INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups pureed pumpkin or 1 can pumpkin pie puree (make sure its pure pumpkin not pie filling)
• 3 eggs
• 1 & 1/8 cups brown sugar (packed)
• 1 & 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 & 1/8 cups whipping cream

METHOD

1. Mix together in a medium bowl  with an electric mixer all the ingredients except the cream
2. Blend in Whipping cream
3. Pour into unbaked pie shell
4. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce to 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  To see if it is done stick a knife into the center, when the knife comes out clean the pie is done!

Let pie cool completely, top with whipped cream or ice cream and ENJOY!

When baking your pie, start it at a high temperature like 425 degrees for about 15 minutes, then turn down the temperature to what is suggested.  After the 15 minutes at the high temperature check your pie.  If the crust is golden then take it out and cover the edges of the crust with tin foil, by making a ring and closing it over the crust edges.  This will prevent your crust from becoming too dark and over cooking!

Some stores sell pie rings, but its very simple to make your own!  If the crust is bubbling and has some colour then it’s time to cover, and let it slowly continue baking!  Enjoy!

What happens when you add cold or room temperature whipped eggs to a hot pan? What else but scramble and cook, well it is the same when you add the eggs to a hot mixture. First you have to temper the eggs, all this means is that you need to gradually introduce the hot mixture so that the eggs temperature will be brought up slowly and thus stay incorporated. Do this by whisking your eggs while adding a spoon full of the hot mixture to the eggs, but don’t stop whisking! Add at least to or three spoon fulls to make sure your eggs are warm enough and then add it to the hot mixture, this time continually whisk the hot mixture as you add the warm egg mixture. That’s it and that’s all, I hope you never have to fish out scrambled eggs from your recipes again, keep them on the breakfast table where they belong.

This is a common problem many people face! You’ve finally gone through all the steps of make that delicious dessert, but how do we know when it’s completely baked?

PIES

If you are cooking a fruit pie make sure you add your butter! The butter combined with the flour is what will give your pie and nice thick filling and keeps it from all pouring out of your pie shell. If you find that when you cut into your pie it is watery, or your filling is pouring it you either didn’t add the butter or you simply didn’t let it cook long enough. Make sure before you take your pie out of the oven, you look and listen to see that your pie is bubbling! When your pie is bubbling that means the butter and the flour and combined and thickened and your pie is ready to be taken out and cooled!

How can you tell when your pumpkin pie or other non fruit pies are finished? Here you are looking to see that your pie filling has set! What does that mean? It should be firm but still giggly. Take a knife or toothpick to the centre of the pie. If your toothpick or knife comes out wet , it’s not finished baking. If it comes out clean, or with a tiny pit of filling on it, it is finished!

MUFFINS & CAKES

How can you tell when your muffins and cakes are finished baking? These are the easiest to tell! Simply insert a tooth pick or smooth knife into the centre of your cake or muffin and it should come out clean! Remember if there is fruit or chocolate chips in the recipe then it’s okay to have that come off on your knife or toothpick. You are looking to see that there is no batter on it! If there is batter then amount of batter on your toothpick will tell you how much time it needs. If it is wet and covered then put it in for at least 15 min for a 8inch cake and 10 minutes for muffins. If there is only a little batter on your toothpick keep testing every 5 minutes. Another way to tell is to gently press your cake or muffin and it should spring back! These are easy but essential methods when baking.

ENJOY!

When selecting a bowl in which to whip your egg whites, picking the right ones is more important then you think. Choose a very clean, dry stainless steel or copper bowl, such bowls, when properly cleaned, do not hold on to any grease or residue from previous use. Any hint of oil or even a trace of the egg yolk that might of dripped in with the egg will have a drastic effect on the results so make sure your whisk or beaters are clean and made of metal as well! These tips are usually all I need to get my desired results, but if it’s still not working for you or perhaps you want them stiffer still, I have a couple more tricks up my sleeve.

Start with using room temperature eggs and put a pinch of salt in the bowl with your egg whites. Unless you are using a copper bowl (which is best for egg whites) I strongly recommend using an electric mixer, it saves you the cramp in your arm and does it in no time at all. It has even been recommended that a little vinegar, lemon juice or cream of tar tar be added once you have started whipping and even a spoonful of sugar at the last couple seconds. You will be able to tell they are done when you lift up your whisk and a nice, stiff peak forms and doesn’t sink down.

Lastly be attentive when whipping your eggs, you don’t want to over whip them! I hope this works and your egg white horrors will be a thing of the past.

To start I’d like to say that cheesecakes can be a very tricky dessert, especially if it is a recipe with whipped egg whites folded in it! This calls for some finesse, be gentle and don’t over mix. So let’s say you have blended all your ingredients carefully and have evenly spread it in a spring form pan, you are already to bake. Not so fast, try placing a heatproof pan/container of water on the rack below under your cheesecake. This has been known to help prevent cracks from forming and has certainly helped me with my cakes.

Another tip to avoiding cracks is to let your cake cool in the oven for about 30 minutes with the door open after it has baked. Many recipes will even have the cake not fully baked and them tell you to turn off oven but leave the cake to finish cooking. One this is for sure, never put your cheesecake from oven, directly into fridge!

One more tip I would like to add. It seems silly but trust me you need it, especially if it is a real finicky cake: Tread lightly when walking near your oven, like a souffle your cake will respond negatively to movement in the baking process, so to all children: DO NOT ENTER KITCHEN! Hope this Helps~

This problem is most likely due to the fact that you did not fill all the compartments of your muffin pan resulting in uneven heat distribution. The easy fix is to fill the empty compartments with water allowing your muffins to bake evenly and saving your pan from warping.