Don’t they look magnificent? Bundts may seem daunting but the making and baking is a cinch – the tin does all the sculpting. It’s worth taking time, though, to choose the size, flavours and decoration from our handy table of combinations. Whichever you choose, the cake will keep for up to two weeks – make it ahead for the big day or give one as a gift
RECIPE AND FEATURE WORDS EMILY GUSSIN PHOTOGRAPHS KRIS KIRKHAM FOOD STYLING LOLA FAURA AND EMILY GUSSIN STYLING TONY HUTCHINSON
Christmas project
Who can resist a bundt? The tins transform any bake into a showstopper. They come in lots of shapes, last forever and create cakes that need only a final flourish (see opposite) to dazzle. Our custom-flavoured, scalable bundt cake batter stays rich and moist for up to TWO WEEKS and will develop in flavour, too. Our greasing technique means no more tears when turning out, while our simple decoration ideas take your bake into patisserie-shop-window territory.
DOUBLE-GREASING IS KEY
Bundt tins need a good buttering to ensure the cake slides out with all the detail intact. The trick is to ‘double-butter’ – grease and chill, then grease and chill again. It’s also important to care for your tin to keep it non-stick – don’t hack at it with metal implements. If the cake won’t come away easily, use a silicone palette knife to gently release the edges. If it still won’t budge, cover the upturned tin with a hot, damp tea towel for a few minutes to soften the butter lining. Any tiny bits of cake that do break off can be covered up with a generous dusting of icing sugar.
ANY SIZE YOU WANT
Our cake recipe here uses the melting method, where fat and sugar are melted together before the eggs are added. That means it’s easy to scale up or down for large or multiple tins. Our base recipe uses four eggs, so you can halve or quarter it easily – divide the rest of the ingredients by the same amount. Or double the mixture and use eight eggs.
Bundt tins usually specify the quantity they’ll hold in litres. Our recipe works for a 2.4 litre tin, but also a 2.1 litre bundt ‘quartet’ pan (which has holes for four medium cakes). Small bundt (bundtlette) trays, usually with six or nine holes, are 0.8-1.2 litres, so a two-egg batter would work. For the tiny bundt tins with a 0.3 litre capacity, a quarter quantity (one-egg batter) would fill the tray twice. We apologise for the minor maths lesson, but it’s good to know none of that batter need go to waste.
If you don’t have a bundt tin, This recipe works just as well in a regular cake tin. You’ll have to put a b
