How to Use a Toothpick to Check Your Baked Goods for Doneness (And Why it Works)

The toothpick test is a traditional and foolproof method for testing the cooking of a dessert in the oven, but not only. Typical of home cooking, it is a trick often used by those who are new to the kitchen. It is generally used during the preparation of cakes and donuts, but the same rule also applies to other dishes, such as meatloaves.

The toothpick test is used to check the humidity of the dough and consists of inserting a toothpick, or a skewer stick into the heart of the preparation. If it comes out dry and without any residue of batter, the dough is ready to come out of the oven. Be careful not to make small mistakes, they could compromise the recipe. Here is how the toothpick test works and some rules and tips for understanding if a dessert is really cooked.

How Does the Toothpick Test Work?

Before doing the toothpick test to test the doneness of a cake, make sure you follow your recipe meticulously. Use the quantities of ingredients indicated and respect the leavening times. Even if each oven is different, this way you can predict the cooking times of your preparation more accurately.

If you add anything, keep that in mind when baking the mixture. For example, if you add semi-liquid or water-laden ingredients, such as fruit, yogurt, or honey, the mixture will be wetter and will need more time to cook. If you double the amount of ingredients, bake the mixture at a lower temperature and cook slowly.

Then take a long toothpick, one of those suitable for cocktails or meat skewers, or a simple toothpick and insert it delicately into the center of the cake, all the way to the bottom. If the toothpick comes out of the mixture dry, you can take it out of the oven, the cake is cooked. If instead the toothpick is wet and there are residues of batter, put it back in the oven as soon as possible, before the heat disperses.

When Should You Do The Toothpick Test?

An important rule for doing the toothpick test on a cake is to always wait until the last 5 minutes of cooking in the oven. Don't rush to open the door to check the cooking. The dough continues to rise in the heat. If you let the heat escape, the cake will not be as fragrant as it should be. For this reason, it is counterproductive to do the toothpick test during the first 15 minutes: give the cake the time it needs to cook and do your test only when you think it is really ready.

The Hot Toothpick Technique

A small foolproof trick to make the toothpick test really effective is to use a hot toothpick. Place it in the oven next to the cake for a couple of minutes before using it. This way your test to check the cake's doneness will be valid and really useful.

Some Tips on How to Get the Test Done Perfectly

Never use a knife to replace the toothpick. You risk creating a hole or cut in the dough, which would tend to deflate, resulting in a soft and poorly risen dough.

A well-baked cake reaches a temperature of about 90° or 100°. Depending on the characteristics of your oven, place the pan with the dough in the point where the most heat accumulates and resist the temptation to open the door to check it.

It only takes a little experience in the kitchen to learn to evaluate the doneness of a cake by its appearance. Typically, cakes cooked to perfection narrow the edge of their diameter and appear golden on the surface.