Can I Use Honey Instead Of Golden Syrup For The Chocolate Pudding For Christmas Pudding Haters?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Pudding For Christmas Pudding Haters With Hot Chocolate sauce (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) is a steamed sponge pudding that makes a good alternative to the traditional Christmas Pudding. The sponge is served with a hot chocolate sauce made with a mixture of milk and dark chocolate and cream.

The sauce is sweetened with golden syrup and the syrup also gives the sauce a glossy sheen. Golden syrup is sweet, but without any pronounced flavour of its own. The main problem with using honey in a recipe is that honey has a fairly strong flavour, (even milder honeys), that is more prominent when the honey is warm. So although you could use honey in the sauce, it will more likely taste like a honey sauce than a chocolate sauce. If golden syrup is not an option then our preference, if possible, would be to use a syrup with a more neutral flavour, such as agave nectar. In the US cane syrup would be another alternative, since it has a less pronounced flavour than some other syrups.