Typically, we stick to Ohio treats. And, it seemed like a bakery dedicated solely to bundt cakes was so esoteric, it had to be regional.
Or not. It turns out that bundt cakes are big, but you probably already knew that. They’re a big Texas tradition, and they’re big everywhere else. According to its counter team, Nothing Bundt Cakes has 200 locations all over the United States, three of which are here in the Columbus area, one of which (Lennox) drew us inside.
The interior of the shop is slick with sugary colors and marketing materials. Behind the counter, as the name indicates, is nothing but bundt cakes. Big ones, bigger ones, and mini ones: bundt, bundt, bundt. The little ones are deadly. Priced at $3.99 they probably should serve two people, but you’ll end up finishing one or more all by yourself. Something about eating a cake all by yourself feels like an accomplishment.
The frosting drizzles that crown the cakes all taste sort of the same, but the bundts themselves come in all sorts of flavors, and they are all sorts of delicious: uncommonly tender, moist (get over your aversion to that word, it’s apt) and dense. Beloved was the chocolate version, studded with dark, intense chocolate chips. But then there was the praline, with teeny bits of brown-sugared pecans. Or the White Chocolate Raspberry, balanced with sweet and fruit, and then the smooth, mild mocha. You get the picture. There’s a great deal of cake worth eating here.
If that’s not enough, and you are still craving some sort of local angle on the bundt cake craze, we humbly offer two suggestions:
1) Check out the Bundy History of Baking Museum in Urbana Ohio. You won’t find a nicer tribute to the history of baking, and Bundy is only one letter off.
2) Under no circumstances should you click on Urban Dictionary’s “Cincinnati bundt cake” entry (any pun is most sincerely not intended).