I can't get it right...what can't you get right?

I agree about the cream cheese here, the stuff you get here in the tub is softened so not as much flavor as the bricks you get in the States and also too soft to set properly.  There is a New York cheesecake recipe on the BBC Good Food website this month and I had a look and I see they have added some flour which will help to thicken it a bit.  I am going to give it a try but it will be awhile as when I was back in the States for a funeral recently the one thing I did buy was 3 bricks of Philly cream cheese.

The cream cheese here is an odd one.  I'm used to softer stuff, simply because I always have used reduced fat.  I finally figured out the reason the full-fat stuff is so hard is because of the fat content at low temp (duh, right?).  What kind of cream cheese are you using Vicky?  The best way to make sure there are no lumps in the cheesecake is make sure the cream cheese is softened well, and then whip it alone first, then add in other wet ingredients a little at a time. 

 Eggs over-easy must be what I call 'mostly scrambled'.  And yeah, not fair withholding tips!

Well, I had to watch my mom do it, but I was able to do it easily after that, and then ever since. She said the trick is lots of REAL butter, not marg,. a LOW heat, a really good nonstick pan, and a really good spatula. Not one of the ones with the chewed up ends......(like most of mine!) I keep my egg pan and egg spatula in the oven so they don't get used for other things. Carefully break the egg into the melted butter, cook over low heat, until the white is just set, slip the GOOD spatula under the egg, carefully flip, (sometimes I hold the pan up closer to the egg, so the egg doesn't have as far to travel.... ) then back on the heat, for just a minute....or a bit less, just enough to set the top of the yolk. Then scoop the egg back onto the spatula, and flip onto a plate. At first I would put the plate on top of the spatula, again so the egg wouldn't have as far to travel. For me, it wasn't the breaking of the egg into the pan, that would break up the yolk, it was all the flipping and transfering it!

Well, I had to watch my mom do it, but I was able to do it easily after that, and then ever since. She said the trick is lots of REAL butter, not marg,. a LOW heat, a really good nonstick pan, and a really good spatula. Not one of the ones with the chewed up ends......(like most of mine!) I keep my egg pan and egg spatula in the oven so they don't get used for other things. Carefully break the egg into the melted butter, cook over low heat, until the white is just set, slip the GOOD spatula under the egg, carefully flip, (sometimes I hold the pan up closer to the egg, so the egg doesn't have as far to travel.... ) then back on the heat, for just a minute....or a bit less, just enough to set the top of the yolk. Then scoop the egg back onto the spatula, and flip onto a plate. At first I would put the plate on top of the spatula, again so the egg wouldn't have as far to travel. For me, it wasn't the breaking of the egg into the pan, that would break up the yolk, it was all the flipping and transfering it!

Thanks, that's really useful.  I'm a scrambler. 

Yes, low heat is really important. I'm too impatient and got into the bad habit of frying and scrambling eggs at too high a heat. But when my mother was here last week, she reminded me how good an egg fried properly is! None of that rubbery brown bit! Scrambled are also much better done slowly.

I can't seem to make a tasty cheesecake. The texture has always been fine, but the taste... eh.
As for poached eggs, I've stopped trying. I think I will get the poach pods too.

Apple Crumble - for some reason the crumble topping always sinks down into the water at the bottom instead of forming a nice layer of crumble on the top .

I did this when I was trying to make muffins. They turned out inverted but not so bad! My colleagues thought they were supposed to be that way.

I omitted the flour with the butter, sugar and spice mixture. Turns out it is in there for a reason!

I have a hard time baking a good batch of cookies. They are either too fluffy or too flat. I want them juuuust right! 

But those are the sacrificial pancakes!  They're supposed to be horrible.

The same goes for homemade tortillas, chapatis and naan.

Oven not hot enough?  Crumble mix too buttery?  Apples too mushy?

Vicky

I really don't know. I haven't made it in a couple of years, but basically I have a recipe which involves adding water and sugar to the apples in the bottom of the dish and then spooning the crumble mix on top, but it all goes wrong before it even makes it into the oven, because the moment I start adding the crumble on top, it mixes with the water and makes a goo, leaving the apple pieces exposed.

Maybe I have too much water? Or perhaps not enough apple pieces, therefore leaving gaps where the crumble can fall through? The recipe doesn't tell you to stew the apples first, so I'm just adding crumble mix on top of crunchy apple pieces and water.

I just do apples and crumble since the apples have some moisture that bakes down.

Yep, same here.  You don't need to add water.  I just put apple slices in the dish, sprinkle liberally with brown sugar and cinnamon, then add the topping, pressing it down on the apples so it is effectively a crust even before you bake.


Vicky

It used to be omlettes. A relatively simple thing, but I could just never get them right. But about a year ago, I got really good at them, and am pretty consistent now. I also used to have problems with grilled cheese, but that grilled cheese thread a few months ago sorted me out--just need to butter the bread, and not the pan.

I'm not a bad cook, but it seems the simplest things were the most elusive for me!

My mother used to say pancakes and children, the first one never comes out right. Might as well throw it away and wait for the second.

I always laughed, but my big brother didn't think it was so funny...

I've been eyeing the poach pods too lately as DH keeps begging for poached eggs. I am almost afraid to try and make them. I found this blog today though that has an interesting way to make them, I might have to give that a try.

Thanks for the crumble help everyone . The recipe I was using required water, but I'll try a different one next time .

I've been eyeing the poach pods too lately as DH keeps begging for poached eggs. I am almost afraid to try and make them. I found this blog today though that has an interesting way to make them, I might have to give that a try.

I've always used an egg poacher to poach eggs. It's nice and easy to use - just boil some water in the pan beneath, melt some butter in the egg holders, crack the eggs into them and cook for about 3 or 4 mins.

I've always used an egg poacher to poach eggs. It's nice and easy to use - just boil some water in the pan beneath, melt some butter in the egg holders, crack the eggs into them and cook for about 3 or 4 mins.

i thought about getting one of those, but all the ones i saw cost more than i was willing to pay.  But the Poach Pods were a fiver for a pair, plus they were cute  , and they work really well, so im pleased!