The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook is a wonderful addition to any cookbook collection. Filled with easy recipes for homemade American style desserts, you’ll turn to this book again and again on your baking journey.
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookook by Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel (Simon & Schuster, 2009), shares with us many recipes for delicious vintage American desserts. These recipes call us back to days gone by. We remember dinners at our grandparents’ house, birthday parties with our friends, and baking our first cake under the watchful eyes of our parents.
I have not had the opportunity to visit Magnolia Bakery, so working my way through this book is the next best thing! You may have heard about the bakery which originated in New York City in 1996. The original bakery was opened by Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel. It soon became renowned for their cupcakes, which were featured in a season 3 episode of Sex and the City back in 2000. The cupcake craze was just taking off around the same time and it wasn’t long before people were lined up around the block to grab one of Magnolia’s famous treats.
Appel left the bakery first in 1999 to branch out on her own, opening Buttercup Bakery, also in NYC. Torey continued to run the bakery until 2006 and then sold it to Steve Abrams. The Abrams’ eventually started to franchise the bakery and there are now many stores in various parts of the world.
The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook is an amalgamation of two previously published books, The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and More from Magnolia. The book includes many of the recipes that made the bakery famous, including the ‘Vanilla Vanilla’ cupcake (vanilla cupcake with pink vanilla frosting). I have tried the cupcake recipe and I’m here to tell you that it is my favourite vanilla cupcake recipe, hands down. The bakery has a very unique way of frosting their cupcakes, as shown on the cover of the book. Check out this video of how they get the perfect swirl. I’m mesmerized every time I see it!
Other recipes I would recommend you try from the book include: Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns, Fudge Brownies with White Chocolate, Toffee and Pecans, Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes, and Magnolia’s Famous Banana Pudding. I’ve also adapted a few recipes from the book, including one of my favourite muffin recipes for Oatmeal Muffins with Chocolate Chips. I love to have these muffins with a cup of coffee while I’m flipping through my cookbook collection!
The recipes in the book are easy to follow with clear instructions that provide good step-by-step guidance. Pictures are not included with each recipe; however, there are some photos of the finished bakes included in a couple of different sections of the book. The ingredients called for are mostly your typical pantry/fridge ingredients and are easy to find at your local grocers.
I recommend this book if you are new to baking or have been baking for many years. Most of the recipes are sweet, so if you’re looking to reduce the sugar in your life, this may not be your first choice in a book. Although, as with many recipes, the sweetness level can be tinkered with somewhat to suit your preferences. Overall, the recipes turn out successfully and the familiar flavours are ones you’ll love to recreate again and again.
Have you baked from this book? Tell us all about it in the comments!
Disclosure
Please note that some of this site’s links are affiliate links, abakersbookshelf.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. At NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I will earn a small commission, if you purchase them. Please note that these are products I know/use and recommend. I recommend them as they are good products.
Leave a Reply