An inspirational American success story, Nordic Ware was founded in 1946 by a determined gal, Dotty, and her resourceful husband Dave, who was newly back from WWII. With $500 in their pockets, a few good ideas and a desire to start a business of their own, a humble kitchenware company was born in the basement of their home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In the beginning, Nordic Ware’s product line was only a handful of items, most of which were specialty Scandinavian cookware products—the Rosette and Timbale iron, Krumkake iron, Platte Panne pan, and the Ebelskiver pan.

75+ years later, with a good measure of perseverance added, Nordic Ware is still proudly manufacturing the vast majority of its products in Minneapolis. Those original Scandinavian products have been joined by hundreds of other items in Nordic Ware’s product offering, ranging from bakeware and cookware to microwave products and grilling accessories.

Undoubtedly, Nordic Ware’s most famous item is the Bundt® pan, which can be found in over 75 million households around the world. Few realize the name “Bundt” was coined and trademarked by Dave Dalquist, to describe the fluted design of the company’s unique ring cake pan. The original Bundt® pan featured a distinctive hole in the center that allowed cakes to bake evenly, and an elegant symmetry that made cutting and serving easy.

Despite a lackluster launch in the early 1950s, the original Bundt® pan rose to fame when it was used to bake a prize-winning cake in a national baking contest, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today this pan is found in almost every kitchen world-wide, and Bundt® cakes have become a beloved tradition for countless gatherings and family celebrations. It’s become such a popular cake that it even has its own national designated day—November 15 is national Bundt Cake Day!

With recipes ranging “from the sublime to the ridiculous” and a myriad of delightful collectible designs, Bundt cakes are truly the quintessential American dessert. For instance, you can find Bundt recipes for pumpkin cranberry cake (and all sorts of other pumpkin combinations), peanut butter chocolate chip cake (and all sorts of other chocolate chip combinations), caramel latte cake (and all sorts of other caramel combinations), almond orange cake, peach streusel cake, lemon cake, strawberry swirl cream cheese cake (and all sorts of other cream cheese combinations), mocha walnut marbled cake, and the list goes on and on.

Nordic Ware really does lead the field in innovative kitchenware products. By design, their products are tough and durable, offering superior value. So tough and durable, in fact, that my 40-year-old Nordic Ware’s Bundt pan still, to this day, has its crisp edges that make for such a beautiful end product. And speaking of design, can there be enough said for the lovely designs they continue to create?

From time to time I’ll go through my kitchen cupboards and drawers and look for things I no longer like, use, need, want, or have room for. But I can tell you, my Nordic Ware will always have a home in my kitchen, no matter how little space I might have. I trust ‘em—these commercial-quality pans consistently produce a beautifully sculpted cake. And I love how the heat-responsive cast aluminum promotes even rising, uniform baking and a golden crust. This is a business success story that continues to inspire the baker in me!

I could gush on, but I’ll close by asking you if you have any of these pans, and what YOUR thoughts are on them? So, here’s to 75 years of Nordic Ware baking fun and many more to come!