Serves 6
Preparation time 25 minutes
Cooking time 2 hours
300 g (10 oz) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
150 g (5 oz) shredded vegetable suet
75 g (3 oz) caster sugar
50 g (2 oz) fresh breadcrumbs
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
finely grated rind of 1 orange
1 egg, beaten
175–200 ml (6–7 fl oz) milk
6 tablespoons raspberry jam
150 g (5 oz) frozen raspberries, just thawed
Put the flour, baking powder, suet and sugar in a bowl, then stir in the breadcrumbs and lemon and orange rinds. Add the egg, then gradually mix in enough of the milk to make a soft but not sticky dough.
Knead the dough lightly, then roll out to a 30 cm (12 inch) square. Spread with the jam, leaving a 2.5 cm (1 inch) border round the edges, then sprinkle the raspberries on top. Brush the border with a little milk, then roll up the pastry. Wrap loosely in nonstick baking paper, twisting the edges together and leaving space for the pudding to rise, then wrap loosely in foil.
Put on a roasting rack set over a large roasting tin, then carefully pour boiling water into the tin but not over the roasting rack (the water must not touch the wrapped pudding). Cover the tin with foil and twist over the edges to seal well. Bake in a preheated oven, 150°C (300°F), Gas Mark 2, for 2 hours until the pudding is well risen. Check once or twice during baking and top up the water level if needed. Transfer the pudding to a chopping board using a clean tea towel. Unwrap and discard the baking paper, cut the roly-poly into thick slices and serve with hot custard.
For spotted dick, warm 3 tablespoons orange juice or rum in a small saucepan. Add 150 g (5 oz) raisins, 1 teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg and leave to soak for 1 hour or longer. Add to the flour mixture just before adding the egg and milk. Shape the dough into a long sausage, wrap in nonstick baking paper and foil and steam in the oven as above. Serve in thick slices with hot custard flavoured with a little extra rum, if liked.