The bundt pan isn't just another pretty face among baking dishes. The carefully constructed design conducts heat to the center of the cake, which would otherwise brown on the outside before the inside is cooked through. This makes the pan particularly well-suited to dense batters, such as poundcakes and coffee cakes.

Variations on the bundt pan range in size from miniature bundtlettes to the original pan, which accommodates 12 cups of batter, and several sizes in between.

JULIA EWAN/Washington Post (ENLARGE)
Nordic Ware's bundt cake pans produce a variety of shapes and sizes, including these two florals. It's important to grease all the nooks and crannies well to avoid problems when it's time to turn out the cake.
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A different-size pan can be substituted for recipes requiring an old-fashioned, 12-cup pan, though this can be an iffy venture. A 12-cup bundt pan is equivalent to a 10-inch angel food, or tube, pan.

Ascertaining doneness always demands a little guesswork. Although the timing varies depending on the batter, 12-cup cakes take anywhere from 35 to 60 minutes, bundtlette recipes from 15 to 35 minutes.

Cook's Illustrated magazine tested eight brands of nonstick bundt pans. The results, published in "Baking Illustrated" (America's Test Kitchen, 2004), ranked the classic 12-cup Nordic Ware pan the best across all categories save for price (about $29). For best buy, they gave the nod to the Baker's Secret pan (about $10.49).

Regardless of size, never fill a bundt pan more than two-thirds full.

Although most bundt pans have a nonstick surface, additional measures need to be taken to facilitate cake removal from the pan. Butter each curve and cranny and especially the center cone, then dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Sugar may be substituted for flour, or cocoa powder may used for chocolate cakes. Nonstick sprays may be used instead of butter. However, repeated use of some sprays can cause a gummy residue to form on nonstick surfaces.

Bundt pans with a dark surface, as opposed to a pale gray nonstick surface, require a slightly lower baking temperature. Baking expert Rose Levy Beranbaum suggests reducing the temperature by 25 degrees.

If the cake sticks or cools completely in the pan, return the pan to a 325- or 350-degree oven to rewarm for 3 to 5 minutes or place a bath towel in the sink, run just enough hot water to cover it and place the bottom of the pan on the towel for about 10 seconds.

— Renee Schettler, Washington Post