My early attempts – wobbly lopsided (but delicious) mini bundts
I adore baking mini cakes. There’s something very appealing about a “cakelette” – and they’re certainly crowd-pleasers. Just watch how quickly they disappear at your next group event.
If you’re planning to make mini cakes, I want to let you in on a simple trick that can save you frustration.
The style of mini bundt pan I have are the individual variety like these
They were an impulse buy – I saw them in a shopping center display and decided I had to have them.
But, as I was to quickly find out, not all mini bundt cake pans are created equal and something annoying kept happening.
When I was placing the eight individual pans filled with cake batter into the oven, despite all my care, some would invariably unbalance on the wire oven racks and the mini cakes would end up lopsided.
The first time, I thought I had just been careless, but it still happened when I was being very careful about positioning the pans on the oven racks. My frustrations were mounting.
I did a search on the internet but couldn’t see anyone was having the same issue. But what I did discover online was that you can buy mini bundt cake pans that are all joined together, like these from Nordic Ware
The larger joined together mini bundt pan is obviously more stable in the oven. My mini bundt pans were pretty new so I couldn’t really justify buying a whole new range of tins.
So I’ve solved my lopsided cake issue by simply placing all of the the pans on a oven sheet. I was initially worried that the double layer of metal would cause the tops of the cakes to over-brown, but this doesn’t seem to be a big issue. I do keep a close watch on the baking times though.
Maybe everyone already places their mini bundt pans on an oven sheet but I certainly didn’t know about it, so thought I should share my simple solution.
That’s one problem solved – no more lopsided mini bundt cakes.
The remaining problem is that I’m still a little bit obsessed with mini bundt cakes. Just look at all the wonderful shaped bundt pans available. I want them all, although I do think the Nordic Ware one above called “Garland”
Nordic Ware Platinum Anniversary Bundtlette Pan
Nordic Ware Pro Cast Bundt Quartet Pan
Nordic Ware Mini Heritage Bundt Pan
Wilton Excelle Elite Mini Bundt Pan
Freshware Mini Fancy Bundt Cake Silicone Mold and Baking Pan
Nordic Ware Pro Cast Bundt Brownie Pan
If you’re looking for some gorgeous mini bundt cake recipes, may I suggest:
Strawberry and Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes
Strawberry and Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes by My Invisible Crown
Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes
Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes by A Cup of Mascarpone
Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes
Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes by Everyday Maven
Egg-free Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes
Egg-Free Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes by Lite Bite
Hello! I just did a search for “mini bundt pan tips” and your blog was at the top of the list! My question is this: how do I keep my cakes from forming a dome which would keep the cake from being able to be adorable on a plate? Do you just trim off the “bump” and save it for snacking? Thanks for any advice.
Hi Julia,
There are two options to level out your baked cakes – one is trimming the “bump” off with a knife as you suggest (a serrated knife, like a bread knife is best).
The other is a device called a “cake leveler” which uses a wire to cut the cake horizontally. It has little guide “feet” that set the height of the wire and ensure that the cake is slice evenly and perfectly flat. Cake levelers aren’t expensive – about $5 and up depending on the size.
Hope that helps.
Patricia
I have the NordicWare ProCast Bundt Brownie Pan, and I’ve found that with this pan (which I LOVE) the bundts bake perfectly without a noticeable bump as long as they are not overfilled. Depending on the batter, this is somewhere between half filled and three quarters filled. There’s still a very slight rise, but they sit level on a plate. Hope this helps!
That’s a really good tip Fran. Thanks! I know I’m guilty of over filling my pans – I hate to waste cake batter but I should follow my own advice and limit it to a maximum of 3/4 full for best results.