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Nain's welsh  Toffee "cyflath" recipe

with   guto the park ranger and his mom elisabeth

When we are on a recipe hunting adventure, we have no shame in asking everyone and their mother (or grandmother) for helps finding traditional recipes. Before our hike in Snowdonia National Park in North Wales Leila heads to the Park Ranger's office to ask for any tips on local grandmothers. Shecomes back 20 minutes later with excitement as the Park Ranger invited us to his mom's house to make his Nain's recipe for cyflath. That evening we make the buttery, sweet, and crunchy welsh toffee or cyflath!

welsh  Toffee or cyflath recipe 
preparation time: 1 - 1.5 hours
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*WARNING: the liquid boiling point is very high, so be careful not to let the liquid molten touch you when you are making this recipe. This is an adult only recipe!
welsh toffee or cyflath directions:

  1. In the heavy bottomed saucepan combine water, sugar, black treacle and margarine. Cook over medium-high heat. As the ingredients melt, stir them together with a spoon until all the sugar is dissolved.

  2. Once the liquid begins to boil, do no stir any longer but continue to heat until it reaches a temperature of 146 to 154 °C (295 to 309 °F).

  3. This is the *hard-crack stage in candy making (see below).

  4. Once you reach this temperature, remove from heat and CAREFULLY pour the toffee in the cookie sheet. *To be extra sure the toffee does not stick you can grease the pan or use non-stick paper (or both like Elisabeth).

  5. Allow the toffee to cool. To expedite this process you can use an ice bath. 

  6. Once it has cooled, use your hands break the toffee away from the pan. You might have to flip the pan over and hit it with a hammer from the back, letting the toffee pieces fall onto the countertop.

  7. You can store the candy in a glass jar and eat all winter. Nains or grandmas say that it is the perfect cough drop for a cold winter's day.

welsh toffee or cyflath ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp of water

  • 8 oz of sugar

  • 2 Tbsp of black treacle

  • 4 oz of margarine (salted butter could be used and is said to bring out more flavor)

equipment needed:

  • large heavy bottomed saucepan

  • cookie sheet

  • spoon

  • thermometer or, if you're brave, a glass cup with cold water

  • hammer

Testing for hard crack stage

  • Candy consistencies result from the different temperatures that the liquid ingredients are heated up to. These are called stages.

  • Toffee requires the liquid to be heated up to a very high temperature so that it becomes a hard candy. This stage is called the hard-crack candy stage.

  • Before thermometers, people would check the consistency of candy using the glass method. The glass method allows the candy maker to test and feel different characteristics of the candy they are making by seeing how the heated liquid reacts once it comes into contact with cold water.

  • In order for toffee to be made using the glass method, the liquid has to make long, thin strands when it is dropped into the cold water. When you remove it from the cold water you should be able to hear a crack when you bend the strand. If you decide to use the glass method, use a spoon when dropping the liquid into the glass cup.

  • If you are using a thermometer, the hard crack stage is reached when the temperature hits 146 to 154 °C (295 to 309 °F).

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