Raindrops

I have a really busy day today, so I'm posting the same picture for "finding beauty in the ordinary" as on Lens Love. As a matter of fact, I think I'll post my verse again as well!

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.     Zephaniah 3:17

Apple - Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Cake Batter:

1 cup finely chopped pecans

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon allspice

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 canola oil

3/4 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare filling: Beat first three ingredients until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour and vanilla; mix in well. Set aside.

Prepare batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and spices. Stir in eggs, canola oil, applesauce, and vanilla, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans. Spoon 2/3 of the apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup bundt pan. Spoon cream cheese filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges. Swirl filling through batter a little. Spoon remaining apple mixture over filling. Bake at 350 for one hour, or until done. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 15 minutes; remove cake from pan and cool completely. 

Praline Frosting:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

Bring brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Stir gently 3-5 minutes, or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake.

{my picture from Lens Love this morning}

For the Love of Lenses

   My friend, Hannah, and I both really enjoy photography! For several months now, we have been wanting to start some sort of website where we can share our photos with each other and anyone else who is interested. We started planning how we wanted it to work, and asked several friends and relatives who also find great pleasure in taking pictures to join us in our endeavor. My brother, Daniel, very kindly helped us the technical design issues and we finally kicked off this week. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to post, and to read everyone else's posts! Come and read along as we all introduce ourselves and then start sharing our photography on...

Lens Love