Roly Poly Pudding

I think I need to go to England. On second thought, I wonder if a quick trip to Victoria B.C. might help. It would be nice to know when I get things right...or close to right.

I found a recipe for Jam Roly Poly Pudding on RecipeZaar. I looked all around town for suet, but alas, I couldn't find a grocery store in town that carries raw beef fat. Go figure. I substituted one cube of shredded butter (frozen first) for the shredded suet.

Suet Pastry

8 oz. self raising flour (about 1 1/2 cups)

4 ounces shredded suet or grated frozen butter (I kept it in the freezer until I needed it)

salt (I didn't add any - the self-rising flour already has some)

cold water, to mix (umm....I wish the recipe gave an approximate amount...I used over 1/2 a cup)

Filling

1/3 cup jam (I used more of my homemade blackberry, but raspberry would be good too)

Preheat oven to 400'. Grease and or line a 9x13 pan (or a cookie sheet).

In a large bowl, mix the flour and shredded butter (or suet) together. I did this a little at a time, using a fork. Add sufficient cold water to make a pliable dough. Pliable dough? That seems fairly non-specific to me. I added just enough water so that the dough all held together. I was still using the fork - if I had been using my mixer I probably would have used less water - but the dough might have been tougher. Turn the dough out onto a flour surface and knead gently. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle of about 10x8 inches. Spread the surface of the dough with the jam, to within 1 inch of the border. Moisten the edges of the pastry with some water, and roll it up loosely like a Swiss Roll, starting at the narrow end. Seal the edges firmly and gently lift onto baking pan (I used a spatula to help with one end). Make sure the join is underneath the Roly Poly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

Serve hot, cut into slices, with custard.

While the Roly Poly was cooking, I made the custard to go with it. British custard is not quite the same as American. The basic technique is exactly like cooking pudding on top of the stove (homemade pudding, not box mix). The ingredients are very similar too...so I was thinking it would just be the same as pudding. It's not. I loved the custard. It did have a pudding-like consistency, but it was much lighter and less sweet. It definitely had a light custard flavor. I used the recipe straight from RecipeZaar - no substitutions. Here it is:

Custard

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tablespoon sugar

3 egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. When the cornstarch is dissolved, slowly add the rest of the milk and sugar, cook over moderate heat until the sauce starts to thicken and comes to a boil.
3. Remove from heat.
4. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with a fork.
5. Take a cup of the sauce and slowly add to the eggs, beating briskly as you pour.
6. Return the egg/sauce mixture to the saucepan, stirring into the hot sauce.
7. Bring back to a boil, stirring constantly.
8. Remove from heat, and vanilla.
9. Pour custard into a jug or pitcher and serve.

What was it like? The pastry dough was like a thick, flaky, buttery pie crust - spread with jam. The custard was a nice accompaniment - it added a little necessary moistness. I guess I should admit at this point that I goofed a little when making this...I added two tablespoons of cornstarch - which is probably why my custard had a more pudding-like consistency. Which we liked - and I would totally do again.

Verdict: The four of us polished it off. I asked Alex what he thought of it...it was a little better than fine. Danny liked it. Steve liked it. I liked it. Would I make it again? Sure, with some slight revisions. It really was a simple dessert to make - I wouldn't make it again if it wasn't. I would probably brush the top of the rolled up pastry with milk or maybe an egg wash. I might dust it with powdered sugar before adding the custard. If I didn't want to make custard from scratch, I would maybe use vanilla pudding.