Jam Roly-Poly

 Okay, I’m going to say something completely British now: the weather’s been rather rubbish lately hasn't it? In the past week, it has sadly become clear that Autumn is officially underway. There’s been wind, rain, wind and rain at the same time...and it’s been rather chilly. My umbrella’s been battered and I've cracked out the coat. So to stop myself feeling blue that the summery weather is officially over, I begun to think of all the positive things that Autumn and Winter can bring: the crunch of fallen leaves under foot, the cosy feeling of being inside in the warm while the rain patters on the window pane, woolly jumpers, hugs that feel even warmer because it’s cold outside…and food! Soothing soup and stews, roast dinners…followed by a nice stodgy pudding to fill you up. Obviously my mind stuck on this last part, being such a pudding kinda gal ;), so I decided to make my first autumnal pudding of the year (granted I have made apple crumble recently but don’t you think that’s an all year round kind of pudding?)

200g/8oz  self-raising flour

100g/4oz suet

100-150ml/3.5- 5 fl oz. water

3 tablespoons light brown soft sugar.

4-5 tablespoons jam

*Custard to eat it with...

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160 Fan/ Gas 4. Half fill a roasting tin with just-boiled water and place in the bottom of the oven. Cut equal sized pieces of foil and baking parchment (as big as the tray you will bake the roly-poly on). Ensure to lie the baking parchment over the top of the foil.

2) In a bowl, combine the flour, suet and sugar. Make a well in the centre and pour in a little water. Mix the water in with your hands, adding more to make a smooth, unsticky dough. You may need to add more or less water so be sparing with it. If you add too much (like I did) add a dash more flour.

3) Sprinkle the work surface with flour and roll out the dough to a square, roughly 25x25cm, or until the dough is about 1.5 cm thick (no matter how big, it is important to keep to the form of a square).

4) Spread the jam over the dough, leaving a margin all around of about 2.5cm. Brush a little water around this margin and, starting from the side closest to you, roll the dough in on itself like a Swiss- role. Squeeze the ends to prevent the jam from escaping (I cut the nibs off just to make it a bit neater).  You should end up with a smooth sausage shape. Carefully lift the roly-poly onto the middle of the baking parchment, sealed-side down. Loosely wrap the baking parchment and foil around the pudding, leaving a little room for the pastry to expand. (The advantage of using foil is that it keeps the baking parchment in place). Twist the ends of the parchment/foil like a sweet wrapper and you’re ready to bake.

5) Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating, as the jam will be very hot! Always serve with steaming custard.