Baking & Pastry

Bundt Pan

Fluted ring mold for showstopping cakes with a center hole

A fluted ring mold that bakes tall, sculpted cakes with a hollow center for even cooking. The decorative ridges mean a dusting of sugar is often all the finish you need. Grease every crevice thoroughly so the cake drops out clean.

The Bundt pan is a fluted ring mold that turns an ordinary batter into a sculpted, dramatic cake. Its defining feature is the central tube: by removing the cake's dense middle, it lets heat reach the center so a large, rich cake bakes through evenly without a gummy core. The decorative ridges and curves mean the cake emerges looking finished — a dusting of powdered sugar or a simple glaze drizzled into the grooves is often all it needs. Cast aluminum is the standard, prized for even heat and crisp detail. The one real challenge is release: those beautiful crevices grip cake, so thorough greasing of every nook is the difference between a showpiece and a wreckage.

Types & varieties

Classic fluted (cast aluminum)

Even heat and the crispest, most defined pattern.

Intricate/sculpted designs

Elaborate molds (castle, rose, swirl) — stunning but hardest to release.

Mini Bundtlette pan

Multiple small ring cavities for individual cakes.

Silicone Bundt

Flexes for easy release but bakes softer crusts; support on a tray.

Releasing it cleanly

The cardinal sin of Bundt baking is a cake that sticks in the crevices and tears apart on unmolding. Grease every surface obsessively — a pastry brush of melted butter or shortening worked into every flute, then a dusting of flour (or sugar for a crisp shell), tapping out the excess. Baking spray with flour works well too. After baking, let the cake cool in the pan about 10–15 minutes — not longer, or it sticks as it sets — then invert onto a rack.

Brush soft butter or shortening into every groove, then flour and tap out excess
Cool 10–15 minutes, then invert — too long in the pan and it sticks
Avoid greasing with butter alone on intricate pans; flour or spray gives surer release

What bakes well in it

Sturdy, sculptural batters work best — pound cakes, coffee cakes, and dense bundts that hold the pattern and unmold in one piece. Very light, airy batters (like a true sponge or angel food) can be too delicate to release cleanly from the flutes. Fill the pan no more than two-thirds to leave room for rise without overflowing the central tube.

Common uses

Pound cakes and butter cakesCoffee cakes and cinnamon swirlsMonkey bread and pull-apart breadsGelatin and ice-cream ring moldsSavory rings of risotto or riceIndividual cakes in mini pans

Tips & pitfalls

Fill only two-thirds full so the batter doesn't spill over the center tube
The flutes are self-decorating — a dusting of powdered sugar is often enough
Pour glaze while the cake is barely warm so it sinks into the grooves and sets
Don't pry a stuck cake — let it sit, then tap the inverted pan firmly to free it