Chill Your Punch Using A Clever Bundt Pan Trick

When hosting a party, tailgate, tea, or boozy book club, there's often a long list of finishing touches to tackle in a short amount of time. Right before your guests arrive you're likely dressing that salad, warming those Buffalo wings, and adding ice to your batch cocktails and punch bowl. But if your guests are fashionably late or too busy catching up to consume any punch, your perfectly balanced punch bowl concoction has suddenly become a weak and watery mess. Luckily, there's an easy trick to chilling your punch that involves a household good you probably have on hand.

Unearth your Bundt pan from your kitchen cabinet and create a stylish ring of ice before your next soirée. Whether your Bundt pan has a classically fluted shape, an intricate swirl pattern, or even the turrets and tunnels of a sandcastle, any shape will work as long as the entire pan can fit within your punch bowl.

Next, clear out space in your freezer. Depending on the size and length of your party, you may want to create more than one ice ring, so make sure you have plenty of room. Then fill your bundt pan halfway up with water and freeze for at least a few hours — you want a mold that's frozen through to keep your punch bowl cool without diluting the contents too quickly. When the party is about to start, gently set your ring into your punch bowl and check that task off your to-do list.

If your punch proves super popular and it's time to make a new batch, remove the first ice ring (even if it hasn't fully melted) and add a fresh one with your replenished punch ingredients. Other kitchen items you have on hand could also work, like an angel food cake pan or a muffin tin. The trick is to find an ice mold equivalent that's bigger than an ice cube and thus will take longer to melt.

The best part of the Bundt cake hack, however, is all the ways you can embellish your ice. Anna Stockwell at Epicurious recommends artfully adding sliced citrus, like lemons, limes, or oranges, to your Bundt pan before freezing. "Since this ring (or cube, or circle, or loaf) of ice will be floating in your punch — undoubtably be the center of attention at your party — take an extra five minutes to make it look pretty before you freeze it," she says.

Sliced strawberries, or cucumbers would look stunning while also giving your punch a touch of mellow sweetness. Herbs like basil or mint add a depth of flavor and a pop of color. If you're prepping punch for a holiday get together, try adding cranberries, cloves, or rosemary. The possibilities are endless, so check your favorite punch recipe to decide which ice ring add-ins would work best for you.