Bundt cakes are presentable. Their mold is their tux. Easily presentable, you could pass them off as a professional, gourmet effort. But I love baking them because there’s really no need of decorating it fancy; a simple glaze or sugar dusting does the trick and they still taste super.
I know a lot of home bakers find it intimidating to bake them because taking it out the pan can be tricky, but fear not: in this post I share easy tips that you can follow before and after baking to ensure perfect results every time. So just follow these steps and get guaranteed professional cakes right in your kitchen.
Step I: Prepare the pan
The first step is to ensure you prepare the pan well. This is to be done before baking, even before you start beating the butter and sugar. Grease the pan properly. Use a pastry brush or spray or a mister and make sure every nook and corner has been well greased. Two areas you need to focus on are the bottom of the pan which has the curves or design and where the tube meets the bottom. This is the Achilles Heel of bundt cakes and the place where it stuck most often. Dust the pan with flour lightly. You could do this by slightly tilting, rotating and tapping it gently to ensure the surface it covered entirely. You don’t want chunks of flour stuck to your pan. Tap out any excess flour. In case you see any area that has been left out, grease and flour leaving every area well covered.
Step 2: After baking
About 2 minutes before your cake is ready to come out the oven, place a kitchen towel in the sink. Pour steaming water until its completely soaked. As soon as your cake is out of the oven place it on top of the towel and let it sit for 10 minutes. Needless to say, let it be facing pan side down.
Rule 3: Unmolding
Now you’re ready to unmold the cake:
Keep a cooling rack or a plate of an appropriate size ready and invert the hot cake onto it. Keep your oven mitts on! The cake will still be too hot to handle with your bare hands.
Yes, it’s that simple. 3 keys steps to keep in mind for the perfect bundt cake. There are some excellent non stick bundt pans available which easily unmold the cake without breaking it. But here’s what to do when you find yourself in a precarious situation.
Troubleshooting:
In case you feel the entire cake will not come out while inverting, hang on. allow the cake to rest for another 10 minutes on the steaming towel.
Use a rubber spatula or plastic knife, frosting spatula to release the cake from the sides.
Another method which is not really recommended but if you hit rockbottom then you can give this a try: Freeze the cake. Once done, take it out and tap gently on the countertop, this should help release it from the pan.
More tips:
I have used cooking sprays in the past but they’re not recommended as they cause the cakes to brown too quickly and leave a residue in the pan after baking.
This is a rule across all cakes, muffins and cupcakes: I know its easier to use the dark, nonstick pans as they release the cakes easily and quicker but they over-brown the cakes too quickly. These are great if you’re baking heavy and dense cakes but the aluminum pans are recommended and better suited for lighter textured cakes.
The cake usually starts pulling away from the sides when its done. Watch for this.
Don’t use any sharp metal objects to help you releasing the cake from the pan as it would damage the non stick surface.
Let the cake cool completely before frosting, glazing or cutting.
To ensure your pan lasts longer, fill the pan with hot soapy water and let it soak for a few minutes. I recommend you handwash it gently and dry throughly.
Are you inspired enough to try out a recipe in your bundt pan?
Banana Rum Cake Blueberry Almond Pound Cake Blueberry Tea Cake | Low Fat Cardamom Tea Cake Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pound Cake Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake Cookies and Cream Pound Cake Mocha Rum Bundt Cake Mocha Walnut Marble Bundt Cake Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake Whole Wheat Honey Pound CakeHappy Baking!
That kitchen towel trick is too cool! And I need it – I’m terrible about having cakes stick. I’ve tried the freezer thing before, but it appears on only work some of the time. Totally agree about the cooking spray – it leaves some ick.
Also, I want that rum cake! :)
Great tips! I always have trouble getting my cakes out. I have a castle pan which I rarely use b/c the cake always gets stuck…will have to use it using your tips! Thx for sharing!
excellent tips.. very nice job on the pictures. you, my friend, are a professional!!!
Great tips, your cakes are beautiful! If I’m baking a chocolate cake then I like to dust the pan with cocoa instead of flour :).
As do I. Thanks Laura! :)
I haven’t used my bundt pan for years. I really want to give it a try.
love this useful, detailed post anu ! i dust flour on baking tins using a sieve , that way every part is covered . find that easier than rotating, tilting etc
That’s a great tip, Shruti. Thanks for sharing.
Bundt loving right here my friend, this has so many great tips :D
Cheers
CCU
Great information! I have not heard of the hot towel one. I’ll have to try it the next time I bake a bundt cake.
Great tips! My experience with non-stick sprays hasn’t been great. I find that they make for a tough crust.
Great information! Your bundt cakes all looks amazing!
Thank you very much for your tips. I’m always scare when I have to unmold a bundt cake, I will follow your recommendations, but I have to confess that I alwys use spray, makes me feel more comfortable.
Awesome tips. I can’t believe I don’t own a bundt pan. How odd…I must go pick one up immediately. Thanks for the reminder. great post!
Great tips! Thanks!
hey,.. this is so helpful.. had no clue about the kitchen towel tip.. thanks a ton!!! :)
I love bundt cakes! Thanks for this great primer :-)
Thank you for these tips, An! I’ve used my bundt pan only once. Thanks for the additional inspiration! Cheers!
Nice tips, I have only mini bundt pan, sure remember these while baking next time.
these tips are great – bundts can be stubborn to get out of their pans, as i know from firsthand experience, so these tips are super helpful!
That chocolate cinnamon cake is making me hungry. These are great tips especially for an amateur baker like me. Thank you and have a great weekend! :)
What a fantastic post! I’m pinning this so I always have these tips handy. As it happens, I just bought my very first bundt pan and have yet to try it so this is perfect timing. Thanks!
Amazing tips … I’m bookmarking :-)
I’ve never used the towel trick! What a marvelous tip! I’ve found that Bakers Secret is a wonderful spray which combines oil and flour.
I love the idea that the mold is the tux. I usually don’t have problems with the large bundt pans, but the mini-bundts are another story. Great ideas!
There are a bunch of those recipes that sound super good. Sometimes my bundt come right out and other ones are trouble. Good to have a set of steps. Hopefully I will never have another trouble.
Great tutorial!
beautiful cake lovely pictures
Now secret revealed! I always thought your bundt cakes are beautiful. And there are even tricks to do it. Thank you for sharing, and I enjoyed reading this post and I have to say everything was new to me… See, there are people like me who don’t have a baking common sense. I butter/spray oil the pan but never that perfectly. I need to change that. And I’ll do that cold towel technique too and hopefully don’t need to freeze! Loved this post! Thanks for sharing your great knowledge!
What a great idea for a post! So many people do struggle with this, so it is definitely helpful! All your cakes looks sooooo pretty:-) Hugs, Terra
Great post! I lost one bundt cake to its tin and I vowed to make sure to prepare the pan much better after that! It’s so annoying when it won’t come out!
Absolutely! It is horrible to lose a cake to a bundt pan, I hope these tips help! :)
My jaws just dropped when I saw this picture.
Some great tips – but I am absolutely blown away by the array of fantastic bundt cakes you have produced. Wow!
Thanks Hester!
You really are the queen of bundt cakes! I always love yours, and I agree, you need to prep that pan well to avoid sticking. Great tips!
Oh stop it C! This coming from the bundt cake girl herself is a big compliment! :)
My bundt pan is sleeping in my pantry, for the same reason of I am not sure how to use it. Tq so much for the tips and the cake is lovely and you are right, no need for any fancy deco on top.
These are some fantastic tips!
I hope you are enjoying your weekend, my friend!!
these are some awesome tips! thanks for this!
GREAT tips from an even better baker! Thanks!
Aww… Thanks K! :)
My mother bought me my first bundt pan and I love it!! I use it all the time because you’re absolutely right… icing/decorating not needed. Thanks for the great tips. Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend. :)
Thanks Ramona! Can’t wait to see how you use it! :)
I love bundt cakes. This is a great post. All those yummy recipes there are dangerous! Have to try some of those out!
love this – thank you! but my question is – what to do about glazing a cake after you unmold it without having a sticky pool in the middle? some people have suggested doing this over a wire rack, but then how do you transfer it to a plate???
I’d recommend the wire rack too. You could transfer it with the help of a big spatula – that’s how I do it. :)
These are all fantastic tips. I have only made a bundt cake once but in the future I will definitely use this as a reference for getting my cake out easily.
Great tips for removing bundt cake!!You’ve got such a great collection of gorgeous bundt cakes in your repertoire :)Will stop by next when I’m in India :)
Great tips. I love bunt cakes, especially the pans with intricate designs, but I always worry they’ll stick and break.
Thanks Tania! I hope these tips help!
Great tips! I’ve had a number of bundt cake fails!
Gorgeous cakes – simply gorgeous. Excellent post. My wife is the baker (though I do it sometimes too), but I know how it’s “supposed” to be done. You’ve taught me a few things. Really good info about the cooking sprays – I’ve been wondering about them, and you’ve confirmed it. Just a really, really nice post. Thank you.
Very interesting and helpful post, now I am ready to get me an aluminium bundt pan:D
Great tricks! Book marking!
I love Bundt cakes and yours look wonderful. Thanks for the great tips.
Cheers,
Rosa
I’ve never heard the towel in the sink trick. Great tips, especially for those of us that don’t bake often. I can use all the help I can get. :)
I never knew that about cooking spray! That totally makes sense too, I just made a banana bread last night (and used cooking spray) and it browned up like crazy, I was too lazy to butter and flour it like I usually do, great post!!
Oooh so helpful!!! I pinned this for future reference :P
What a great post, very helpful indeed!
lovely post, I have a bundt pan and I baked only once when i went for a party, thank God!, it turned out well, I have not made much use of it, as I don’t have anybody eating such a large cake :(, I should remember this page, if i do it again and if i get stuck with removing it, I will run back here to check out all your tips.., great post, thanks for sharing, Inbtw made your oreo muffin which I had book marked haven’t posted it still.., ( only made it eggless ) will post it soon, it turned out beautifully my kids enjoyed it… thank you Anu.
Thanks Jayasri! So glad that the muffins turned out well! I’ll look forward to your post. :)
Great tips!! I have had a few stick to the sides and it was not pretty, bookmarking for the future! thanks
Great tips, always have trouble with it! I wonder if it would work if you placed the pan into an inch of water in the sink, what do you guys reckon? Thanks Baker Street!! Im off to bake an Orange and Cardamom Bundt!
Mmmm.. Cardamom and Orange. What an interesting combination. I’ve never tried doing it with water in the sink but its worth a try.
Great tips and very much appreciated! I have had trouble getting bundt cakes out of the pan. I was beginning to suspect it is my pan. Next time I make one I’m going to skip the non-stick cooking spray and make sure I follow all the other steps you suggest. Thanks!
Never heard of the kitchen towel trick – great post!
Thanks so much!!! I have tried several tricks over the years, that never worked. I just tried this & it came out perfectly!!
Thanks Lori! So glad it worked for you. :)
Thrilled with tips! I’m going to try the steaming towel next time :) Thank you!
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Okay, you are officially killing me with all these cake pictures in one place!!! They look delicious!
I look forward to this technique…Easter is this Sunday and I need to have my bunny pan release the cake so I can frost it and make it look cute, fluffy and eatable. Thank you for your information.
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What wonderful advice! You helped me make a beautiful, beautiful honey citrus cake for my best friend’s birthday!
Thank you so much!
Tank u four this new method of releasing bundt cakes. I sure hope it works.
I see that the post is quite old, but still comment to say that I liked. Thank you very much.