Any kind of cake baked in a bundt pan is considered a bundt cake. Bundt pans come in all kinds of sizes and designs. After the cake is baked and turned out of the pan, it will not need much decoration because it is already in a decorative shape. People often dust bundt cakes with powdered sugar or drizzle a simple glaze over the top.
The history of the bundt pan is rather interesting. It was inspired by the traditional European fruit cake, Kugelhopf. In 1950, two women, Fannie Shanfield and Rose Joshua were discussing how much they missed the rich dense cake they had when they were young. They thought that the American cakes were too light. In order to get the European-style cake that they loved, they knew they needed a special pan with a hole in the middle. This type of pan helps bake all the batter and prevents the under cooking of the dense batter.
Armed with a ceramic “kugelhopf” pan, Fannie and Rose met with the owner of the Nordic cookware company, H David Dahlquist, to see if he could design a new pan using the kugelhopf pan as a prototype. He did, changing the design by adding folds into the fluted edges, and using aluminum to make the pan. Dahlquist took the German word for community, “bund”, added a “t” to the end of it and trademarked it.
Bundt cakes taste as good as they look, they’re easy to make, don’t need filling, require just a drizzle of frosting and are much easier to cut than a layer cake. What’s not to like?
Any two-layer cake mix will fit perfectly into a bundt pan. I frequently make my strawberry cake recipe in one when I’m feeling too lazy to do layers. Last Christmas, our friend Kaye Adams gifted us with the most amazing bundt cake. It’s called Rosemary’s Rum Cake, and I have never tasted anything like it before. Thankfully, she shared her recipe, and now I will share it with you.
Rosemary’s Rum Cake
- 1 pkg Butter Cake Mix
- 1 small pkg instant vanilla pudding
- ½ cup light Rum (Kaye uses Barcardi.)
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup toasted pecans
Hot Rum Glaze
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick of margarine
- ¼ cup light rum
- ¼ cup water
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease and flour a traditional Bundt pan.
- Sprinkle toasted nuts in the bottom of the pan.
- Place cake ingredients in large bowl and mix well for three minutes at high speed.
- Pour into pan and bake 50-60 minutes at 325 degrees.
- About 5 minutes before cake is ready, prepare the Hot Rum Glaze by putting all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to boil 2 to 3 minutes to slightly thicken the glaze and burn off a little of the alcohol.
- Remove cake from oven, and while it is still in the pan, pour hot glaze evenly over the cake. The glaze will cause the cake to “settle”.
- Allow cake to cool for 10-15 minutes, then carefully turn out onto your favorite serving plate.
Thank you, Kaye Adams and thank you Rosemary!
– Becky Lynn is a writer for EllisDownHome.com. She and her husband Bob enjoy spending time with their 8 grandchildren and traveling. Becky loves cranking up the music and heading to the kitchen to try out new recipes or cook for an upcoming party. She is passionate about continuing to be a life-long learner!
