Is it done yet?

Cake Testers

This question is the equivalent of the road trip icon, “Are we there yet?”

Old school wisdom has us put a toothpick or knife into the center of a cake, and if it comes out clean, then the cake is done. I read somewhere recently, that if you wait this long, your cake is probably overdone.

I’ll stick with what my grandmother and mother taught me, thank you. I have these nifty little sticks to test the doneness of cakes. With a little help from Google, I learned that they’re made from “broom corn,” and that this method is an Amish tradition (as is making brooms).

Alternative testing methods include

• The jiggle method (if the cake is set in the center and does not jiggle, then it’s done)
• The nose knows (when your house is filled with a wonderful aroma, then it’s done)*
• Check the internal temperature (I had to do this on the old King Cake because it was as raw as could be on the inside, and I had no other way of checking on it.)