Mermaid Bakeware Pudding Sleeve and a Jam Roly Poly

There’s nothing quite like the smell of something sweet drifting from the oven to lift your spirits on a chilly winters day, or so it seems this year a chilly summers day.

A steamed pudding transports me back to childhood as I'm sure it does for many of us.

Now I feel old fashioned mentioning Jam Roly Poly and Spotted Dick (You there stop sniggering!)

I'm going to go even further back now with a review of the Mermaid Pudding Sleeve but first a tale.

Before I start here's Jo's history lesson again!!

In my search for a recipe I discovered that  Jam Roly-Poly dates back to Victorian times. The term roly-poly is British slang for anything round

Whats interesting is how the pudding was cooked It was also known as shirt-sleeve pudding, as it was often cooked in an old shirt-sleeve, this would be for poorer houses who maybe could not afford for a piece of muslin to be used on a pudding, I am hoping the poor man of the house had finished with the shirt, I will be looking at pictures from that era to see if I can spot any wardrobe malfunctions.
 Perhaps rather more gruesome, another nickname for the pudding was dead-man’s arm, so maybe the man had finished with the shirt!! ......shudders.

To make you feel all warm again, I made a Jam Roly Poly in my new Mermaid Pudding Sleeve,I was rather impressed by the design and worried it would all leak out.

Jam Roly Poly

200g self-raising flour
100g shredded suet
½ level teaspoon baking powder
6 tbsp cold water
4 tablespoons strawberry jam

I add the flour, suet and baking powder to a large mixing bowl, stirred and then slowly added the water starting with 3 spoons as the suet gets quite sticky easily. I use my hands to blend  you can feel whats happening to the consistency far better.
Continue to add the water if needed.

Knead the dough for a few minutes and then turn out onto a floured board.
Roll out into a rectangle shape I used the pudding sleeve as a guide for the with and then the length was about 30 cm.

Spread the jam onto the dough leaving a gap around the edges,I used about 4 heaped dessertspoons

Lift the dough up, rolling carefully so as not too squeeze the jam out.
I used a tiny amount of water to seal the end.
Then lift into the pudding sleeve and close the lid and tighten the catch.

Place in a pan big enough to fit I used my large saucepan of a standard set of three and it fit with enough room to be able to top the water.

Pour on boiling water to come halfway up the bottom section and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Add more water as needed.

When its finished, I had difficulty lifting the sleeve from the pan, so I poured the water out and the pudding was still dry inside.

I couldn't wait to open it.

I was so impressed it had risen perfectly.

Now as they say the proof is in the pudding.

I think this is an ideal way to cook a jam roly poly, or indeed any steamed pudding, I will be using again. It was perfectly cooked completely protected by the Mermaid Pudding sleeve and very moist and sweet.

Steamed puddings have  always been an easy dish to prepare but having to steam with greaseproof or cloth and using string to hold up has been a faff.
This makes this an easy dish to make and now cook.
The pudding sleeve was easily washed up after too in soapy water.
I love it!!

Made from hard anodised aluminium, Mermaid’s pudding sleeve has unbeatable heat distribution properties, preventing hot spots and making for perfect light and well-balanced puds the whole family will enjoy.

Cleaning Mermaid’s pudding sleeve is so easy you don’t even need to think about using the dishwasher. All you need to do is soak in hot, soapy water and for molten hot jam or other stubborn leftovers use a ScotchBrite® or similar scourer.

Price £17.99 Stockist John Lewis and Amazon

Providing hard anodised solutions for every baking need, Mermaid Bakeware has been used by professional chefs and home cooks alike since 1953 and is part of one of the largest British bakeware manufacturers and distributers in the UK.