New Flava Flav: Empire State of Mind

Finnicky eaters. That's what my kids are. But of an entirely different breed. My son is the really difficult one. When he eats at friends' homes or with my in-laws, I am often asked "Well, what does he like to eat? What should we feed him?" This is one of my most dreaded questions as I simply don't know what to answer. I do have a better idea of what he doesn't like to eat -- the list is long and varied but includes anything pureed, potatoes, lamb and pork, most green vegetables and cupcakes. Yes, you heard right...my son doesn't like cupcakes. I consider him a lost cause.

My daughter on the other hand seems to have her own eating schedule. There isn't anything in particular that I know she doesn't like, there are just some days when she eats and others when she doesn't. It's a bit problematic from a planning standpoint cause inevitably when I buy an extra portion for her she doesn't eat, and if I try to skimp and split a portion of whatever we are eating with her, she ends up cleaning off my plate and hers!



When all else fails though, I find there are 2 foods I can rely on that she will never refuse -- apple compote and cupcakes. That's my girl (big mommy smile)! I started experimenting with various apple cupcake recipes last Fall and never ended up with one I really liked. I think part of the problem was that I was grating my apples too thinly before baking and clearly not using enough. The resulting cupcakes ended up too bland and often not solid enough to hold their structure - think mushy apple pie. With peak apple season here, I decided to try my hand at this again and finally came up with a winning combination! The bonus...my daughter gave these a BIG thumbs up and finished off two yesterday in record time!



I'm adding Empire State of Mind to the Sugar Daze menu -- if you are an apple fan, you most definitely should give them a try; I promise you will not be disappointed. It starts with an apple-walnut cupcake, lightly seasoned with cinnamon and fresh ginger, and topped with a maple-cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Mmm, Mmm Good!