How Much Boiling Water Do I Need To Cook The Chocolate Steamed Sponge?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Pudding For Christmas Pudding Haters With Hot Chocolate Sauce (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) is a steamed chocolate sponge that is served with a ganache-style sauce.

When steaming puddings there are different ways you can do it. There are steamer pots (and electronic steamers), which have racks or inserts that sit over a pan of boiling water. Electronic versions may specify an amount of water to use but ones that sit on a stove don't normally dictate amounts. If you don't have these types of steamers then you can put the basin or bowl in the bottom of a large, deep saucepan and put in enough water to come one third to halfway (and no more than halfway) up the sides of the basin. It can be helpful to put a heatproof trivet or an old folded-up tea towel underneath the basin, so that the basin is not in direct contact with the bottom of the saucepan. Whichever way you decide to use to cook the pudding, do check the water levels regularly once the water starts simmering as you do not want the water to boil completely away. If necessary, top up the water with hot water from a freshly-boiled kettle.