Instructions: Ever since its debut in the 1950s, the Bundt pan has been de rigueur equipment for every baker. Originally a whimsical alternative to the smooth angel food cake tube pan, the Bundt mold, with its fetching large-lobed fluted design, transforms the look of a simple tube cake into a gourmet gateau.

Worldwide, bakers have bought about 40 million of the original Bundt pans, all of which are slated for a lifetime of use since they never rust or warp. For decades, the pan was the perfect Christmas gift for a baker. And now, with five gorgeous new designs that scream must-have, it is once more the perfect gift.

The Bundt pan became a baking icon because of savvy marketing as well as its excellent baking capabilities. The rigid, seamless, stamped aluminum pan with its non-stick Teflon lining is the creation of Nordic Ware, a division of Northland Aluminum Products of Minneapolis.

Founded in 1946 by the Halquist brothers, the company manufactured traditional Scandinavian kitchen tools, such as round ebelskivers and plattar pancake pans for crepe-like Swedish pancakes and long-handled rosette irons.

With an eye toward the future, the company became one of the 12 original licensees of DuPont Teflon.

Looking like a leftover from old-world baking, the Bundt pan is just that: an updated American copy of the old, heavy cast iron bund pans so loved in Northern European wood- and coal-stove baking. The pan was first manufactured after the president of the local Hadassah chapter asked the wife of Nordic Wares founder, H. David Halquist, to reproduce a kugelhof mold sent by her grandmother. The cast aluminum copy with its non-stick lining, called the Bund Pan, was made in limited numbers for Hadassah members and local department stores.

Sales jumped in 1960 when the Good Housekeeping Cookbook published a recipe for Old Plantation Pound Cake with photographs of the cake baked in the pan.

With the rise in interest, Nordic Ware registered the pan under the trademark of Bundt. To this day, thick-battered pound cakes are still among the best cakes to make in the pan, along with coffee cakes, quick breads, honey cakes and babkas.

In 1966, the top winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off used a Bundt pan, creating national interest. Within five years, Pillsbury designed a line of commercial cake mixes specifically for the 12 cup pan. My mothers first Bundt pan was bought just to bake a Pillsbury mix. The mixes were a wild success, bringing in $25 million in sales in the first year.

Within the last four years, Nordic Ware has developed technology to make plastic laser molds from computer-aided designs. These are the prototypes for sand or die casts that are used to create a series of innovative and intricate pan molds.

First was the Festival Party Bundt, with a pillar-like design that looks like an ancient temple. Then came the peaky Star, created in honor of Nordic Wares 50 th anniversary. And available this winter are the swirling, ridged Bavaria Bundt and the Fleur de Lis, which looks like a more complicated version of the standard Bundt pan rimmed with a stunning pearl bead pattern. These pans are beautiful as well as functional. On a recent QVC show, 7,000 of the new pans were sold in eight minutes.

Williams-Sonoma carries all the pans, plus one of its own design, the Cathedral Bundt. The companys in-house buyer found an antique bund pan with a Gothic arch pattern on a buying trip to Europe. The companys owner-creator, Chuck Williams, sent the pan to Nordic Ware, which returned sample drawings of the Cathedral. Martha Stewart has also created a Bundt pan design, which is hush-hush until its unveiling this spring.

Nordic Ware, still owned by the Halquist family, offers three lines of Bundt pans, which differ slightly in the manufacturing method, thickness of aluminum and price. The Color Line is made from stamped sheets of metal and sells for $6-$9 per pan in venues such as Wal-Mart. The Proform Line, which includes both standard and festival-shaped Bundts, Bundtlette pans for individual cakes and a 10 inch lobed Bundt loaf pan that is great for monkey bread, sells for $15-$20 per pan in hardware stores and Target. The high-end gourmet line, which includes the Best 12 cup standard Bundt, 6 cup baby Bundt pans and all of the new designs, is made of the thickest die-cast aluminum. It is sold by King Arthur and Chefs catalogs, Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table for $28-$30 per pan. Or

To ensure fabulous cakes, take pains with special pans Reed Winter, research and development manager at Nordic Ware, has a few recommendations for getting the best results from Bundt pans.

The original, or standard, 10 inch Bundt pan has a 12 cup capacity, as does the Star Bundt. Until now, all Bundt cake recipes have been designed for this size. The Cathedral, Fleur de Lis, Festival and Bavaria pans are slightly smaller: 9 inch diameter with a 10 cup capacity. Recipes without a lot of chunky fruits and nuts will probably work perfectly in the smaller pans. But be prepared to experiment until more recipes are specifically designed for them.

Fill a pan no more than 1 to 2 inches from the top. If you have extra batter, fill a small mold and bake; dont overfill.

The intricately designed pans work best with thick, smooth batters, such as pound cake and enhanced commercial cake mixes. Slightly under-mix your batter, leaving it thick and fluffy. You will use 1 1/2 (18 1/(2-ounce) packages of cake mix, such as Duncan Hines.

Grease the pan heavily with non-stick baking spray, making sure to coat all the nooks and crannies. Then turn it dome side up for 5 minutes. This evens out the coating and keeps batter from bubbling in detailed areas.

After pouring batter into the pan, use a small metal spatula to gently push or pull some of the batter slightly up the outer wall. Do this by making strokes from the center cone out, all the way around. Make the outer edge about 1/4 inch higher than the center cone. In the oven, the outer ridge will rise and roll over, naturally filling in detailed areas as batter expands.

Bundt cakes are best baked at a lower temperature for a slightly longer time.

Most recipes specify 350 degrees, which is too high, especially for dark-finish pans. The cake domes quickly, but stays raw in the center with a crusty shell.

Reduce the temperature to 300 degrees to 325 degrees (Winter uses 335 degrees) and add 15-20 minutes to baking time.

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