protocol), my SIL called me to remind me that I had volunteered my baking to a good cause. My SIL is a volunteer fundraiser for Bayside Camp, a local Baptist summer camp which has recently been rebuilt. My MIL was the camp director back 20 years ago, so it's an important cause to the family. Last year they held a fundraising dinner for the camp and I made Chocolate Blackout Cake (another Canadian Living fave) for the dessert auction. It sold for the highest dollar amount of any dessert there! So this year, it's not a dessert auction, but they are still having the fundraising dinner. I had bigger aspirations than cheesecake, but since they really don't take much time to make, and they really are delicious, I went for easy. There are so many times when people have said to me, "Oh, I've never made cheesecake. Is it hard to make?" and while it would be tempting to lie and say, "It took me years to perfect and hours to make," well, the truth is, they really are easy. There are some tricks, though, that help: Steph's Cheesecake Tips: 1. The Pan: When putting together a springform pan, be sure you put it together properly. The bottom is meant to look like a platform. If you put it together with the ridge up, getting your cheesecake out of the pan is going to be more difficult. 2. The Ingredients: Always make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature.