Spotted dick

Half-fill a large, wide saucepan or flameproof casserole with water and bring to the boil. Sift the self-raising flour and the ground cinnamon into a large mixing bowl, then stir in the suet, caster sugar and currants. Add the milk and mix to a firm dough, kneading lightly to bring the dough together.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle about 28 cm long and 23 cm wide, or about 2–3 cm narrower than your saucepan or casserole. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the dough, roll it up from a short end, like a Swiss roll, and press the join firmly to seal.

Fold a large, thick tea towel or cloth, about 76 x 30 cm, in half widthways and spread evenly all over with the lard. Sift the plain flour evenly over the lard. Place the suet roll on the prepared tea towel or cloth, about 5 cm from one of the short ends, and roll it up loosely, allowing room for the pudding to expand during cooking. Gather each end of the tea towel or cloth and tie securely with string. Make a loop in the string at one end. Put the pudding in the saucepan or casserole and boil gently for 2 hours, replenishing the cooking water with more boiling water during cooking, as necessary.

When the pudding is cooked, carefully remove it from the saucepan or casserole by inserting a large fork through the string loop. Put on a board and unwrap immediately. Place the pudding on a heated serving plate, cut into slices and serve with hot custard.