Easy Jam Roly Poly is an old school delicious U.K pudding. A good old rib sticker and perfect for the colder months when steaming custard is begging to be poured all over everything, especially this jammy swirled sponge.

What is Jam Roly Poly?
Here in the U.K it is a traditional & old fashioned pudding that is not as popular as it once was. It is a somewhat stodgy sponge that is made from a simple and quick to make, suet dough, spread with jam and rolled up into a jam roly poly log that is then baked in a steam filled oven. Comfort food Boom assured.

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Reasons to love this recipe
- delicious
- comfort food
- easy
- economical
- crowd pleaser
- nostalgic
- cupboard ingredients
*Scroll down to the bottom for the full printable recipe*
Ingredients

- Suet - can be vegetarian - 100 grams (3.5oz)
- Sugar - caster or granulated - 50 grams (1.75oz) sugar
- Strawberry Jam - 6 or 7 heaped tbsp - can be any flavour
- Self Raising Flour - 200 grams (7oz) - or plain flour with 2 level tsp of baking powder added
- Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
- Milk - semi skimmed or full fat - 150 mls
- pinch of salt (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375 F/ Gas Mark 5 and place a large deep baking tray carefully filled half way with boiled water from the kettle on the bottom shelf of the oven. I always take the kettle to the oven to avoid a difficult transport of a tray half filled with water. This will give a good amount of steam in the oven which will help the pudding to cook in a wet steamy environment, exactly how it loves to be treated.
- Cut a large piece of silver foil 50 cm long and place to one side and also cut another piece of baking paper (not greaseproof paper) about 40 cm and place that on top of the foil for later on.
- In a mixing bowl place 200 grams of flour, 50 grams sugar and 100 grams of suet.

- Add the vanilla extract and milk to the bowl but keep back a little as you may not need it all or you may actually need a splash extra.
- Use a wide bladed knife or metal dessert spoon to mix it into a dough.

- Use your clean hands to squish it into a loose ball and tip it onto a floured work surface.

- Knead it briefly into a tighter ball. If the dough is too sticky add an extra sprinkle of flour on top of the dough and knead a little more. You want it soft but not so sticky that you can't roll it out.

- As soon as you think it is dry enough (not too sticky but still quite soft) to roll out, then flour a rolling pin and roll out to about a 23cm x 33cm rectangle.

- Spoon the jam on top of the dough and spread carefully leaving a gap of 2cm all around the dough.

- Roll the dough up carefully from the short end, I always want to do this along the longer edge but trust me it is definitely the short end, don't roll it too tight or all the jam will start trying to squish out as you roll and you'll be in a world of jammy pain.

- Make sure the seam is sitting under the roll of dough when finished.

- Place the roll on the baking paper and roll the roll up in the paper loosely to allow the roly poly to rise and get bigger as it cooks. Twists the ends closed like a boiled sweet in it's wrapping.

- Repeat the same with the silver foil.

- Place on a large baking tray and bake for 50 minutes

- Allow to cool slightly (watch out for the steam left in the foil & paper as you unwrap) and slice into jammy swirls and serve. It's not the prettiest centrepiece so I always slice it to show the cute swirls within. I'm sure there's an analogy there somewhere but just pass me the custard.

Serving suggestions
Vanilla custard is always going to be a popular choice here.

Vanilla ice cream or double cream is pretty special too.
Top Tips
- Get all your equipment and ingredients ready before you begin. It really does make a difference.
- Freeze leftovers in individual slices wrapped in silver foil in freezer bags. Take out individual slices and allow to thaw in the fridge before reheating in the microwave in 20 second bursts until hot enough (remove the tin foil for the microwave).
- This pudding is best eaten on the day but with extra custard on hand it still tastes fabulous reheated in the microwave as above.
- Make sure your work surface and rolling pin is well floured before you begin.
- Don't miss out the water in the baking tray it really helps the roly poly rise.
- Wait for the water in the baking tray to cool in the oven before you empty it.
Other old fashioned recipes
- chocolate cracknell
- old school chocolate shortbread
- flapjacks
- millionaire's shortbread
- marshmallow rice krispies
- jam steamed pudding
- syrup sponge pudding
- lemon steamed pudding
- meringues
- jam & coconut sponge
- school sprinkle cake

Easy Jam Roly Poly
Equipment
- 1 measuring tape
- 1 Digital Scales
- 2 large baking trays
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 wide bladed knife or dessert spoon
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 baking paper
- 1 silver foil
- 1 knife for slicing
Ingredients
- 100 grams shredded suet
- 200 grams self raising flour
- 50 grams caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 mls milk
- 7 tbsp jam heaped
- 1 pinch salt optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375 F/ Gas Mark 5 and place a large deep baking tray carefully filled half way with boiled water from the kettle on the bottom shelf of the oven. I always take the kettle to the oven to avoid a difficult transport of a tray half filled with water. This will give a good amount of steam in the oven which will help the pudding to cook in a wet steamy environment, exactly how it loves to be treated.
- Cut a large piece of silver foil 50 cm long and place to one side and also cut another piece of baking paper (not greaseproof paper) about 40 cm and place that on top of the foil for later on.
- In a mixing bowl place 200 grams of flour, 50 grams sugar and 100 grams of suet.
- Add the tsp vanilla extract and 150 mls of milk to the bowl but keep back a little as you may not need it all or you may actually need a splash extra.
- Use a wide bladed knife or metal dessert spoon to mix it into a shaggy dough where it is just coming together into a ball.
- Use your clean hands to squish it into a loose ball and tip it onto a floured work surface.
- Knead it briefly into a tighter ball. If the dough is too sticky add an extra sprinkle of flour on top of the dough and knead a little more. You want it soft but not so sticky that you can't roll it out.
- As soon as you think it is dry enough (not too sticky but still quite soft) to roll out, then flour a rolling pin and roll out to about a 23cm x 33cm rectangle.
- Spoon the jam on top of the dough and spread carefully leaving a gap of 2cm all around the dough.
- Roll the dough up carefully from the short end, I always want to do this along the longer edge but trust me it is definitely the short end, don't roll it too tight or all the jam will start trying to squish out as you roll and you'll be in a world of jammy pain.
- Make sure the seam is sitting under the roll of dough when finished.
- Place the roll on the baking paper and roll the roll up in the paper loosely to allow the roly poly to rise and get bigger as it cooks. Twists the ends closed like a boiled sweet in it's wrapping.
- Repeat the same with the silver foil.
- Place on a large baking tray and bake for 50 minutes
- Allow to cool slightly before unwrapping (watch out for the steam in the paper) and slice into jammy swirls and serve. It's not the prettiest centrepiece so I always slice it to show the cute swirls within. I'm sure there's an analogy there somewhere but just pass me the custard.
Notes
-
- Get all your equipment and ingredients ready before you begin. It really does make a difference.
-
- Freeze leftovers in individual slices wrapped in silver foil in freezer bags. Take out individual slices and allow to thaw in the fridge before reheating in the microwave in 20 second bursts until hot enough (remove the tin foil for the microwave).
-
- This pudding is best eaten on the day but with extra custard on hand it still tastes fabulous reheated in the microwave as above.
-
- Make sure your work surface and rolling pin is well floured before you begin.
-
- Don't miss out the water in the baking tray it really helps the roly poly rise.
- Wait for the water in the baking tray to cool in the oven before you empty it.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.
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