Easy Apple Cake Recipe

When we received a bushel of Honeycrisp apples for Christmas, I immediately thought of the apple cake recipe that my mother-in-law gave me many years ago. 

I've often made this cake during the holidays because we have so many out of town guests. Our family members come in from all across the United States, which means they hail from different time zones. Therefore, we have early risers who quietly start their mornings so others who are still sleeping can rest uninterrupted.

With the various sleep habits, we are not going to find a great time to have breakfast together. The apple cake is perfect for me to make in advance and have available for whatever time of the day our guests need breakfast. 

This apple cake is similar to a pineapple upside down cake.  The fruit goes on the bottom of the prepared pan which means it is on the top of the cake when it is turned out of the pan.

The cake does not need to be refrigerated, which is another plus for making this delicious cake and leaving it out for breakfast, or throughout the day as a snack. 

 

Apple Cake Recipe

To begin, set out the butter to soften.  Also, wash, core and thinly slice apples.  Each apple will be cut into sixteenths.

Ingredients  

• 3 large eggs 
• 2 cups sugar 
• ½ cup vegetable oil 
• ½ cup softened butter 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 2 cups flour (I use 2-1/4 cups Swans Down cake flour) 
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 1 cup walnut pieces (if desired) 
• 4-6 large Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples, cored and sliced  

​

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F 
2. Generously butter a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish 
3. Combine all of the dry ingredients and set aside  (cake flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon) 
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until frothy. Gradually add the sugar, oil and butter (a little of each at a time). Beat until sugar has dissolved. 
5. Stir in the vanilla (with the mixer on low speed is fine) 
6. Add dry ingredients mixture to the egg mixture along with the walnuts (with the mixer on low speed is fine) 
7. Spread the apples over the bottom of the prepared baking pan and drizzle with a few pinches of sugar 
8. Pour the batter over them, smoothing to cover all the apples 

Bake for 1 hour 

Set aside to cool to room temperature. Turn upside down on serving plate. I use my cutting board as the serving tray for this cake. Not only is it the right size, but a knife will not harm it.

 PrepWorks Dishwasher Safe Apple Slicer and Corer – 16-Slice Thin Apple Cutter with Safety CoverCheck Price Swans Down, Cake Flour, 32oz Box - Pack of 6Check Price Thirteen Chefs Large Acrylic Cutting Board, 16x10 Inch with Rubber Feet, Clear - Dishwasher SafeCheck Price

 

If you happen to be the recipient of a bushel of apples, you may also wish to check out my Apple Cobbler recipe or my Chocolate Covered Apples.  They are both delicious! 

 Easy Apple Cobbler Recipe Chocolate Dipped or Covered Apples

 

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AI and Photography

 

AI generated image from original photograph

AI has come a long way since I last wrote a review on it two years ago.  You now hear a lot of negatives (mainly when people try to pass an AI feature off as their own) but I believe there are many useful purposes for AI in photography and editing.  I also believe it is important when a creation has added AI features that you represent it as such.

In the image above I started with a photograph of myself, as you see in the center of the collage.  I then went into ChatGPT and asked it to create a collage with my favorite pastimes: photography, Bible class, Book club, photographing lighthouses, and bird watching.

Caricatures using ChatGPT

Another fun thing to do in ChatGPT is to make caricatures.  These are very easy to make and ChatGPT allows you to make up to 4 images a day for free.  If you want to do more in a day then you would need to upgrade to their paid version.  I have made several of these caricatures and always enjoy the outcomes.  Here are the steps I take to make the images.

• Enter ChatGPT in your browser.
• Sign in to ChatGPT
• On the left side of the screen you will see images as a choice-hit that
• Now a box will come up asking you to describe image here
• This is where you list your activities that you would like to show in your caricature.
• Now to the left of the box you will see a plus sign and this is where you add your photograph
• When all is added you just click on the button to start and it will create your image.  This will take a few minutes.

Below you see a caricature I made of my dog Dixie.  I put her activites as running in park and chasing squirrels.

Dog Caricature created on ChatGPT

For my brothers-in-law birthday, I wanted to create a special card so I put a photo I had of him on ChatGPT and listed his favorite pastimes: the theatre, chess, visiting Branson MO and cigars.  I asked for a caricature and here is the resulting image which I then put on the front of his birthday card.

Caricature Created by ChatGPT from Photograph

 Generative Fill in Photoshop

Another great way to use AI is a fun feature in Photoshop called "Generative Fill".  In this feature you use a photograph that you had taken and add something to it.  You can do this by circling the area where you want to add something and then selecting generative fill in the Edit drop down menu.  You will have a box pop up where you can describe what you want to add.  Here is an example.

This is a photo I created an image for a challenge group I am in called" Monthly Artistic Playtime". They provided the hearts and lettering, and we were challenged to create an image using that.  I added a photo I had taken of the Northern Lights for the background and then with generative fill I added the two Cardinal lovebirds.

Valentine Greeting

Creating Images in Meta AI

In this one I had a photo that I took of my backyard when it was snowing, and I wanted to use it for Christmas.  I used Meta AI to add the wreath with the red bow, the twinkling lights and the greeting.  Meta AI is found on Facebook and is very easy to use.  You can find it on your home Facebook page in the lefthand column

Christmas Decor edited with Meta AI

2023 Review on AI and Photography

In 2023 I first wrote a review on fun ways to use AI and creativity with photographs. AI has come a long way in the past two years, but I thought you might like to see what I wrote two years ago.  Here is a link to that review.

Fun with AI in Photography

Zazzle Card from my Designs

Valentine Card

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The First Gentleman Book Review

 The First Gentleman, a thriller by former President Bill Clinton and the master of thrillers, James Patterson.

The First Gentleman is Clinton, and Patterson's third collaboration with the first two being The President Is Missing and The President's Daughter. The books are not a series, so it doesn't matter what order you read them in. 

The First Gentleman: Plot

President Madeline Wright is in the middle of a reelection campaign and preparing a plan to save the US economy. But that is not her biggest problem; it's her husband, Cole Wright.

Cole is a former NFL star who played for the New England Patriots and is now the first gentleman. Cole is being charged with a 17 year old murder of a cheerleader, turning his world upsidedown.

Two investigative reporters, Garret Wilson and Brea Cooke, set out to write a book and uncover the truth about this cold case. Is Cole Wright guilty of murder? You will have to read this book to find out.

The story alternates between personal moments and political drama. You will be drawn into a web of secrets, investigations, and power struggles that feel real. Patterson keeps the chapters short and suspenseful, making this hard to put down. I do have the other two books and can't wait to read them.

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The First Gentleman: A ThrillerBuy Now

 

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A Review of Making Hot Cocoa from Scratch

Few things are as good on a cold winter's day, than a big mug of hot cocoa.  The smell alone is enough to take me back to my childhood and the cocoa my Mom use to make.  Drinking it at the kitchen table, looking out the window at a glittering snow covered landscape.  It was magical.

Mom never used hot chocolate mix, she made it from scratch, by the cup. In each mug, she would put powdered milk, cocoa and of sugar. Then she would boil water on the stove and pour one cup each in our mugs with the homemade mix.  Then all you had to do was stir.  Delicious!

The recipe is simple and easy to make....

• 1/2 cup powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup boiling water

Making your own hot cocoa from scratch is so much better than buying mixes.  Store bought mixes have all kinds of preservatives and additives that you really don't need to put in your body.  Making your own cocoa lets you control what you put in your body.  Another great thing is that you can adjust it to the flavor you like.  More or less sugar, more or less cocoa, however you prefer it. 

If you want to be adventurous, you can flavor your hot chocolate.  Just add the following to the original recipe.  Remember, one addition per cup.

Cinnamon hot chocolate - add 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon

Peppermint hot chocolate - add 1/8 teaspoon of peppermint extract and 1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Coffee flavored hot chocolate - add 1 or 2 teaspoons of black coffee, to taste.

Orange hot chocolate - Replace half the water with orange juice and add a pinch of cinnamon

Three Adult Beverage Hot Chocolate Recipes

1.  add 1 ounce of warm Kahlua

2.  1/4 ounce Peppermint Schnapps and 1/2 ounce chocolate liqueur

3.  1/4 tsp. cinnamon, pinch of ground cloves, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg, 1 and 1/2 ounces of spiced rum.

I keep these ingredients in my cupboard all the time, that way I can have hot chocolate any time I want, or make it for guests.  Some times I also make it for a hostess gift, especially during the holidays.  Just bag the ingredients separately and put them in a decorative tin or box for perfect gift giving!

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Amicool External DVD Drive Review

Do you still own a desktop or laptop with a Cd/DVD player ? When my last computer met its' fate the replacement laptop did not have a CD/DVD player. At the time I wasn't concerned as through the years had pivoted away for media and store all documents and photos in the cloud.

Until ... I decided to tackle the media from years ago. In all forms saved on Cd's, DVD's, USB thumb drives and on and on. The library actually offers a digitize service free of charge; however, the wait list was long. Instead an external DVD drive was purchased for under $25 and it works like a charm.

The Amicool had over 11,000 online reviews with average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. A great affordable alternative for laptops and desktops without an internal drive. 

Features 

Slim, light and unobtrusive the Amicool is features packed:

DVD Drive

USB 3.0 C CD Burner

Cd/DVD Optical Drive Rewrite

Backward compatible

Compatible Windows 7-11

MacBook Mac Linux OS Apple

Recommendation

I highly recommend and this drive delivers as promised!

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