Baking is one of the most delicate and precise areas of cooking and many a cake has been ruined by not getting the quantities right, opening the oven door too soon or taking it out of the oven before it is completely cooked.

However, there’s a timeless trick for finding out whether a cake is ready or not: stick a knife, fork or skewer into the middle of the cake and see how it looks when it comes out. If there are any traces of cake mixture, it’s not ready; if it comes out hot and clean, the cake is ready.