The Bundt™ pan was invented by H. David Dalquist in 1950, and remains a registered trademark of his company Nordic Ware, which has sold over 50 million of these popular cake pans. The Minneapolis Hadassah Society Chapter in particular requested Dalquist’s help to design a simple pan for the German coffee cake called Kugelhoph, which was then popular in the US.
Up until Dalquist’s design, pans for the German coffee cake were extremely challenging to work with, since the cake could easily stick to the inside of the ridged pan. Dalquist set to work designing a lightweight pan from aluminum, resulting in the modern Bundt pan. Later designs added to the appeal by including non-stick coating.
Cooks can find some modern varieties of the Bundt pan with extra designs, like a square castle shape. Cupcake pans with this design are also popular. For young sports fans, cooks can consider a stadium rectangular pan, which can be decorated with marzipan soccer or footballs and even sugar grass.
The interior of the Bundt pan has small curves or folds so that, when the cake is turned out, it is in the shape of a pretty ring with raised curves. Many recipes and a variety of cake mixes have been created specifically for the pan shape. Despite the improved Dalquist design, if the pan is not prepared properly and the cake cooked correctly, it can stick, leaving half of the cake still left in the pan.
There are a few ways to address this. First, cooks should make sure that the cake is thoroughly cooked. An undercooked cake will often break when the baker attempts to remove it from the pan. Second, the baker should either grease the pan thoroughly, paying particular attention to the small grooves, or alternately use a pan with a non-stick coating.
The folds in the pan are an excellent way to keep portion sizes regular. In fact, Dalquist designed the folds for easy portioning and cutting. Of course, some cakes may have frosting or glaze that somewhat disguise the regular rise and fall of the Bundt cake.
Since the Bundt pan is so widely popular, it has won several honors and distinctions. National Bundt Pan Day in the US is on 15 November, and people can celebrate by making a delicious round cake. Additionally, interested cooks can see some of the early pan designs at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C..