Baking with Bundt® Pans

Even thought they’ve been around for almost 60 years, it’s only been in the last few years that Bundt® cakes have become very popular. I think it’s due in part to all of the pretty molded pans they make now. Also today’s society prefers to do things easier. Bundt® cakes afford that possibility by being self-decorating cakes. I’m also sure their popularity increased even further when a Bundt® cake was featured in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In the movie, the groom-to-be’s mother brought a Bundt® cake over to their soon-to-be in-laws home. There were a couple of very funny scenes involving that cake. Being Greek, the bride-to-be’s family didn’t know what a Bundt® cake was. Her mother kept trying to call it a “Bunk” cake. The mother of the bride-to-be didn’t understand why the cake had a whole in the middle either. She ended up serving it with a potted flower in the middle. Hilarious.

Among my friends, I think we’re starting to obtain a large collection of Bundt® cake pans. I have 2 of the Classic 12-cup Bundt® pans, the Festival Party Bundt Pan, the six- 1cup Bundtlette Pan, the Rose-shaped pan and my husband gave me the Wreath Pan (a Williams-Sonoma exclusive) for Christmas. The next NordicWare® item I want is the 12-1/2 inch cake keeper. I’m also contemplating a way to hang the pans in my kitchen. They’ve gotten so pretty, it’s a shame to hide them.

I’ve gotten several emails, and several people have posted in the forum, looking for directions for their Bundt® pans. Apparently, they bought pans without directions or they lost the ones they had. Anyway, here are some of the official NordicWare® directions as well as some of my own.

Pan Capacity:

The original classic Bundt® cake pan holds 12-cups of batter, which is the perfect two-cake cake mix size. There’s also a 6-cup classic. The Wreath pan holds 6-cups as well. The Festival pan holds 9 cups. The Rose, Sunflower, Star, Fleur De Lis, Bavarian Pan and the Fancy Loaf Pan hold 10 cups each. The Bundtlette Pan and the Mini-Bundt makes six 1-cup small cakes. Your pan not listed? Just fill the pan with cups of water. The total cups of water will be the same as your batter capacity.

Preparing:

I have the best luck by preparing my pans by using a pastry brush to brush on the solid shortening (use butter-flavored for more flavor). I then dust with flour. Make sure all areas are covered especially the center cone. Instead of flour, you could use a little of your dry cake mix or for chocolate cakes you can use cocoa powder. Using sugar instead of flour will make the cake glisten.

Baking Tips:

Only fill the pans 2/3 full. Baking and cooling times vary according to batter density. I’ve seen recipes for the 12-cup pans to bake anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour. Bundt-lette Pans bake from 15 to 35 minutes. Bundt muffin pans 12-20 minutes. Some recipes say cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Others may say cool cake completely in pan. It all depends on your recipe.

Leftover Batter:

When I use my Rose pan, I bake the remaining batter in a 3 x 5 loaf pan. If you only have one 6-cup pan, put half of the batter in the refrigerator. Allow the batter to come to room temperature and use it when the pan is empty and cool.

Cleaning:

After the pan is cool, I use a dry paper towel to wipe out access flour and shortening. I always hand wash my pans.