003-Bake a Better Bundt!

UPDATED 2/19/2022!

Like so many others, we love the look of a classic Bundt cake. But, we had some trouble with sticking and breaking. We thought it might be the recipe. After a great chat with a customer service lead at Nordic Ware, we learned some great tips and techniques to get a beautiful Bundt! In our post today, we'll share those tips along with some of our own learnings. We also discovered a few things about the different types of Bundt pans that we'd like to share with you, along with our recommendations.

Here are some great tips and techniques to not break the Bundt!

RECIPE CHOICE

• Even though a Bundt pan will work with just about any cake recipe, if you want a more detailed design, you'll be better off with a denser cake recipe, like a pound cake. Or, use one of the Bundt box mixes--they were created for use in Bundt pans. And they make a larger volume of batter than a typical "box cake" mix. Using 10-12 cups of batter makes your Bundt look better! We have the original Bundt cake mixes in Double Chocolate and Vanilla Bean flavors!

COAT THE PAN, BUT NOT TOO SOON

• You will want to coat the pan RIGHT BEFORE you pour in the batter, we found this to be true through some of our own trial and error!
• We have found that Pam Baking Spray with Flour works the best, which is why we decided to carry it in the store. But, you can use any cooking spray with flour. Hold the pan about 8-10 inches away and spray thoroughly so all the design details have been covered--but don't overspray (you don't want cooking spray puddles
• If you don't have a cooking spray with flour--do not use a regular cooking spray. This was a key learning for us. Regular cooking spray can leave a residue and result in a sticky (and broken) cake
• If you don't have a cooking spray with flour, you can coat the pan with soft butter or shortening and then dust with a layer of flour

FILL THE PAN THE RIGHT WAY

• Pour in your batter to fill the pan no more than 3/4 of the way to the top to prevent overflow once the cake rises
• Gently but firmly tap the pan on your counter to remove air bubbles. This also helps ensure the batter has settled into the design details in the pan.
• Here's the game changer--take a spatula and push a little bit of the batter up the wall of the pan, moving all the way around. This trick pushes the cake to "climb" up the walls of the pan and rise more evenly--and help prevent a hill in the middle of your cake.

COOLING TO PREVENT BREAKING

• A Bundt Cake Thermometer is the perfect tool for letting you know when your cake is ready!
• When the cake is done, take is out of the oven and let it sit for only 10 minutes. We like to sit the pan on a rack for this.
• After ten minutes, loosen the sides if needed (with a tool that doesn't scratch). Then, gently shake the pan to help loosen the cake from the pan.
• Here's the moment you've been waiting for! Put your cooling rack or cake plate over the pan, turn it over and gently lift the pan off the cake. 

It may take a few tries to get it right, but your chances for perfection improve significantly when you follow those steps. 

Now, for the types of pans--Nordic Ware offers Bundt pans in cast aluminum and formed aluminum. What's the difference? Mainly, it has to do with the thickness of the pan (which affects baking time) and the sharpness of the detail.

FORMED ALUMINUM
A formed pan has the design stamped into the pan, which has softer details than the cast pan. It's lighter in weight and thickness, which means less cooking time (about 30 minutes vs. 1 hr for the cast pan). 

CAST ALUMINUM
The cast pan is thicker and needs more baking time, but we've also found that this results in a much more evenly cooked cake. The pan is created by casting melted aluminum into a mold, which creates very defined shapes. Your cake comes out in a beautiful shape with sharp details. 

At Boulevard Baking, we stock the Anniversary Bundt pan (pictured above) and the Original Pro-Cast Bundt because we really prefer cast aluminum pans. The Anniversary Bundt has handles (YAY!) and a lifetime warranty. It comes in a gorgeous gold color with a silicon-based non-stick surface. You'll love baking with this Bundt!

Looking for more Bundt items? We also have the swirled design Heritage Bundt pan and the GEO Bundtlette pan, which makes 6 cupcake-sized mini-bundt cakes in really cool geometric patterns.

You'll also want to check these out:

• Bundt Cake Keeper ~ Cake Stand: This Tiffany-blue stand and cover is shaped for a Bundt cake and is the perfect way to display masterpiece!
• Ultimate Bundt Cleaning Tool ~ Brush: Designed specifically to safely clean your Bundt pans!