It looks so ordinary… until you see what happens next. This clever toothpick trick is quick, satisfying, and surprisingly useful — once you try it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t know it sooner.

Many home bakers have been told— by Food Network, by cookbooks, by their grandmothers — that the best way to check the doneness of a cake is by piercing the center with a toothpick. If it comes out ...