Say "bundt pan," and folks pretty much think of one thing: bundt cakes! But after Sara Kate's sassy post on using her bundt pan to roast a chicken, we started thinking about other ways we could put this pan to use. What are your ideas for putting a bundt pan to work?
Here are a few ideas we came up with:
1. Angel Food Cake - Who needs an angel food cake pan and a bundt cake pan?
2. Monkey Bread - This sugary pull-apart yeast bread is one of our all-time favorite potluck desserts, and it works great in a bundt pan.
3. Jello Mold - Molded jello is so old school it's becoming new again!
4. Icebox Cakes - We think this cookie crumb and pudding cake would be just firm enough to unmold well - especially if we used extra cookie crumbs!
5. Ice Cream Cakes - Think how pretty layers of different ice cream would look in this mold?
6. Meatloaf - We almost didn't add this one to the list. Yes, technically you could bake a meatloaf in a bundt pan, but...the idea of serving meatloaf molded into the shape of a pretty cake seems a little strange to us. We're more likely to stick with the traditional loaf shape!
To be honest, we couldn't think of anything quite as unique as roasting a chicken. We suppose you could cook a stew or a braise in a bundt pan with aluminum foil over the top - but we can only see doing that in a complete pinch if all our other pans were in use.
Do you have any other ideas?
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When I have tea parties, I serve scones and muffins in the bowl of the bundt pan, and then I stick some flowers in the center with a little bud vase underneath the hole. It's kitschy and cute, and though it sounds cheesy, most of my guests love it.
Whoops--clicked too soon. I also make frittata in mine, because I like the molded shape when I turn it out. Though I enjoy a rustic, traditional frittata, for Mother's Day and other fancier occasions, the bundt shape steps it up a bit. You can put some herbs in the center, if you're really fancy.
meatloaf is GREAT in a bundt pan -- instant portioning!
you can make bread pudding in it, too :)
roast a chicken :)
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/meat/an-obscene-way-to-roast-a-chicken-116141
use it to make an ice ring for a punch bowl, either with water or with some of the beverage itself if dilution is undesirable. the ice ring can be as thick or as thin as you need.
Angel food cakes stick really bad in a bundt pan. It's very hard to run a knife around the sides and dislodge the cake. I've always ended up with angel food crumbs, so stay with a designated angel food cake pan.
I would think that ice cream cakes may be tough to unmold. But then again..I've never made an ice cream cake so what do I know.
I use my bundt pan to collect corn kernels when I'm slicing them off the cob. It's a nice collection bowl, and easy clean up... no more shooting kernels across the kitchen.
@rosebud: you can unmold an ice cream cake by setting the pan in a sink/pan of hot water for a few seconds at a time.
I'm with the ice ring for punch. You can freeze fruit in it also.
Here is a video from my favorite local bartender
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9IREkkhxM4
Oh crap, I typed a big long comment about using it to process corn off the cob, only to read that TheFoodEngineer beat me to it!
I read my tip in a '30s recipe book. The author recommended using an electric knife to make things even easier.
They've had electric knives back in the 30's? must have been an upper class cookbook.
Why does that not make sense?
Flan.
@mariyaodessa -- Electric kitchen gadgets became trendy in the 1920s, and there were entire cookbooks on how to do wonderful things at the dining tale with one's electric toaster or prepare gourmet meals with one's electric chafing dish. An electric knife would not have been out of place.
The rise of gadgets coincided with the departure of domestic help, so middle-class and upper-middle-class women increasingly found themselves doing their own cooking. The very earliest (privately printed) version of Joy of Cooking dates from 1931.
A friend of mine's mother used a bunt pan as a flower planter in the center of her patio table. She cut the hole a little bigger and stuck the patio umbrella right through the middle! It was one of the coolest things I've seen with a bundt pan
I second the Food Engineer for using a bundt when cutting corn off the cob. Just put the pointy end of the cob into the center circle of the pan and slice down (vertically). All the kernels fall into the pan. Just be sure the bundt is in a secure spot (like inside another bowl, or on a mat) so that it doesn't slide while you're cutting.
Creme caramel!
Cheese ring.
Instead of making a cheese ball; press it into the bundt pan, chill; remove from pan and serve with jam/jelly in the center.