The Trick To Preventing A Domed Bottom When Using A Bundt Pan

Bundt pans are known for crafting cakes that double as dessert and display. There are many benefits to using a bundt pan — a quicker baking time, an even cook, caramelized edges — but if it's domed, it's doomed.

Because bundt cake pans are oriented backwards — that is designed to be filled and the result flipped out for decorating and serving — a domed "top" truly refers to the cake's bottom, and that doming causes it to have an unstable foundation. Sure, one fix is to slice off the crummy base for a better one, but taking preventative measures against a domed bottom saves that extra work (and lost cake). 

Jerrelle Guy, artist, author of The Dinner Ritual substack, and recipe developer for Chocolate for Basil shared her tips for how to bake an even-bottomed bundt cake. "Avoid overmixing the batter, because too much air can lead to uneven rising," she said in a statement to The Takeout. You will know when to stop mixing batter once all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated and the batter has formed all the way through the batch — and make sure to separate dry ingredients from the wet to do so properly.

Guy also said using a bundt cake pan may also necessitate adjusting the oven temperature. Cakes that bake at a high temperature are more inclined to rise unevenly, as their quick cooking time does not allow for an even distribution of the heat. To prevent an uneven bundt cake bottom, slightly adjust the baking temperature by lowering it about 25 degrees Fahrenheit than you might normally (325 degrees instead of 350 degrees Fahrenheit). This will bake the cake slowly, giving the heat more time to thoroughly cook and help ensure a even rise. 

A preemptive measure to ensure a flat rise is to form a shallow trench along the center of the bundt cake base's circle. "You can also create a shallow trench in the center by using a spatula to gently push a bit more batter toward the edges and away from the center," Guy said. Because cakes tend to rise most in the center, carving a divot out of the center compensates for the natural unevenness in the bake.