Ella Helfrich, Bundt Cake Baker
One is a series of portraits for the Theydrawtober event
Second Place Finish But Had First Place Influence
Ella Helfrich of Houston used the Bundt pan to create the Tunnel of Fudge cake. She entered it in that year’s Pillsbury Bake-Off and came away with second place. The novelty of a dessert that mysteriously develops a “tunnel of fudge” filling as it bakes — and only calls for seven ingredients — won the hearts of busy cooks nationwide.
The recipe, which came with a $5,000 prize, was featured in “The Pillsbury Busy Lady Bake-Off Winners” recipe booklet. Bundt pans instantly became a must-have kitchen gadget, spurring 200,000 requests asking for help in locating the sold-out pans, according to General Mills, which now owns Pillsbury.
The recipe’s popularity also led to a line of Pillsbury Bundt cake mixes, sold in the 1970s through 1986, which Pillsbury promoted jointly with Nordic Ware.
“When their mixes hit supermarket shelves, it was hard to keep them in stock, and we couldn’t make our Bundt pans fast enough,” Susan Dalquist Brust, the company’s vice president and daughter of the founders of Nordic Ware said. “This was the beginning of a trend that continued for almost two decades.
Source, @startribune