Do you grease a bundt pan for an angel food cake?

You scored the perfect summer berries, you’ve read the definitive step-by-step guide, and now you’re ready to crush the lightest dessert of all time, angel food cake. But then you notice you’re missing an angel food cake pan.

Why should you? Angel food cake pans are sort of a one-trick-pony, and definitely not a pan that’s necessary for your baking arsenal. The problem is that you can’t bake angel food cake without one.

I know what you’re thinking. So whatever you do, don’t attempt baking angel food cake in a bundt pan. A bundt pan’s design is usually too intricate for angel food cakes, which must be cut away from the simple tube pans they’re baked in once the cake has cooled.

Get an empty LaCroix (or Spindrift) can instead. Then proceed to hack an angel food cake pan using this tip I learned from Mary Berry on the second American season of The Great British Baking Show Masterclass. Since I tested it in the Epi Test Kitchen, I know it works. These are the specifics:

1. Wrap parchment paper around an empty aluminum can

I discovered that a tall slender drink can, such as this one, works well. Attach the parchment with a strip of double-stick scotch tape, overlapping it just slightly. Remove any extra paper.

2. Fill can with a weight

Water is the easiest thing to use, but you could also use rice, dried beans, or pie weights. Fill the can halfway with your preferred weight.

3. Place the can in the center of a non-non-stick springform pan

It’s essential to use a pan without a non-stick coating here—as when making any angel food cake—since the batter clings to the sides of the pan as it rises. A nonstick surface would prevent the cake from rising to its optimum high, fluffy height. The pan should also be the same size as specified in the recipe. Its sides should also be detachable.

Related Questions

• Can a bundt cake be made in an angel food cake pan?

  Can I bake a bundt cake in an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom? —M.J., Spokane, Wash. Yes, indeed, as long as the cake batter fills the pan about two-thirds full. Wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil beforehand to avoid leakage.

• Should I grease and flour a bundt pan?

  Even if a bundt cake pan has a nonstick coating, it is best to grease and flour it to make sure the cake comes out easily. Nonstick cake pans lose adhesion with usage and over time, therefore as a preventive step, prepare the pan before baking.

• What is the best pan to use for angel food cake?

  The Greatest Angel Food Cake Pans for Beautiful Cakes

  1. Best Choice. Angel Food Cake Pan from Nordic Ware. Look on Amazon
  2. The best design. Chicago Metallic Professional Angel Food Cake Pan.
  3. Loose Bottom is the best. Chefmade Angel Food Cake Pan.
  4. The best aluminum. Fat Daddio’s Angel Food Cake Pan.
  5. Most Durable. Wilton Angel Food Cake Pan.

• Is an angel food cake pan the same as a bundt pan?

  The majority of tube pans have straight edges and are uncoated. While you can make Bundts, coffee cakes, and similar cakes in a tube pan, this shape and type of pan is ideal for cakes with a light and airy crumb like angel food or chiffon cakes. These are commonly dubbed “angel food pans” for this reason.