Curly Wurly and Twirl are both Cadbury bars with an unusual shape, but one is built almost entirely from caramel and the other barely has any caramel in it at all.
Same maker, opposite textures
Both bars come from Cadbury, but seventeen years and a very different brief separate them. Curly Wurly launched in 1970 as a woven lattice of caramel with a thin chocolate coating over the top. Twirl arrived in 1987 as two ridged, flaky fingers of milk chocolate with no caramel involved at all.
Caramel lattice vs flaky chocolate fingers
- Curly Wurly — strands of chewy caramel woven into a ladder shape and given a light chocolate coating. The caramel makes up most of the bar by volume, so the chew is long and the chocolate is really just a finish.
- Twirl — two fingers of moulded milk chocolate with a ridged, flaky internal structure, similar to how Flake is made. There is no caramel or filling of any kind, the whole bar is chocolate from edge to edge.
Nearly two decades apart
By the time Twirl launched in 1987, Curly Wurly had already spent seventeen years as Cadbury's caramel-forward novelty bar, which is likely why Twirl went in a completely different direction, giving Cadbury a lighter, all-chocolate option built on the flaky technique it already used successfully for Flake.
Which one to pick
If you want a long, chewy caramel hit, Curly Wurly is the one to reach for. If you would rather have a light, all-chocolate snap with no filling, Twirl is the better choice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Curly Wurly and Twirl?
Curly Wurly is a woven caramel lattice with a thin chocolate coating, so caramel is the dominant flavour and the main thing you are chewing. Twirl is almost entirely chocolate, two ridged, flaky fingers with no caramel at all.
Are Curly Wurly and Twirl made by the same company?
Yes, both are Cadbury products, but they were designed around completely different textures, one chewy and caramel-led, the other light and flaky.
Which launched first, Curly Wurly or Twirl?
Curly Wurly, by 17 years. It launched in 1970, while Twirl did not arrive until 1987.