A bundt cake can be any cake that is baked in a Bundt pan, forming it into a distinctive ring shape. The shape of the Bundt pan was originally inspired by the traditional European fruit cake known as Gugelhupf. It was in the 1950s and 1960s that the style of mold was popularized after cookware manufacturer Nordic Ware trademarked the name “Bundt” and started producing Bundt pans made from cast aluminum. There are similar pans that are sold as “fluted tube pans” or other similar names.
Due to the difficulty frosting a ring shaped cake, bundt cakes are typically served undecorated, glazed or dusted with powdered sugar.
In the beginning, the Bundt pan did not sell well and Nordic Ware considered discontinuing it. Then in the 1963 New Good Housekeeping Cookbook, the Bundt pan was mentioned and sales increased. In 1966, sales really increased when a Bundt cake called the “Tunnel of Fudge”, baked by Ella Helfrich, took second place at the annual Pillsbury Bake-Off and she was awarded a $5,000.00 prize. The publicity from the Bake-Off resulted in more than 200,000 Bundt pan requests.
Nordic Ware has sold more than 60 million Bundt pans across North America.
OBSERVE
Get out your Bundt Pan and make a cake. Use #NationalBundtDay to post on social media.
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