There is nothing quite the same as a perfect Bundt cake. It looks as good as it tastes, with its browned exterior, gentle grooves, and perfect sphere in the center.
Because the look of a Bundt cake is a defining feature, a broken Bundt cake is a particular baking tragedy. In this article, we’ll look at a few steps to attempt to fix that broken Bundt and salvage your hard work.
First Things First: What Is Bundt Cake?
Before we talk about salvaging it, let’s understand what we’re trying to save in the first place. A Bundt cake is made in a Bundt pan, and the pan gives it a distinctive shape with a hole in the middle (somewhat similar to a doughnut) and grooved or fluted sides.
The name comes from a type of German cake called Bundkuchen from the northern German regions. That said, there are no must-have ingredients or recipes specific to Bundt cake; the defining feature, rather, is the shape.
Hopefully, it is now clear why fixing a broken Bundt cake is so important: if it doesn’t have its shape, it isn’t actually a Bundt cake! Let’s look at some methods for repairing a broken Bundt cake.
1 – Frosting = Cake Glue
One way to fix a broken Bundt cake is to reattach the pieces and hide the seams with frosting. This is probably the most popular and the easiest fix for any broken cake, Bundt or otherwise.
That is because frosting is sticky and easily adheres to pastries, as anyone who has worked with it knows. It is also easy to buy pre-made or make yourself at home, and any type of frosting will work for this task.
This is an especially great option if you’re already planning on frosting the cake. Use the sticky, adhesive frosting to reattach your broken pieces, then cover the rest in frosting to hide the mistake.
Keep in mind that the fixed spot might have a lot more frosting than the rest of the cake. Keep its location in mind and serve it to someone with a very sweet tooth.
In a similar way, you can also use other food items to stick a cake back together. Some fruit toppings with a lot of syrup can work, as can maple syrup, Nutella, peanut butter, another nut butter, whipped cream (if you plan to serve the cake right away), and many other toppings that you might already have in your pantry.
2 – Flip it Over
Guess what? The bottom part of your Bundt cake looks strikingly like the top: you still have the fluted sides and the hole on the bottom, so if it’s the top of the cake that didn’t come out right, flip it over and decorate the bottom to hide the fix.
You can do this with frosting, but you also have the option of being more creative. Even a thick layer of powdered sugar will hide the fact that you’re looking at the bottom of the cake rather than the top.
In order to flip the Bundt cake over, place your tray directly on the top of the cake while holding the bottom, and flip it 180 degrees. You may need two people: one to hold the cake and the plate that it is currently on, and the other to hold the new tray.
3 – Plate the Broken Piece
This method works best when the cake is broken in just one place. You simply cut it out, decorate it as you do the rest of the cake, and either put it next to the rest of the cake on the serving platter or set it on its own plate.
If you put it on the platter next to the rest of the cake, place it stylistically to make it look as though you did it on purpose.
If you choose to set it on its own plate, you can always choose a “guest of honor” to present with the first piece. What a great way to make someone in your home feel special!
Finally, you can also slice the entire cake and either plate them all or leave them on the tray. Make the rest of the cake match the mistake, instead of the other way around.
4 – Patch it and Bake it Again Briefly
This option is going to yield dubious results, and we highly recommend frosting the Bundt cake or otherwise hiding the break rather than an actual repair, but this method is also worth a try if you’re desperate.
Use some of the leftover batter (or whip up a small amount if it’s all gone) and use it as you would use spackle when patching a wall — just enough to cover the damage and reattach the pieces.
Bake at the temperature that the recipe called for or a lower temperature for a very brief period of time. Check on it obsessively to make sure that the rest of the cake is not becoming overdone or burnt.
5 – Turn it Into Something Else
If all else fails, don’t throw the cake away! Even if the Bundt cake shape is beyond repair, there are many other things you can do with it, including:
- Make a trifle: this one works if you want to make a smaller trifle or if the cake is in large pieces.
- Make cake pops: cake pops are still all the rage, especially with kids and teens. Homemade cake pops are quite a delicacy that will impress your guests, too.
- Make mini cakes: cut the cake into mini pieces. You can even decorate them all uniquely for a playful look.
- Make bread (cake) pudding: this is an especially great option if your cake is broken in more than one place, or if the consistency isn’t quite right.
- Use cake crumbles: in the event that there really isn’t anything salvageable with the cake, simply crumble it and use them as a topping on all sorts of things, including ice cream, yogurt, and other pastry desserts.
Learn From Your Mistakes
The most important aspect of messing up your Bundt cake can be in the lessons you can learn. Try to figure out what went wrong this time around, and then research how to prevent that mistake next time.
Baking is an art, one that takes a lot of time and practice. Don’t give up!
Tips for Preventing a Broken Bundt Cake
Now that we’ve covered how to fix the break, we can quickly run through some good tips for preventing the problem in the first place.
- Prep your pan: make sure that you follow your recipe’s and your pan’s instructions carefully. Some pans are non-stick material, and you’ll harm them by greasing them, but other materials need to be greased; otherwise, your cake will stick and is more likely to break or even crumble.
- Follow directions: again, make sure that you read all directions and follow them carefully. There are many steps along the way where even a small mistake can cause your Bundt cake to fall apart.
- Let it cool: your Bundt cake is not finished cooking when you take it out of the oven; as it’s cooling, it is finishing up its cooking process. Therefore, improper cooling can cause the cake to break. Once again, follow directions carefully.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.
Lynne
Thursday 29th of July 2021
I made a basic keto bunch cake using almond flour. I must not have let it cool properly because it came out totally crumbly, not cracked or broken, I mean crumbled! Any suggestions on what I can do with this?? Can I add another egg and some cream cheese and maybe rebake it briefly, something like that?