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Testing Cake Doneness

How do you determine when a cake is done baking?

How do you determine when a cake is done baking?

It's an old kitchen maxim: Don't remove a cake from the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no crumbs attached. Many of us in the test kitchen have followed this directive for years, but recently we've discovered that finding a few crumbs sticking to the toothpick (not raw batter, mind you) isn't such a bad thing. In fact, a few crumbs can be the sign of a moist and tender cake. That's because residual heat continues to bake the cake once it is removed from the oven. If you wait until a toothpick comes out perfectly clean, the cake may be dry and crumbly by the time it cools.

Our "few crumbs attached" maxim is especially apt when baking low-fat cakes. Without a healthy dose of fat to keep them moist, these cakes will become chokingly dry if overbaked. In general, we think it's best to check all cakes a few minutes before the earliest baking time recommended in the recipe. You can always test the cake again if it's not done, but once a cake is overbaked, there's no going back.

To determine whether a cake is done, insert a toothpick into the center and look for just a few moist crumbs to adhere. Raw batter means the cake needs more time. If the toothpick is completely clean, the cake may have overbaked.

DONE

DONE: To determine whether a cake is done, insert a toothpick into the center and look for just a few moist crumbs to adhere.

NOT DONE

NOT DONE: Raw batter means the cake needs more time.

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