Bundt's rise to fame

Ryan Loyd • March 11, 2024

A brief history behind these chocolatey, sometimes plain vanilla, lemon zest or fruit-filled cakes

a bundt cake covered in powdered sugar is sitting on a wooden cutting board .

Whatever the Bundt, it seems like it's always the perfect cake!

What's your favorite kind of cake?

Cupcakes are my most favorite form of cake, unless of course we're talking about Bundt cakes. There's just something about a Bundt cake that makes it so special. Perhaps it's the density, or maybe it's the fact that Bundt cakes aren't typically oversweet. Most importantly, I think Bundt cakes are simply elegant and elevated. It looks special and fancy.

Getting Bundt cakes right isn't hard. But there's a little bit of finesse that goes into it. The batter shouldn't be overly beaten, and it will have the right consistency going into the pan. The amount of time spent in the oven, too, will help your bundt be the best that it can be. I've found that a little crisp is very good, while still maintaining a super moist and tasty interior.

a white plate topped with slices of raspberry loaf cake .

Personally, I think that Bundt cakes practically beg you to play around with so many types of variations.

Bundts throughout the seasons

Summer berries are a popular choice to include in your Bundt cake - enhance the warm weather flavors & throw in some strawberries or raspberries. My favorite are plump and juicy blueberries!
Zest up your cake with some lemon or orange!
Create fall flavors by adding pumpkin seeds, pecans or walnuts (even better if you add the frosted sugar-coated ones that are synonymous with the fall season!)
A little holiday flare might be for some peppermint candies. Peppermint combined with a dark chocolate = amazingly divine!

Bundt cakes are just that kind of cake to personalize it for your own special occasion, whether it's an after-dinner treat at home or you're taking it on the road to a friend or dinner party.

A cake for gathering

Did you know, the bundt originates, in part, from the German word bundkuchen, which translates into a cake for gatherings. This kind of cake also have its origin from a European brioche style cake called Gugelhupf. From its gathering meaning, you can see why. It's large enough to feed a family or gathering. The Bundt pan is typically shaped well for cutting sizable pieces for guests, large enough to feed a whole crowd of people. It is also extremely appealing - from a style standpoint - and gives is that extra pizazz.

While the cake has been around for generations, the actual pan - what we call Bundt - is a fairly modern creation. Nordic Ware is responsible for popularizing this cake in North American around 1950 with Nordic's owner, H. David Dalquist, originally came up with the concept for the Jewish women's group, Hadassah Society, in Minneapolis.

The "bund" cake was a recreation of the Kugelhopf, a dense, ring-shaped cake with the bund signifying that group/gathering/alliance meaning. Eventually the T was added to the end of bund, though no one knows exactly why. And the rest, as they say, his history.

A Bundt cake can take the form of a coffee or pound cake. Bundt cakes are denser that its light and airy coffee cake counterpart. What's interesting, and fun, is that Bundt cakes do not take on any single recipe, making it the perfect cake to customize all your own. The structure is great for baking, and the results are just about always perfect.

a bundt cake with a slice taken out of it is on a wooden cutting board .

Nordic Ware captured the market for the distinctly shaped pans. Production started picking up in a big way just before the 1970s. A Pillsbury bake-off yielded a second prize winner called the "Tunnel of Fudge Cake," which inspired home bakers across the country to start making their own. Nordic Ware took in tens of thousands of orders each day, and now millions of people own their own Bundt pan. Even several styles (like me!)