Maybe she just popped it in after they took the plates out?

A second thought: maybe she had an Aga (hey, why not!) and the plates were in one oven, the roll in another.

I was just guessing something similar myself — it would have to be a wood-fired cooker, naturally, and it could very easily have more than one oven. Probably there was one that was well heated to bake the roll, and the one where they put the plates was only warm but not burning hot.

Does the marmalade roll have something like orange marmalade jam on it?  I actually like marmalade jam, although I know of someone who said they refuse to eat it because it is made from orange peelings. I think it has kind of a nice taste and have no problem with it.  I guess there were oranges in Narnia or something like them.  🙂

@Narnian78 A jam roll or a marmalade roll is basically a sponge cake spread with jam or marmalade (which is jam made with a citrus fruit) and rolled up.

The illustration by Pauline Baynes does show two ovens, one on each side of ?the fire.

Posted by: @narnian78

Does the marmalade role have something like orange marmalade jam on it?  I actually like marmalade jam, although I know of someone who said they refuse to eat it because it is made from orange peelings. I think it has kind of a nice taste and have no problem with it.  I guess there were oranges in Narnia or something like them.  🙂

I have a copy of The Narnia Cookbook by Douglas Gresham, who is as good an authority on Narnia as any (I think we can all agree!), and it unsurprisingly has a recipe for a marmalade roll. As @coracle says, it's basically a flat sponge cake spread with orange marmalade and rolled up into a log. (I've never heard the term "marmalade jam", by the way — here in the UK it's just called marmalade, and unless it's specified to be some other variety, like lemon marmalade or even ginger marmalade, the term is always taken to mean orange marmalade.)

I usually find it a bit too bitter for me if it's just served straight up on toast, but I like it as a flavouring in something that's otherwise sweet, like, well, this marmalade roll recipe, which I really must try baking some day. Here's what Douglas Gresham has to say about it in the book — there's an interesting snippet of info as to where oranges in Narnia come from:

This is a lovely dessert (called a pudding in England) for a cold winter's day, though of course you can eat it at any time, and it is a great favourite of the Dwarf folk. The Calormenes grow oranges, so they are available in Narnia for marmalade, but you can use other preserves, like strawberry jam, just to vary the flavour. This is very nice when served with a sweet cornstarch sauce or with custard.

Now of course one of the best-known plot holes in LWW — Lewis himself had friends confronting him with this one soon after the book was published, and he had no answer — is how on earth the Narnians got hold of fresh foods when the whole land had been in perpetual winter for 100 years. That includes, of course, wheat for the flour for the marmalade roll and indeed Mr Tumnus's toast and his sugar-topped cake, and beets or cane for the sugar, and the potatoes that Mrs Beaver serves, and the oranges for the marmalade in the roll... especially since oranges (and sugar cane) need a hot climate to grow and would have to be imported from Calormen, as Gresham says, and Narnia in the 100-year winter was apparently cut off from all neighbouring countries (none of which Lewis had invented at the time he was writing that first story, in any case.)

So basically, the much deeper mystery is "How did Mrs Beaver get all the ingredients for the marmalade roll in the first place?", but the lack of credible answers to that question has never spoiled my enjoyment of the story!  

@courtenay 

In German the word for jam is 'marmalade' (which amused us when learning German at school). English has specialised it to mean just citrus-based ones. 

@courtenay 

I wonder if it makes a difference where the oranges come from to make the marmalade. Here in Michigan the oranges usually come from Florida, where they can be grown, and they are usually very sweet.  So I guess that is why the marmalade here is rather sweet too (I don’t remember that it was ever bitter). I don’t think I ever ate marmalade roll.  I always ate marmalade on toast, which is the way it is usually served here in America. I really like it, but then I like many kinds of jam (especially blackberry).  🙂

@coracle Very true, and the same in Spanish. I work with a Spanish guy whose English isn't brilliant, and when setting a breakfast tray for a care home resident, he read "marmalade" on her menu and placed a portion of blackcurrant jam on the tray. I had to explain to him what marmalade is to English speakers, and he explained to me that all jam is "marmalade" where he comes from!  

@narnian78 I think the sweetness of marmalade depends on how much sugar is added, and also on how much of the peel they use from the oranges. Traditional coarse-cut marmalade has big chunks of peel in it and is usually the most bitter, while Golden Shred — a popular British brand that's always been marketed more towards children — has only fine shreds of peel and is sweeter. There's a completely smooth version that's sweeter still, called Golden Shredless! I don't know if the sugar content of each is different as well, since I don't have any jars on hand to compare (I don't eat marmalade very often), but I would guess it probably is. 

@coracle 

I don’t remember encountering the word marmalade when I took German in college so many years ago, but it may be pronounced differently than in English.  I think sometimes it is called marmalade jam here in the U. S., which is why I referred to it by that name.  On the jars from the grocery store it is usually labeled as marmalade, whereas other jams are usually called strawberry jam, blackberry jam, or something like that.  I don’t have a problem with marmalade coming from orange peelings, although some people have issues with the fruit being sprayed, but that is done with most fruit (even fruit considered safe to eat). I guess marmalade roll would not be heart healthy, but maybe people (or talking animals) in Narnia don’t have heart issues.  Aslan might allow parties and celebrations where everyone can eat and drink but not excessively, although he did allow Bacchus to appear. 🙂

I believe jam roll is also called jam roly poly and it (as well as marmalade roll) contains beef suet in the recipe. So it's a bit heavier than normal sponge.