This Is The Best Bundt Pan, According To Our Food Editor

If your kitchen cupboard is anything like mine, it is hard to keep the door closed with all the various cake pans tumbling out. There are cheesecake pans of varying sizes, which, fortunately, can be neatly stacked together like a set of Russian nesting eggs. There are the tube pans I use for the never-fail pound cakes, several 8-inch and 9-inch pans for those tall layer cakes I attempt for birthdays and holidays, and the 9-x13 pan with a sliding lid for what I call my "bake-and-take" cakes. While I enjoy using all my cake pans, especially those I inherited from my mom and mother-in-law, one of my favorite pans is my decades-old Nordic Ware Bundt pan, as trustworthy and solid as my quarter-century-old Kitchen Aid stand mixer. If you are in the market for a new Bundt pan, there are many brands that will do a respectable job, but none perform better than the Nordic Ware Platinum Anniversary Bundt Pan. Here is why this pan deserves a place in your pantry.

Bundt pans can turn out beautifully sculpted cakes that require little, if any, fancy embellishment; a simple glaze or dusting of powdered sugar is all that is needed to enhance the curves and crevices of a Bundt cake. The shape of this Nordic Ware Pan guarantees a baked work of art; the sharp, well-defined, ridges and deep crevices produce a very impressive-looking cake. Made of cast aluminum, the pan is sturdy and thick but not too heavy. The nonstick coating allows cakes to come out cleanly, even from all the nooks and crannies of the pan. This pan also has handles, which makes it easier to manipulate when greasing, removing from the oven, and turning out the cake.

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When deciding on a Bundt pan of any brand, choose a pan that is nonstick, metal, and not too dark. Aluminum pans are best because they conduct heat well, and a lighter colored pan will prevent the over-browning that often occurs with the darker pans. Even though most recipes will tell you to grease and flour your pan (or use a baking spray) before baking, a nonstick finish will give you added protection against a cake sticking to the sides of the pan.