Curley Wurly

Lightly grease a marble slab (or greased metal tray) and metal scraper

Place the sugar, corn syrup, butter, glucose and 30ml water in a heavy-based saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the split vanilla pod into the saucepan and drop in the empty pod too. Cook over a low heat until all of the sugar dissolves

Increase the heat, bring the mixture to the boil and continue to cook until the temperature reaches 132°C. Carefully remove the vanilla pod, then pour the toffee onto the prepared marble slab or tray

As the toffee begins to set on the edges, use the greased scraper to gradually move the mixture from the outside towards the centre. Continue with this process until it is cool enough to handle

Divide the toffee into balls weighing 30g each. Take one ball of toffee and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll each 10g piece into a strand about 35cm in length. When all three are evenly rolled out, press the three ends together

Working on a silpat mat, loosely plait the strands together so that gaps remain between each strand – you can manipulate it once it is complete to make sure it is even. Push the ends together to secure. Repeat this process until all the toffee has been used

Using a hot knife, trim both ends of each toffee plait. Leave in a cool, dry area for at least 2 hours until fully set

While the toffee is setting, you can temper the chocolate. Place two-thirds of the chopped chocolate into a bain-marie. Do not boil the water, as it may scald the chocolate. Stir regularly until the chocolate has completely melted and reaches 45–50°C ensuring all the fat and sugars have melted evenly

Gradually add the remaining chocolate – this is the seed. Stir vigorously and continue to stir until all of the chocolate has fully melted and the chocolate cools to 28–29°C and thickens. Warm back up to 31–32°C. The chocolate is now tempered and ready to use. If the temperature drops below this, simply warm it up over the bain-marie again

Place the Curley Wurly bars on a wire rack and pour the tempered chocolate over each one. Tap well and use 2 palette knives to place each one on a tray lined with baking paper. Leave to set for 1–2 hours