Toothpicks and cake testers are the standard tools to, ahem, test cakes. But I don’t like either of them.
I realize this isn’t the most popular opinion. A few years back, our contributor and baking expert Alice Medrich wrote an ode to the toothpick:
And I agree with her critique of the metal testers—they don’t reveal enough. And they are slippery, but, beyond that, they’re slim and lanky, like a stretched-out needle. Which is to say, they’re too dang small.Shop the Story
Two bones to pick here: 1) They aren’t reusable. 2) While the wood encourages crumb-clinging, toothpicks are short and stout, which can become problematic with tall bundt and loaf cakes. A bamboo skewer, as Alice mentioned, is a good workaround here, but do I always have those around? No.
During my years as a baker, this tool became a trusty ally. It seems crazy at first—cutting into the cake? What did the cake do to you?! But if you look at a knife with the flat side facing away from you, you get an idea of the incision. It’s razor-thin and, often, less noticeable than a toothpick. That wider surface area, meanwhile, becomes your secret weapon.
Like any baked good, cakes continue to cook outside the oven from carryover cooking. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. It all depends on the recipe and the pan and how hot the kitchen is and where you cool the cake and how long you wait to turn it out. Which makes the guessing game, Is it ready? all the trickier.
Not a cake, but still sweet
So instead of trying to micro-analyze what is or is not on a toothpick (is that raw batter or melted chocolate chip? moist crumb too moist or just right?), the knife tells you what you need to know. Holds nothing back, puts it all out there. And this little extra intel can make all the difference.
What tool do you use to test a cake? Tell us why in the comments!
OXO Cake Tester
How do cake testers work?
Since the metal is so smooth, the cake tester slides back out of your cake cleanly. You just can’t beat a wooden toothpick or bamboo skewer when it comes to testing your cakes. Cake testers are handy little gadgets to have in the kitchen, but you might find yourself using them to test other foods’ doneness.
Why do I need a cake tester?
Here’s why: Different types of cakes require different kinds of “doneness”. For some brownies and gooey chocolate tortes we might want the cake tester to come out with moist crumbs or a bit of thickened (not too runny) batter, for other cakes we may be looking for a clean dry tester or a moist-but-clean tester.
What happens when you pull a cake tester out?
When you pull the tester out of a cake that’s raw in the middle, the batter will coat the metal stick. If your cake is partially baked, you may never know. Since the metal is so smooth, the cake tester slides back out of your cake cleanly. You just can’t beat a wooden toothpick or bamboo skewer when it comes to testing your cakes.
Do cakes stick to a cake tester?
Toothpicks make larger holes in the cake—at least two millimeters in diameter. It’s funny how you don’t want cakes to stick to the pan, but you do want them to stick to a cake tester! While a cake tester might sound like an ideal solution, it’s not a necessary gadget to have in your kitchen.