Walnut & Dark Chocolate Twists

Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and lightly deepened in colour. Tip onto a board and roughly chop. Set aside to cool completely.

Break the dark chocolate into small pieces and combine with 30g butter in a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water (bain-marie) and stir gently until completely smooth and glossy. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Stir the cocoa powder, vanilla extract, white sugar, and cooled toasted walnuts into the melted chocolate until evenly combined. The filling should be thick but still spreadable. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 180 °C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the shortcrust pastry and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes — cold pastry will crack when you roll it.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the shortcrust pastry into a rough rectangle roughly 30 × 20 cm and about 3 mm thick. Dot the surface with 15g butter in small pieces, sprinkle over a pinch of salt, then fold the pastry over itself a couple of times and re-roll to incorporate the butter evenly.

Roll the pastry back out to a clean rectangle (approximately 30 × 20 cm). Spread the chocolate walnut filling evenly across the entire surface, leaving a 1 cm border along one short edge.

Starting from the opposite short edge, roll the pastry tightly toward you into a log. If the edge resists sealing, brush the border lightly with water. Place the log seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet and chill for 5 minutes in the freezer to firm it up.

Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the log into 8 even pieces (about 3 cm each). For each piece, lay it flat, then gently twist the top and bottom halves in opposite directions 2–3 times before placing it back on the baking sheet, pressing the cut sides down so the filling shows.

Beat the egg lightly with a fork. Brush the tops and visible sides of each twist generously with egg wash.

Bake for 18–22 minutes, rotating the tray once at the halfway point, until the pastry is deeply golden at the edges and the chocolate filling has set with a slightly matte surface. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.