British · Dessert
Jam Roly-Poly
A nostalgic British steamed pudding featuring suet pastry rolled with jam and steamed until fluffy. This comforting dessert brings childhood memories to life with its simple ingredients and traditional cooking method.
The Method
Instructions
First things first, grab a deep roasting tin and place it on the bottom shelf of your oven. It's really important to have another shelf positioned directly above this one, so make sure your rack setup is just right. Once you've got that sorted, carefully pull the roasting tin out while it's on that bottom shelf. Now, fill it up about two thirds full with boiling water straight from the kettle. Be gentle here to avoid splashing, then slide it back into position inside the oven. This water bath will create wonderful steam to keep our pudding lovely and moist as it cooks.
Next, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius if you're using a conventional oven, or 160 degrees Celsius fan , which is great if your oven has a fan setting. For gas ovens, set it to gas mark 4 . While the oven is warming up, tear off a large sheet of foil and a piece of greaseproof paper, each about 30 by 40 centimeters , that's roughly the size you'll need to wrap the pudding properly. Place the greaseproof paper on top of the foil and generously butter the greaseproof paper. This will help prevent the dough from sticking and add a little extra richness as it cooks.
Now, onto the dough. Tip your butter, self raising flour, and the vanilla seeds (scraped from the pod) into a food processor. Pulse this mixture just until the butter disappears into the flour, creating a crumbly texture. Don't overdo it; you want to keep some of that buttery texture visible. Once you've got this, tip the mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir through the suet , that's what will give the dough a lovely traditional texture , then pour in the milk. Use a cutlery knife to work everything together, mixing gently until you form a sticky dough. Depending on your particular flour, you might find you need to add a drop more milk. Just add it bit by bit, keeping the dough soft but not too wet.
Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and quickly pat it together to smooth it out , no need to knead too much here, just enough to bring it together nicely. Then roll it out into a square roughly 25 by 25 centimeters. Spread your raspberry jam all over the dough, but remember to leave a gap along one edge , this will help you seal the roll later without jam oozing out. Starting from the edge opposite the gap, carefully roll the dough up into a log. When you get to the jam free edge, pinch it firmly into the dough to seal the roll. Don't forget to pinch the ends roughly too , this keeps all that delicious jam safely inside during cooking.
To transfer your jam roly poly, carefully lift it onto the buttered greaseproof paper with the sealed join facing down. If you have a flat baking sheet on hand, it can be super helpful for moving the roll without it losing shape. Then, gently bring up the edges of the greaseproof paper and foil around the pudding, scrunching and sealing the edges and ends to make a loose parcel. The key here is to leave some room because the roly poly will puff up quite a bit as it cooks, so don't wrap it tightly or it could burst out. Lift this parcel directly onto the oven rack that's positioned above your water filled roasting tin, and let it cook for a full hour.
When the hour is up, take the pudding out and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes before unwrapping. This little rest helps everything settle, making it easier to handle. Then, carefully open the foil and greaseproof paper parcel. You'll be greeted by a warm, slightly steamed jam roly poly, perfect for slicing thickly. Serve it up with custard or cream and enjoy every comforting bite!
Next, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius if you're using a conventional oven, or 160 degrees Celsius fan , which is great if your oven has a fan setting. For gas ovens, set it to gas mark 4 . While the oven is warming up, tear off a large sheet of foil and a piece of greaseproof paper, each about 30 by 40 centimeters , that's roughly the size you'll need to wrap the pudding properly. Place the greaseproof paper on top of the foil and generously butter the greaseproof paper. This will help prevent the dough from sticking and add a little extra richness as it cooks.
Now, onto the dough. Tip your butter, self raising flour, and the vanilla seeds (scraped from the pod) into a food processor. Pulse this mixture just until the butter disappears into the flour, creating a crumbly texture. Don't overdo it; you want to keep some of that buttery texture visible. Once you've got this, tip the mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir through the suet , that's what will give the dough a lovely traditional texture , then pour in the milk. Use a cutlery knife to work everything together, mixing gently until you form a sticky dough. Depending on your particular flour, you might find you need to add a drop more milk. Just add it bit by bit, keeping the dough soft but not too wet.
Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and quickly pat it together to smooth it out , no need to knead too much here, just enough to bring it together nicely. Then roll it out into a square roughly 25 by 25 centimeters. Spread your raspberry jam all over the dough, but remember to leave a gap along one edge , this will help you seal the roll later without jam oozing out. Starting from the edge opposite the gap, carefully roll the dough up into a log. When you get to the jam free edge, pinch it firmly into the dough to seal the roll. Don't forget to pinch the ends roughly too , this keeps all that delicious jam safely inside during cooking.
To transfer your jam roly poly, carefully lift it onto the buttered greaseproof paper with the sealed join facing down. If you have a flat baking sheet on hand, it can be super helpful for moving the roll without it losing shape. Then, gently bring up the edges of the greaseproof paper and foil around the pudding, scrunching and sealing the edges and ends to make a loose parcel. The key here is to leave some room because the roly poly will puff up quite a bit as it cooks, so don't wrap it tightly or it could burst out. Lift this parcel directly onto the oven rack that's positioned above your water filled roasting tin, and let it cook for a full hour.
When the hour is up, take the pudding out and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes before unwrapping. This little rest helps everything settle, making it easier to handle. Then, carefully open the foil and greaseproof paper parcel. You'll be greeted by a warm, slightly steamed jam roly poly, perfect for slicing thickly. Serve it up with custard or cream and enjoy every comforting bite!
Pairs Well With
