Jam Roly Poly

Traditional puddings have had a bit of a revival in recent years. It could be down to the recession or it could just be down to the fact that you can’t be a tried and tested classic. This pud is the food equivalent of receiving a big hug, by a roaring fire, on a cold winters day.

In short, the recipe is a sprinkle of childhood memories, a few drops of nostalgia and huge dollop of deliciousness. However, for those of you who are actually interested in making one for yourself, as opposed to dribbling over your keyboard, here’s the long version…

You’ll need;

15g of butter, plus extra for greasing
175g of self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
2 level tbsp of caster sugar
75g of shredded suet
115ml of milk, plus extra for brushing
125g of strawberry jam

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Start by cutting yourself a large piece of baking paper, pinching it in the middle (to allow room for the roly poly to expand) and greasing it lightly with butter.

Next, measure our your flour and sift into a bowl. Add your butter and a pinch of salt. Using your hands, rub the butter and the flour together until all of the butter has disappeared.

Add the suet and the milk and mix together with a knife to form a firm, but not sticky, dough. We’d advise adding the milk little by little so you can get your dough just right.

Once your mixture has come together, roll out on a lightly floured surface. You want to roll your dough into an oblong shape roughly 20x30cm. Spread your rolled dough with a nice thick layer of your choice of jam leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Brush the edges with a little milk and roll your dough, squeezing in at both ends to seal in the jam.

Place the pastry roll onto the greased baking paper and then wrap loosely in tin foil (allowing a little extra room for the pastry to expand as it cooks). Pop onto a wire rack and into a roasting tin filled 3/4 of the way with hot water. This allows for the pastry to almost steam cook. Pop in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes.