Hot Water Bath

Culinary definition for hot water bath:  A pan or dish of hot water in which smaller dishes of puddings etc are placed during baking.

C@H FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Bathed dishes are never immersed completely in the water, nor does the water ever come in contact with dish contents.  

Rather, already hot water is placed into an ovenproof dish, into which one or more smaller dishes (generally pudding cups or ramekins as with the creme caramel shown here) containing food have already been placed - the hot water reaching halfway or less up the side of the immersed dishes. 

Ideally, you can pour hot water directly from a kettle into the pan while it is in the oven, though that's not always possible.  The bath water is hot but not boiling, and the intention is that the smaller dish contents cook/bake gently without burning or curdling, and also that steam created by the hot water bath, contributes to the process and ensures a soft creamy texture and top coat.  Old-fashioned Christmas puddings, cheesecakes, custards, and  pâté are examples of foods sometimes cooked in hot water baths.

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