For the past six months, I’ve had a love affair with my new Bundt pan.
I love baking Bundt cakes! It might be a form of baking laziness on my part, partly because the cake is made in a single pan, and it’s not normally frosted but rather usually either iced, glazed, dusted with confectioners’ sugar, or served just plain.
I’ve researched and discovered some absolutely tasty and beautiful Bundt cake recipes. Not only have I baked delicious cakes with the pans, but I’ve also used one of my Bundt pans to roast a chicken. That recipe for roasting a whole chicken in a Bundt pan keeps on giving because not only do you get a roasted chicken with perfectly crisp skin, but you can make chicken pot pie, chicken salad, and a really rich chicken noodle casserole with the leftover meat.
I’ve been making Bundt cakes for several years now, but it wasn’t until I discovered Nordic Ware Bundts that I suddenly became a huge fan of them and a bit obsessed. I’ve even handed down my obsession by buying these pans for my three sisters, my aunt Gloria and just recently for my 14-year-old niece Taylor.
The Bundt pan that we know today was created by the founder of Nordic Ware, Dave Dalquist and his wife Dotty in the 1950’s for the Minneapolis-based Hadassah Society (a group for Jewish women), which wanted to create a traditional kugelhopf, a dense, ring shaped cake. It was originally called a “bund” pan, which was the German word that translates to bond or alliance. The word “bund” was also a nod to how the cakes were often served to a group. The cake is also tied to the need for German immigrants to have a Kaffee Klatsch, like the ones that they had at home.
There are two theories as to why Dave Dalquist decided to add a “t” to the word ‘bund.” One theory was that he wanted to make the pan their own before trade marketing and patenting it (just in case). The second theory was that he wanted to put some distance between the name of his product and the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi group. I personally think that it was strictly for trade marketing purposes.
Initially, there was very little public interest or demand for the distinctly shaped aluminum pans. Fast forward to 1966, when the production for the pans blew up and that was thanks to a Bundt Cake recipe placing second in the 17th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off. It was a gooey, chocolate cake called “The Tunnel of Fudge Cake”. That cake recipe inspired women around the country to try making their own Bundt Cakes. I’m thinking it also inspired a few men as well, and several years later, me being one of them.
It’s guessed that today there are more than 70 million households that have a Bundt Pan. If you count the ones that I own, that number skyrockets to 70,000,005.
My favorite thing about baking cakes in a Bundt Pan is the fact that the batter is placed in a single pan, baked and then once released, you have a beautiful cake with fluted edges. Typically, the recipes that are used to make Bundt cakes are pound, sponge or butter cake. Almost all Bundt pans have a hole in the center and normally come in three sizes, either 6 cups, 9 cups or 12 cups.
My favorite methods to grease a Bundt pan are using a non-stick vegetable oil spray or using a pastry brush to apply melted shortening to every crevice as well as the center tube. I love that little bit of butter flavor that’s added to the cake if you grease your pan like that. The only problem with that method is that the milk solids in butter can act like glue, making the cake batter stick to the pan. But if you’ve always buttered and floured your pan, and there has never been a problem, you can continue doing so. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
One thing I’d like to caution you on. Be sure to only fill up your Bundt pan three quarters of the way full. Sometimes the recipe will yield more batter than necessary. When that occurs, don’t do what I did just recently. I went just a tiny bit over 3/4’s of the way full and ended up having cake batter spilling out of the pan and onto the sheet pan I placed underneath. Good thing I put the Bundt pan on top of a sheet pan, otherwise there would have been cake batter all over the bottom of my oven. After learning that lesson, I realized that with the small amount of batter that is left, you can put it in a muffin tin and now you’ve got a few cupcakes to go along with your Bundt cake.
One of my favorite cakes is made with the Nordic Ware Fleur De Lis Bundt pan: the Chocoflan Cake, sometimes referred to as the Magical Mexican Chocolate Flan Cake or the Impossible Chocolate Cake. It’s a layer of dense rich chocolate cake on the bottom and a layer of luscious creamy flan on top. What’s not to love about that?
Then I discovered the Heritage Bundt Pan! One of my favorite things about the pan is its design. It has a classic swirl design and ridges that gives the Bundt Cake a simple and timeless elegance. The first time I baked a cake with it, I was so nervous about whether the cake was going to release from the pan easily. So far, I’ve made five cakes using it and each and every one has released from the pan perfectly.
The first cake I made using the Heritage pan was a lemon pistachio cake topped with a lemon glaze, and a lemon icing. It contained a combination of all-purpose flour and finely ground pistachios, which gave the cake a wonderful crumb and a bit of texture with every bite. The cake not only had that crunchy texture itself, but the crunch carried through with the toasted chopped pistachios that garnished the cake. This cake was definitely elegant!
I recently made a Spiced Chocolate Bundt Cake topped with a chocolate ganache as well as sprinkles of Maldon sea salt and espresso salt. This was the perfect dessert for our friends who were celebrating their anniversary. They really appreciate and love the combination of chocolate and crunchy salt, the hint of cayenne pepper was an added flavor point.
I've also had success with a Rum Pecan Bundt Cake with a cream cheese, caramel and vanilla glaze, topped with toasted pecans.
This last Bundt cake was one that I’ve been wanting to make for a few months now. I decided what better time to make it than for this blog and to also include the recipe for you? It’s an Amaretto Almond Bundt Cake with a confectioner’s sugar, heavy cream and almond extract glaze, topped with toasted sliced almonds as a garnish. This is another cake that had texture from ground nuts as well as from the addition of almond flour. This was all enhanced by the crunch from the toasted sliced almonds that were used to garnish the cake. The cake has tons of almond flavor, not only from the Amaretto liqueur and the almond flour, but also from the almond extract that’s used in not only the cake, but also in the glaze, and that flavor carried through with the toasted sliced almonds that garnish the cake.
Amaretto Almond Bundt Cake
For the cake:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour, almond meal, or finely ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons almond flavored liqueur, such as Amaretto, (I suggest not skimping on this and using Amaretto. You never know when other opportunities might come up for its use, plus it’s a great after dinner liqueur.)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup milk
For the glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon of almond extract
- Sliced almonds for garnish, (I ended up using a little over a 1/4 cup)
For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously grease a 10 or 12-cup Bundt pan (I most always generously spray my pan with a non-stick vegetable oil spray).
2. Whisk together the flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Using an electric hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the Amaretto liqueur, vanilla extract and almond extract.
4. Reduce mixer to low speed. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the milk, once incorporated, add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the last 1/2 cup of milk, next add the last 1/3 of the flour mixture and only mix until combined. If the batter isn’t fully incorporated, using a spatula, gently stir the ingredients together until fully combined. Over mixing cake batter can form elastic gluten strands which could lead to a dense cake with a chewy texture, perfect for cookies, but not for delicate cakes.
5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, 3/4’s of the way full, being careful not to overfill the pan. Spread the batter evenly.
6. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, rotating the cake halfway into the baking process. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I use baking temperature sticks that help you check to make sure that the cake is baked completely, which is one of my new favorite baking tools.
7. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes.
8. Then, flip the cake onto a serving plate to continue cooling.
For the glaze:
1. Whisk together the confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons of cream to start with, and the almond extract.
2. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle on the cake, add more cream, about a teaspoonful at a time, until the glaze is the desired consistency. The glaze should be thick, but pourable.
3. Once the cake has cooled down, drizzle the glaze over the cake. Finish by garnishing the cake with the sliced almonds.
Now it’s time to consider having a dinner party because for dessert you now have a beautiful, elegant Bundt cake to show off to all your friends. And remember that leftover Amaretto? That would be perfect in a cordial glass, to serve along with the dessert, or even a splash of it in a cup of coffee.
If you want to improve your baking skills, join us at The Chopping Block for one of these upcoming classes:
- Macaron Workshop Sunday, July 7 10:30am Merchandise Mart
- Cupcake Boot Camp Saturday, July 13 10am Lincoln Square
- Donut Boot Camp Sunday, July 21 10:30am Merchandise Mart
- Fabulous French Pastries Sunday, July 28 10:30am Merchandise Mart
- Pie and Tart Boot Camp Saturday, August 6 10am Lincoln Square
