Dear Magnolia Bakery,
I was wrong about you. So. Very. Wrong.
When I made my first visit to your shop at Rockefeller Center in 2009 it was late on a Friday night. It was my first trip to the city since the cupcake craze really took off--and I wanted to be a part of it. Though I was tired from a long day of exploring Manhattan on foot, I ventured out from my hotel room at 11pm. Your shop at Rockefeller was charming, albeit small and crowded. I purchased two vanilla cupcakes with pink buttercream and hurried back to the room to share my goodies with my mom.
I settled into my hotel club chair and took a bite. The cake was dry and rather tasteless, the frosting like sugar weighed down with its own sweetness.
I was not impressed. I did manage to eat the entire cupcake--you know, just in case it got better. It didn't.
Fast forward to last Friday. I once again found myself in New York City, this time accompanied by Ebby. For her first trip to the Big Apple, our itinerary was full-on tourist. We hit several hot spots: Times Square, Central Park, Tinsel Trading...Like her mother, Ebby is a cupcake connoisseur. Even given my less than stellar experience at Magnolia last time, I was willing to give it another shot. For Ebby's sake. Our first pass by the Rockefeller Center bakery presented us with a line out the door. We decided to find some lunch and then return. Our second try met with the same results: a line out the door. We had to move on, we had many more stops on our agenda.
However a few hours later, fate intervened. Maybe it was the Cupcake Godesses, who's to say. We were on our way to Dylan's Candy Bar, walking by Bloomingdale's on 3rd Avenue when I saw it, out of the corner of my eye.
A Magnolia Bakery. Inside Bloomingdale's. With hardly any line.
We immediately walked in.
So delightful.
Turns out the Magnolia in Bloomie's just opened in June and it is lovely. Beadboard, vintage cakestands, jars of colored sprinkles and paper straws. Mmm, swoon.
I ordered a coconut cupcake: vanilla cake with vanilla meringue buttercream topped with shredded coconut. And as I found out around my 3rd bite, a lovely touch of lemon filling.
One bite and I was a Magnolia convert.
Delicious. Light, airy frosting paired with subtle, moist cake and tangy lemon filling. Yep, still thinking about it...
Ebby sampled a chocolate cupcake with purple (vanilla) buttercream. It met with her approval ;-).
The decor might be my all time favorite for a bakery.
Right up there with Back in the Day in Savannah. Perfect vintage colors, details and accessories.
So, congratulations Magnolia Bakery, you are now on my good side. My very good side :-)

P.S. Sprinkles NYC, I was underwhelmed. Quite.




