Teisen Ddu (Black Cake)

Teisen Ddu (Black Cake) is a classic Cymric (Welsh) caramelized sugar cake, incorporating dried fruit and nuts which was traditionally served as a tea cake. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Welsh version of Black Cake.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

90 minutes

Total Time:

110 minutes

Serves:

8–10

Rating:

Tags : Baking Recipes Cake Recipes British Recipes Cymric/Welsh Recipes

Original Recipe

Mae'r deisen yma, er yn tarddu o Gymru yn fwy poblogaidd yn yr Arianin heddiw, gen ei fod wedi ei gyflwyno o'r Wladfa a lle mae yn cael ei alw'n 'deisen Cymraeg'.

Cynhwysion:

340g o siwgwr
300ml o ddၵr poeth
150g o fenyn
250g o resin heb hadau
1 llwy de o nodd lemwn a fanila
1 Ilwy de o coniac

570g o flawd codi
250g o gnau Ffrengig wedi eu malu
mymryn o garboned soda

Dull:

Mewn sosban craswch 230g o'r siwgwr nes ei fod yn galed fel taffi. Ychwanegwch ato y dၵr poeth a'i gymysgu. Ychwanegwch at hyn y menyn y resin y nodd lemwn a fanila a'r cniac, gan gofio am weddill y siwgwr, gan ferwi'r cyfan am 5 munud gan ofalu and yw'n cydio yng ngwaelod y sosban a gadael iddo oeri. Pan mae'r cymysgfa'n oedd ychwanegwch at weddill y cynhwysion cyn ei droi i dun cacen tua 22cm wedi ei iro a menyn a'i grasu mewn popty a gynheswyd i 170°C (325°F/Gas Mark 3) am rhwng awr a hanner i ddwy awr.

English Translation

This cake is especially popular in the Welsh colony in Patagonia and has made its way into Argentine cuisine, where it's known by it's Spanish name of Torta Negra Galesa (Welsh Black Cake).

Ingredients:

340g sugar
300ml hot water
150g butter
250g seedless raisins
1 tsp each of lemon and vanilla extract
1 tsp cognac
570g self-raising flour
250g walnuts (finely chopped)
large pinch of bicarbonate of soda

Method:

Pour 230g of the sugar into a saucepan and heat without stirring until it caramelizes and turns hard like toffee. To this add the hot water and mix in well. Then add the butter, raisins, lemon and vanilla extracts, the cognac as well as the remaining sugar.

Stir in well and boil for 5 minutes, being careful that the sugar does not catch and burn on the base of the saucepan. At the end of this time set the saucepan aside for its contents to cool. Meanwhile add the remaining ingredients to a bowl and pour the cold syrup into this. Pour the mixture into a greased 22cm cake tin and bake in an oven pre-heated to 170°C (325°F/Gas Mark 3) for between an hour and a half and two hours.