Pound cake has been a holiday staple in my family for generations. At most winter holiday gatherings, there is at least one in the dessert spread, usually in the form of a delightful Bundt cake.
When I took over cooking holiday meals for my family around five years ago, I had a lot to fret about: navigating complex recipes, accounting for huge portions, and managing minute-by-minute scheduling for bread proofing. The first holiday I took the reins, I worried, “Can I handle it? Can I impress these people, whose cooking made me the food lover I am today?”
But when I released a pound cake from my new-at-the-time Nordic Ware Original Bundt Pan and saw the sculptural details fully realized on the cake plate before me, I knew I would have one thing to show off.
This pan has taken a weight off my shoulders every holiday season since then. Maybe I scald the mashed potatoes or forget to glaze the brussels sprouts, but I know I’ve got an easy winner in a lovely (and simple-to-make) pound cake, made almost deceptively stunning by the Nordic Ware Original Bundt Pan.
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Classic for a reason, Nordic Ware Bundt pans are sturdy and nonstick, and they turn out gorgeous cakes.
The pan’s cast aluminum is ideal for baking Bundt cakes, which typically require long cook times from about 45 minutes to an hour. The thick aluminum distributes heat evenly but holds less heat than steel or cast iron, allowing for gentler baking and a steady transfer of heat from the oven to the cake batter. In fact, Wirecutter has recommended Nordic Ware Bundt pans since 2016, in part because they produce perfectly golden-brown cakes.
Nordic Ware has been making its Bundt pans in its Minnesota factory since the 1940s, when it named and popularized this particular style of pan. (If you’re in Minneapolis, you may find a sweet deal at the factory store.)
The company also makes formed-aluminum Bundt pans, from a sheet of aluminum molded into shape. But my colleagues at Wirecutter and I prefer the cast-aluminum pans, which are heavier-duty and feel built to last. The formed-aluminum pans are lighter and often $10 to $20 cheaper but come in less intricate designs and may offer less fidelity between the pan’s design and the resulting cake.
Since falling in love with Nordic Ware’s classic Bundt shape, which is narrow and produces impressively tall cakes in comparison with other bundt pans, I’ve used several variations—including the Fleur De Lis and the Vintage Star—with great success. No matter how intricate the design, I’ve never had issues releasing cakes from them. The nonstick coating is silicone-based and PFAS-free; in concert with a little pan prep, it helps release even the most complex Bundt designs easily and cleanly.
Nordic Ware recommends using a baking spray that contains flour to prep the pan, which coats the intricate design details, making it easier for the cake to slip out. This is the prep method I prefer too, especially for the more intricate Fleur De Lis pan.
When I don’t have baking spray on hand, I use butter and flour, which takes a bit more time but works just as well. I’ve even used butter and sugar, instead of flour, to make a sugary crust on the outside of the cake, which also releases nicely. If you don’t opt for the recommended spray, Nordic Ware advises using a pastry brush or paper towel to coat the inside of the Bundt pan with a thin layer of oil or butter before flouring it.
The pan’s coating should maintain its nonstick qualities as long as it’s intact (unlike other PFAS-free nonstick materials like ceramic), but it requires special care. Namely, you shouldn’t use metal utensils on it or put it in the dishwasher.
Nordic Ware recommends hand-washing its pans and avoiding abrasive cleaners and scouring pads. The company also recommends washing the pan within five minutes of removing the cake to prevent sugars from hardening onto the pan. To get into the nooks and crannies, especially of more intricate Bundt designs, it recommends using a small brush with plastic or nylon bristles.
I’ve been using my classic Nordic Ware Bundt pan for around five years, and I haven’t noticed any degradation in its nonstick properties. (Though I did use metal utensils in it early on, so it has some internal scratches.) I purchased a Nordic Ware Fleur De Lis pan secondhand, and it performs just as well as the pans I’ve bought new.
Nordic Ware Bundt pans come in different finishes, such as gold, toffee, and dark amber. We typically recommend using lighter-colored cake pans to prevent the edges of the cake from browning too quickly, but if you go with a dark-colored pan, keep in mind that many recipes list adjustments for dark bakeware. For example, when you’re using a darker Bundt pan, King Arthur Baking recommends baking the cake at a setting 25 degrees cooler than the recipe calls for and beginning to check on it 10 minutes sooner than the recipe’s bake time.
Nordic Ware also makes a couple of Bundt pans in the traditional shape with handles. These can make lifting the pan in and out of the oven easier and prevent the classic accidental oven-mitt thumb in the top of the cake. That said, the loops aren’t large enough to comfortably fit a mitted hand through, but if pinching a protruding handle is easier for you than holding the outside of the pan with your palms, they could be helpful. The handles can also make flipping the cake over easier, but it is a matter of preference. Personally, I prefer maneuvering the handle-less pan.
Thanks to my Nordic Ware classic Bundt pan, one of the easiest parts of my holiday-meal prep is making a Bundt cake the day before the big meal. It’s also one of the most satisfying parts of the experience, especially when someone walks into the kitchen and lights up at the sight of the cake, complete with glaze cascading around its intricate twists and turns.
It’s proof that beautiful doesn’t have to be difficult, and I love having this pan to fall back on for making a simple yet special dessert.
This article was edited by Marguerite Preston and Megan Beauchamp.
