Bake a Cake Your Grandma Would Be Proud of With These Bundt Pans

Our Top Pick

Nordic Ware Anniversary Gold Bundt Pan

$44 $41 at Amazon $42 at Walmart $22 at Sur La Table

Over the years, Nordic Ware has released updated versions of its celebrated Bundt pans, each with a gorgeous golden exterior. This pan is a take on the classic 12-cup Bundt pan design with alternating vertical fluting and larger handles, which sport a braided design. It forms a 10.5-inch cake, and the 4.5-inch height can handle up to 15 cups of batter. 

When considering Bundt pans, Kim looks for ones where she doesn’t have to hold her breath when it’s time to unmold—and this pan is just the one. It consistently bakes evenly and created the lightest and fluffiest cakes of the ones we tested. After being sure to grease the pan thoroughly and letting the cake cool, unmolding is easy with the design clearly visible in the final cake. 

Even though this doesn’t have a nonstick surface, cleaning it is simple, and Kim expects it can last just as long as her other Anniversary pan (10+ years). The only small downside is that the build makes this slightly heavier than other tube pans. 

The Details: Cast aluminum; 10 to 15-cup capacity; 12 x 10.8 x 4.5 inches

Best Budget

Wilton Recipe Right Fluted Tube Cake Pan

$16 at Amazon $13 at Target $26 at Michaels

This Wilton pan surprised Kim in the kitchen. “I thought with its lighter weight it would actually bake cakes more quickly than the other pans, and possibly result in drier cakes,” she says. But then, “The Wilton pan gave me the moistest cakes of the bunch, which was surprising.”

This nonstick tube pan is inexpensive, bakes great, and is very versatile. The small lip around the edge allowed Kim to easily manuever it around the oven, and the wide opening made it easy to add batter evenly and level it before baking. After unmolding, cleanup was simple and easy. 

The pan is on the smaller side for a tube pan, so be sure to only use recipes that make up to 10 cups of batter. Also, the design isn’t as sharply fluted as the Nordic Ware, so while it does come through on the final cake, it’s not as distinct.

The Details: Steel; 10-cup capacity; 9.75 x 3.7 inches

Best for Savory Recipes

Calphalon Fluted Cake Pan

$20 at Amazon

Tube pans are not just for cakes, they can be for monkey bread, pull-apart bread, and even lasagna. And though this Calphalon baked some great cakes for Kim, it’s a great pan to have if you make lots of non-cake treats. The darker color will translate to a slightly more finished crust, creating a nice crunchy texture. Its slightly squatter size will also help with keeping your savory bakes a little more dense and moist.

This is another pan that has a softer design that doesn’t create the sharp lines of other pans, something that doesn’t matter as much with savory bakes. This does have a 10-cup capacity, so be sure to only use recipes with that amount when making cakes. Luckily, this is another easy-to-clean pan, whether you use it for savory or sweet.

The Details: Alloy steel; 10-cup capacity; 10 x 3.5 inches

Most Decorative

Nordic Ware Brilliance Bundt Pan

$44 at Amazon $44 at Target $44 at Walmart

If you’ve never seen this Nordic Ware design before, don’t feel left out, it’s actually a fairly recent addition to the world of Bundts. But Kim has one in her kitchen and can attest that it produces absolutely beautiful cakes, ones that will put the other potluck Bundts to shame. 

Made of the same aluminum as other Nordic Ware Bundt pans, this will bake your cakes evenly, with the light and fluffy texture they deserve. And the sharp fluted edges will transfer to your finished cake (just make sure to use enough Baker’s Joy and let the cake cool). One downside Kim mentioned is that all the sharp crevices make this annoying to get thoroughly clean. It’s also only a 10-cup capacity.

The Details: Cast aluminum; 10-cup capacity; 10.3 x 3.7 inches

Best Mini

Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Anniversary Bundtlette Pan

$50 $44 at Amazon $44 at Target

Anything mini is incredibly cute, and mini cakes are one of the most adorable ways to end a meal (and perfect for sending home with guests as a morning-after treat). Bundt cakes are one of the easiest desserts to shrink down to mini size and still taste great. 

The aluminum construction of this Nordic Ware allows for fast heat distribution, which you’ll need to create golden cakes with a shorter oven time. The six wells are also a great size for mini Bundts—large enough to rise and bake thoroughly without drying out the cake. We also appreciate the wide handles, which make this easy to grab out of a hot oven.

The Details: Alloy steel; six 1-cup capacity; 8.6 x 15 x 2 inches