The Pampered Chef Cake Tester is the solution to global warming. You see, I could simply use a toothpick for cake testing but that would require opening a box of toothpicks, probably spilling a bunch of them on the floor and possibly burning myself as I get too close to the baked goodie that I'm attempting to check for doneness.

Toothpicks are just too stressful. Besides, I need plenty of them for their intended purposes: slopping out icing colors into frosting, craft projects like building birdcages out of them, inserting them under my enemies' fingernails and picking my teeth when I run out of dental floss.

If I use up my toothpicks testing cakes, then I would have to drive to the store to buy more. Driving would contribute emissions to the atmosphere, increasing global warming. Antarctica is melting, people! Al Gore says so! We must reduce our carbon footprint! Now I am really stressed because not only am I contributing to the demise of the planet by the greenhouse effect, but toothpicks are made of wood. To get wood, they chop down trees and spotted owls live in trees. Spotted owls are endangered species! More stress!

Since my family doctor (that's me by the way since our insurance premiums have increased so much that I don't get to go to the doctor even though I don't play one on tv) has decided that I need to eliminate as much stress from my life as possible, I needed a solution to the toothpick problem. It was ruining my life and making all of my hair fall out and causing fine lines around my eyes. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration as the lines were there already and my hair is merely turning gray instead of falling out but you get the idea.

It was time for the Pampered Chef Cake Tester to come to the rescue.

This nifty little 7 3/4" stainless steel thin pick with a ring on the end of it is a reusable item. It can be washed in the dishwasher and will not rust. No more throwing away toothpicks!

The pick is thinner than a toothpick so holes in cakes don't show. It's also longer than a toothpick so I am less likely to burn myself on the cake pan, especially when we're talking about a tube pan for an angel's food cake. I mean, those toothpicks are way too short to reach the middle of the cake. So, I also get to be 100% certain that my baked goods are truly done.

Supposedly there are many alternative uses for the Pampered Chef Cake Tester. If your pilot light goes out on your hot water heater, you can stick a match in the ring and shove it under the heater, watching the gas go "Whoosh" in a pale blue blaze. If you need to beat an egg and for some reason don't have a fork or a whisk, you can use the ring end of the cake tester to beat the egg. Why would you have the cake tester but not a fork or whisk? I do not know. If you are making Ukranian folk eggs, you have to blow the insides out of the eggs. The Pampered Chef Cake Tester is perfect for popping tiny holes in the end of the egg since the tip is quite sharp. Need to poke holes in the plastic on your Hungry Man teevee dinner? The Pampered Chef Cake Tester again comes to the rescue. And these are just a few of the many uses for this inexpensive product.

Would you pay $19.95 for this cake tester? I would but you don't have to. Actually I wouldn't and you can't. Well, at least not from The Pampered Chef. That's because it's been discontinued. Let the copious tears commence because without the Pampered Chef Cake Tester, I would be responsible for the death of the planet. But, they are still available on various auction and resale sites. Get yours today!

Thankfully, I already own a Pampered Chef Cake Tester and I store it in my Wilton Tool Caddy so I always know exactly where it is. That's the key to keeping track of kitchen gadgets, you know. Assign each one a special place and you will know where to find it.

For now, Planet Earth can breathe a little easier because my personal carbon footprint will be a tiny bit smaller. Yay me!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1.50