Kitchen Hack: How To Make a DIY Tube Pan

If you’d really like to make a holiday bundt cake but don’t own a tube pan, there’s no need to rush out and buy one. This simple hack using a cake pan and a ramekin works just as well!

This is yet another great tip we picked up from Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio. Sometimes tube pans are needed to ensure even baking, especially with delicate batters that might have a tendency to sink in the middle. But these tins are also big and take up precious cupboard space.

Ruhlman says he simply places a glass cup or ramekin in the middle of a cake pan before pouring the batter inside. If the glass slides away from center, it’s easy enough to reposition it right after you set the cake on the oven rack.

A cake pan is about half the size of a bundt cake pan, so you can usually make two cakes from one bundt cake recipe. You can also try using a high-sided spring form pan in place of the cake pan.

The edges of the cake will be a little more square than is typically for a bundt cake. If this is an issue for you, you can trim the corners into the traditional tube with a serrated knife before you frost it.

We think this is a great solution for someone who only makes the occasional bundt cake or lacks the room to keep one of the tins! What about you?

Related: Sweet Gift Idea: Cake in a Jar

(Image: Emma Christensen)