What’s a Cake Tester?

Potato peeler, steak knife, citrus juicer—some instruments have such literal names that there’s no query as to their supposed goal. Cake testers are an amazing instance. You decide up the sharp factor, stick it in a just-baked cake, pull it out, and test if it’s gooey or not. Easy!

However why not simply use a toothpick as a substitute of shopping for one more device? You positively can, although not all baking specialists agree that cake testers and toothpicks are equally as much as the duty.

“A toothpick has texture to it—much more than a thin piece of metal—which might decide up crumbs on its approach via a cake,” says chef and meals scientist, Tiffany Swan. “To the untrained eye, these crumbs could make it appear like the tester isn’t clear, and leaving the cake within the oven till the toothpick is totally clear will create an overbaked cake.”

It’s also possible to argue that the chrome steel probe of a correct cake tester is extra sturdy than a toothpick, thus eliminating each the danger of wooden splinters in your meals and the wastefulness of tossing out toothpicks after utilizing them for testing. Cake testers are additionally extra all-purpose than you may assume. Kenji wrote about their versatility years in the past, and like all good traditional, cake testers simply don’t exit of fashion.

What’s a Cake Tester?

Put merely, a cake tester is a skinny steel skewer with a easy grip on the top. Cake testers are meant for refined poking—often into truffles, because the title suggests. The diminutive diameter of a cake tester leaves a barely noticeable gap (way more discreet than, say, utilizing the tip of a knife) and the thought is that, towards the top of the baking time, a tester inserted into the middle of a cake ought to come out almost as clear because it went in. If it’s coated in batter, the cake hasn’t completed baking. However as Swan famous, the thought of what constitutes a “clear” tester is subjective. 

A number of moist crumbs clinging to your cake tester (or your toothpick) is absolutely fairly positive. The cake will proceed to softly bake itself with residual warmth after you’ve eliminated it from the oven anyway—when you wait till your tester is bone-dry, chances are you’ll be asking for an equally arid cake. A cake tester isn’t a foolproof technique of assessing doneness, however it’ll offer you a reasonably good concept.

What Else Can You Use a Cake Tester For?

The cool factor about cake testers is that—except for being cheap and taking over minimal house in your utensil drawer—they can be utilized for heaps extra than simply testing truffles. 

Cake testers could be particularly useful when working with delicate seafood, based on chef and dietitian Melanie Marcus MA, RD.

“My cake tester is my go-to device when cooking scallops,” says Marcus. “They’re simply a type of proteins that you simply don’t need to devour ‘underneath,’ as a result of they’ll be slimy and ugly—however they’re simply as straightforward to overcook.”

Marcus says that she inserts her cake tester into the scallop for about 5 seconds, then she does a wrist test. If the tester feels heat, she is aware of the scallop is prepared. If it’s chilly, she offers it one other 30 to 60 seconds earlier than retesting. 

“I take advantage of the identical technique when cooking steak,” Marcus provides. “If it’s chilly, your steak is uncommon. If it feels heat, your steak can be medium-rare, and if the tester could be very sizzling, your steak can be well-done.” (Editor’s word: in fact, we favor an instant-read thermometer for this job, as we’re all about accuracy.)

It’s also possible to use a cake tester to test greens (like boiled potatoes or roasted butternut squash). “Principally doneness of a variety of greens,” senior culinary director Daniel Gritzer says of a cake tester’s makes use of. “Anyplace a recipe may say to check doneness with a paring knife, a cake tester is arguably higher since there isn’t any blade edge/level that may minimize and make one thing appear extra tender than it’s. This might embody blanched greens, winter squash, broccoli, tubers, and root greens, and so on.” Our updates editor Jacob Dean agrees: he usually makes use of a cake tester to check the doneness of potatoes. “It is a trick I picked up in Sweden,” he says. “[It] works higher than a knife, offers a way more particular tactile response for figuring out the feel.”

Swan even makes use of her cake tester to use labels on the whole lot from dry items to herb seedlings in her backyard, by “inserting a label over the plastic grip.” Intelligent! And Daniel has one other sudden use: “I take advantage of mine to scrub the very skinny house between my counter and [oven] vary of any crumbs which have gotten caught.”

What cake tester do you have to purchase?

We advocate the Ateco 1445 cake tester for its slim profile, sturdiness, and cheap worth. You’ll be able to even get a set of three for lower than $10.

FAQs

Do you have to use a cake tester to check the doneness of cake?

You’ll be able to! Cake testers are useful for figuring out whether or not the middle of your cake is correctly set or not. It’s okay to make use of a toothpick as a substitute—simply be aware that the wooden’s pure texture could decide up a number of further crumbs and this doesn’t imply that the cake is underbaked.

What’s the very best cake tester?

We favor the Ateco 1445 cake tester. It is costly and has a grippy, ridged plastic deal with that makes it straightforward to carry onto.