chibi chef

This cheesecake was ok. I don't usually use flour in my cheesecakes (I've made and sold a lot) but tried it for this recipe. I think it gave it slightly thick texture instead of smooth and melt-in-your-mouth. I didn't have any problems with cracks. Here are my tips for avoiding cracks: do not overmix, butter the sides of the pan REALLY well, and cool slowly. If you butter the sides well, you don't have to run a knife along the edge when done. I try to avoid doing it because it sometimes makes the edges rough. A note on the pan of water on the bottom rack, this is not the same as a bain marie (water bath). A water bath envelops the sides of the pan with water and allows the sides to cook evenly. Putting a pan of water under the cheesecake will not accomplish this. If using a springform, the best thing I found to keep the water out of the pan is encasing the sides and bottom with a crockpot liner. Do not use oven bags (for cooking turkeys). They're unreliable with keeping the water out.

I also thought muffins came out rather bland so I made a few alterations. I would recommend substituting the white sugar with packed light brown sugar; increasing the spices to 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp ground ginger, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg (I did not have any pumpkin spice or ground cloves); and increasing the pumpkin puree to 1 cup. These changes produced more flavorful muffins.

Perfect taste but doesn't hold it's shape well enough to pipe onto cupcakes.

A lot of reviewers said was a tad dry, and I agree.

Yum! I made the "kid-friendly" modifications for my hubby: used onion powder and celery seed instead of fresh onions and celery. I also chopped the carrots into tiny pieces instead of dicing. I topped it with muenster cheese and ketchup, and served it on a whole wheat bun. I wasn't too hungry so I just prepared a burger for him. But while I was waiting for him to come down for dinner, I ended up eating half of his burger because it was so good. My meat loving husband finished the other half and I had to make another whole one for him. This was the first veggie burger my picky husband has ever ate, and he said he would eat it again.