

English Translation

Noson Gyflaith (Toffee Evening) was a traditional part of Christmas or New Year festivities in some areas of north Wales earlier this century. Families, in their turn, would invite friends to their homes for supper, usually in the form of a Christmas dinner, and it would be followed by merriment, playing games, making toffee, and story telling.

When the required ingredients had boiled to a certain degree, the toffee was poured onto a well-greased slate or stone slab. The hearth-stone itself was used for this purpose in some houses. Members of the happy gathering would then cover their hands with butter and attempt to ‘pull’ the toffee while it was still quite warm. It was a skilled art to ‘pull’ and twist the toffee until it became golden yellow in colour. Both the skilled and unskilled would take part – the one being a source of envy, the other a source of banter.

Toffee-making was also practised in parts of south Wales, especially in the coal-mining areas. As far as we know, it was not associated here with a particular festive occasion, but housewives were known to sell it from their homes or on local market stalls. It was known by various names such as taffi, dant, or ‘fanny’, or indeed it could be known by the name of the person who made it, e.g. losin Magws, or losin Ansin bach. Children would buy it – a six inch strip or two ounces for a penny.

This recipe comes from Pennant, Montgomeryshire.

Ingredients:

1.5kg soft brown sugar
225g salted butter
juice of one lemon
115ml boiling water (or a little more according to the consistency of the sugar.)

Method:

Using an enamel or steel pan, gradually melt the sugar in the boiling water over a low heat.

Stir it continuously with a wooden spoon until the sugar is thoroughly melted. (This usually takes from twenty to thirty minutes.)

Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the lemon juice and the softened butter, and stir into the sugar.
Boil this mixture fairly briskly for a further fifteen minutes without stirring it.

Gently drop a teaspoonful of the mixture into a cupful of cold water, and if it hardens at once it has reached the required consistency.

Pour the mixture slowly on to a large, flat dish previously greased with butter. (Do not scrape the pan clean as this mixture might turn the toffee back into sugar.)

Butter the hands and ‘pull’ the toffee into long, golden strands while hot.

Cut into smaller pieces.