Spotted dick is a British steamed suet pudding containing raisins or currants and traditionally served with custard.
The “spots” are the dried fruits distributed through the pudding. The word “dick” is an old dialect term related to pudding, and historical spellings and names include spotted dog. This explains why the dessert’s name can seem unusual to modern readers.
Traditional recipes use flour, suet, sugar, and dried fruit, with milk or water forming the mixture. The pudding is steamed until firm and moist, then served hot, commonly with custard or a sweet sauce.
Spotted dick differs from jam roly-poly, another British suet pudding. Jam roly-poly is rolled around jam, while spotted dick contains dried fruit throughout its dough and is generally shaped as a pudding rather than a filled roll.