Originally Posted by lin821

Table Knife? Well, you know you are baking a CAKE instead of steak or chicken, right?

The cake tester/toothpick is used to make sure there's no more "raw" batter inside. You want the tester near the center to come out clean. You don't want to "cut" the cake and test for "firmness", as table knife is your choice of "weapon."

I would suggest you not use the knife but a thin & sharp subject, even a BBQ skewer will work better than a table knife.

In terms of baking time, well, it takes practice and experience. Other than judging by the brownness of your cake, use your nose as well. You should be able to smell the differences between underbaked and overbaked.

You don't want to open the oven too often to check on your creation. After 30-35 minutes, you can start checking maybe every 3-5 minutes. I like my cakes "brownier", so I sometimes just turn off the oven and let the cake sit a minute (or two) more after it's done.

You may google some similar recipes so you can experiment and compare notes. This recipe I just googled requires 350°F for 60 to 70 minutes.

So if this is going to be your 1st try of your mother's homemade recipe, don't expect perfect for the 1st time around. Instead, use it as a baseline, so next time you'll know an extra 10 minutes is needed (if underbaked) or something.

Good luck!