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Who doesn't love a freshly baked Bundt cake? The fluted design on the surface is uber-pretty, and the hole in the center of the pan means it bakes faster than cakes made in a regular tin. However, it can also dome as it bakes, making it look crooked once plated.
To encourage a baked Bundt to lie flush against the countertop, you could turn it upside down and level it with a serrated knife, taking care to run it smoothly over the surface in a uniform fashion. However, this can be tricky with cakes that have a softer crumb and a bit messy if you've included nuts and fruits in your batter. It can also damage the decorative top of your delicate Bundt, the very thing that makes it so beautiful.
The easier option is to pre-empt the doming and employ a clever technique to prevent it from happening at all. This trip takes seconds to execute, and once you've tried it, it'll become second nature, turning your every Bundt into a flawless showstopper.Simply pour the batter into your Bundt pan and give it a shake so the mixture is level. Then, take the back of a spoon and run it along the center of the mix along the pan ring to create a trough in the mixture. If you don't have a spoon handy, you can also tip the pan so some of the mixture goes up the sides, giving the bottom of the cake a concave shape.
What size spoon should be used?
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Your best bet is a teaspoon because it's small enough to easily drag around the cake batter without getting any mixture on the sides of the pan, which could burn in the oven. A bigger spoon may have too large a surface area, causing the indentation to become extra wide. However, if you have a particularly hefty Bundt pan, a broader spoon may be an apt choice. Be sure to place your Bundt into the oven immediately after making the trough in the center to prevent the mixture from releveling.
If your Bundt cake is still doming after you've created a circular moat in the mixture, you may need to troubleshoot. Double-check the recipe to see if you've added too much baking powder or used the wrong-sized Bundt pan. It could even be that the temperature of your oven is too high. Invest in an oven thermometer to get a more accurate reading of what's going on inside the oven. And though it might not be picture-worthy, eat the cake you've made anyway because a wonky Bundt will still taste just as delicious.
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