All About That Bundt, 'Bout That Bundt
Although there's rarely a time when I'm not unnaturally interested in Bundt cakes, my love for this effortless, humble comfort food has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks. Maybe it's the comedown from the flurry of fussy, frosted, and sprinkled holiday baking, or maybe, too, it's because we signed off on the final-final edits for Real Sweet just a few weeks back and I'm no longer (technically) allowed to obsess over the recipes in that book (although there's a lovely Bundt coming your way in those pages, too). At any rate, the no-frills, no-frosting-required beauty of a Bundt has been high on the list of things that excite me these days. (I know, you should see when I really get down to party. Woot, woot!)
I have a new Bundt recipe from a baking legend coming for you very soon, but in the meantime, if you Like Big Bundts and You Cannot Lie, I thought maybe the following might be as inspiring for you as it is for me.
♥ Take, for example, this recipe from Lottie + Doof. It's everything a Bundt should be--simple, beautiful, and resourceful when it comes to using up that bunch of bananas that you never got around to eating. But that's only the beginning.
♥ There's also my favorite Bundt cake in this whole wide world (in progress, pictured above), that is my go-to when I need to decompress, both through the act of baking, and inserting cake in my face.
♥ My beloved Baked Boys are also Bundt activists, which is only one reason why I love them so. You can find an aBUNDTance (sorry/not sorry) of inspo on Matt's perfect blog. Also, I owe them my firstborn for helping to propel the Twinkie Bundt Cake from Pure Vanilla to internet greatness.
♥ Is there any sweet lady who does the Bundt up right better than Dorie Greenspan? I still love her Double Apple Bundt Cake--so perfect, so pretty, with the kind of drippy, glossy, snow-white confectioners' sugar glaze that makes you wonder why people make such a fuss about precious, buttercreamed layer cakes (although truth be told, I'll never turn one of those down, either.)
♥ This is a nifty little list of tips for the Bundting success, but I'd also like to add some knowledge dropped by Bundt goddess The Food Librarian--if you normally like to place your cake pans on a baking sheet in the oven, don't do this with a Bundt or tube pan--the cake needs air circulation through the hollow core of the pan to bake evenly.
♥ Because I am a food history nerd, I found this tidbit about National Bundt Day particularly fun. Of course there are so many PR-driven National "Insert-Dessert-Here" Days now that I can barely keep up, but for the Bundt, I think I can be troubled to mark it down on my calendar.
♥ Of course, a Bundt is not a Bundt without the right pan. Without it, we'd just have miles of sheet cakes--not a world I'd like to imagine. This Nordic Ware pan is my workhorse, while this one and this one (it's a beebee!) are on my wish list. I might have taken to scanning eBay and Etsy lately for vintage specimens. I might have a problem.
♥ THIS BUNDT PAN COLLECTION, THO.
♥ In further celebration of the glorious Bundt pan, can you even stand these geniuses who have actually decorated with Bundt pans, like the happy-happy image from Aesthetic Outburst above?
♥ Related: This post from Pure and Noble just basically blew my mind. Pin, pin, pin!!
I would absolutely love to hear about your favorite Bundt recipes, tools, and tricks. Do tell! Feed my addiction, sweet people. Please and thank you.