How to Use Your Nordic Ware Bundt Tin

Getting a Perfect Result from Your Nordic Ware Bundt Tin

Nordic Ware have been making Bundt tins in Minneapolis since 1950. Every tin is cast from heavy-gauge aluminium with a non-stick interior coating, but non-stick does not mean no preparation required. The tips below, drawn from Nordic Ware's own guidance are what separates a cake that slides out cleanly from one that doesn't.


Before First Use

Wash the tin in warm, soapy water and rinse well. To season it, coat the interior with a thin layer of vegetable oil (not spray oil, not butter) and bake empty at 100°C for 15–20 minutes. Allow to cool and wipe out any excess oil. This initial seasoning improves the non-stick performance of the coating from the first bake.


How to Prepare the Tin Before Each Bake

The non-stick coating helps, but it does not remove the need for greasing. The correct method matters, the wrong approach is the most common cause of a stuck Bundt:

  • Use a baking spray that contains flour, or use solid vegetable shortening (such as Trex in the UK) applied with a pastry brush. Work it into every groove and the central cone.

  • Do not use butter. The milk solids in butter caramelise during baking and can weld the cake to the tin, particularly in intricate designs.

  • Do not use plain cooking spray (such as Fry Light). Sprays without flour leave a sticky residue that builds up on the non-stick coating over time, degrading it and making future sticking more likely, not less.

  • Prepare the tin immediately before adding the batter, not in advance. Fat sitting in a warm tin before baking can pool at the bottom.


Choosing the Right Recipe

Heavier, denser batters show off the detail of a Bundt tin far better than light, airy sponges. Pound cakes, fruit cakes, and recipes with sour cream, cream cheese, or yoghurt work particularly well. Very light, leavening-heavy sponge mixes tend to dome significantly and may not display the pattern as well.

Fill the tin to approximately three-quarters full. Tap the tin firmly on the work surface once or twice after filling to help the batter settle into the detail and release any air pockets. Use a spatula to push the batter slightly up the sides.  This helps the cake climb evenly during baking and gives better definition on the outer edge of the finished cake.


Baking Temperature

Bake on the centre rack. The typical temperature range for a Bundt is 160–175°C. If your tin has a dark or black interior coating (some Nordic Ware designs do), reduce the recommended temperature by about 10–15°C. Darker coatings absorb more heat and the cake will bake faster.


The Most Important Step — Timing the Release

This is where most Bundt failures happen. When the cake comes out of the oven:

  • Leave the cake in the tin on a cooling rack for exactly 10 minutes. No less, no more.

  • After 10 minutes, pick up the tin with oven gloves and shake gently from side to side. You should hear a light thud as the cake moves, that tells you it has released from the sides.

  • Invert onto the cooling rack. The tin should lift straight off. If it doesn't, return it to an upright position and wait another 2 minutes before trying again.

Less than 10 minutes and the cake is too fragile to handle. More than 10 minutes and the sugar in the batter begins to harden as it cools, re-adhering to the tin. Set a timer.


Cleaning Your Nordic Ware Tin

Always hand wash. Dishwashers will degrade the non-stick coating over time. Use warm water with a good quality washing up liquid and a soft nylon or bristle brush. Get into all the grooves. Rinse well and dry immediately by hand or in a low oven.

If you have used a cooking spray in the past and the tin has a sticky residue, this needs to be removed or future cakes will stick regardless of how you grease. Apply a small amount of concentrated washing up liquid directly to the dry tin, leave for 10 minutes, then scrub with a nylon brush and rinse. Repeat if necessary.

Do not use metal utensils, abrasive cloths, or anything that will scratch the coating.


Troubleshooting

My cake won't come out of the tin.

Check three things in this order:

(1) Did you grease with the right product, baking spray with flour or solid shortening, not butter or plain cooking spray?

(2) Did you time the release correctly, 10 minutes, no more? 

(3) Is there spray residue built up on the tin from previous use? If so, deep clean as above before baking again.

Part of my cake came away but some is stuck.

Run a thin, blunt plastic or silicone spatula around the edge and the centre cone to release any stuck sections. Once the cake is out, you can press the pieces back together. The warmth and moisture in the cake usually sets them back invisibly once cooled and glazed.

My cake is domed in the middle.

Use a spatula to push the batter up the sides of the tin before baking. This encourages the batter to climb the walls evenly during baking rather than mounding in the centre. Also try reducing the leavening agent slightly if it's a very light sponge.

Can I use my Nordic Ware tin in the dishwasher?

No. The dishwasher will degrade the non-stick coating and shorten the life of the tin considerably. Hand wash only.