Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Magnolia Bakery in New York review

I flew in from New York late last night (and boy, are my arms tired!). I had to tell you about my visit to the Magnolia Bakery in Manhattan. I NEEDED to see that bakery! I asked the concierge at my hotel for directions there and he immediately knew where I was talking about. I was with a friend who had never heard of it - can you believe that?!! It was an adorable bakery and I don't know why I didn't take a photo of the outside but I think it was because it was a weekday and the sidewalk was absolutely bustling with business people walking by. I didn't want to appear to be a annoying tourist. The bakery inside was "white". The decor was all white. It looked clean and bright and there were two women frosting cupcakes in the front window. There was so much to chose from in the classic glass pastry cases. This was going to be my lunch so I was not going to walk out of there with one little treat. I bought 2 treats and a Magnolia Bakery tshirt. My choices of desserts were a cup of banana pudding and a slice of coconut cake with marshmallow frosting. Both of them were absolutely delicious. I was somewhat prepared to be disappointed but I wasn't. I loved them! They are known for their banana pudding and usually I'm not in the mood for banana treats but since it's supposed to be so fabulous, I gave it a try. I was thrilled with it! The cake was not dry at all and the coconut filling was thick and not too sweet. The frosting was fluffy and sweet and perfect for the somewhat heavy cake. I also went to Amy's Bread in Greenwich Village and that was a special treat as well. I bought a zucchini carrot muffin there and also a white cupcake with pink frosting. The buttercream frosting on that cupcake was light and delicious and not one bit gritty or heavy.

Oh! I also went to Juniors restaurant. They are the ones known for their terrific cheesecake. I had a devils food cheese cake. It was honestly the best cheesecake I've ever eaten. It was a layer of devils food cake with a layer of plain cheesecake and in between was chocolate ganache and the whole thing was covered with the ganache as well. It was so decadent and good! Oh my word! I'm so glad there is no Juniors near me because I would buy that cake often!


The banana pudding came in two different sizes and were served in a little round paper container with a lid - kind of like a soup container. It had vanilla wafers in it and just the right amount of banana chunks and the bananas were not too "banana-ee". The pudding was kind of mousse like in texture. I loved it! I have the Magnolia Bakery cookbook so maybe I will have to give the recipe a try. Has anyone reading this tried making it?


Coconut cake with 7 minute frosting! They also had their devils food cake and red velvet cake in the cake domes on top of the counter. Decisions, decisions!







2 comments:

Shellbelle said...

I don't know how good your blog will be for my diet, BUT I love it!

Banana pudding is easy to make, it's a staple here in the South. I don't know how the Magnolia Bakery tops theirs, but I put meringue on mine…soooooo good!

justine said...

Welcome home Heidi - will you make banana pudding for us when we come to stay? I bet Mi would love it!