Helen, I couldn't imagine pumpkin soup made with canned sweetened pumpkin......yuk. No wonder your email friend didn't take to it.

I use Canadian Living magazine's recipe for pumpkin spice cupcakes, but rather than making 12 cupcakes I cook the mix in an 8in (20cm) square tin, with a streusel topping spread over the top before it goes in the oven. 12 cupcakes is 12 servings, but you can get more than 12 pieces of cake from that tin.

BWL - I shall keep your sage advice in mind!