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Located in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the near-shoebox-size Magnolia Bakery has become a destination for lovers of all-things sweet. The reason? From the beginning its owner Allysa Torey and her staff have offered cakes (and particularly cupcakes), pies, and other pastries that are utterly unpretentious but deeply satisfying in a grandmother-would-have-made-it-if-she-could-have way.
More from Magnolia Torey's second book, adds to her already impressive recipe roster 75 formulas that range from Pear Streusel Breakfast Buns, and Pumpkin Walnut Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting, to Chocolate Pecan Pudding Pie, and Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Included also are recipes for signature specialties like Magnolia's Chocolate Cupcakes and famous banana pudding, plus a section on frostings and sauces. All are easy to do, even for beginning bakers, and all have the straightforward Magnolia appeal.
--Arthur Boehm
From Booklist
Who would have thought that a good store would limit its customers to a specific number of cupcakes? Or that a down-home bakery, without the patisserie appellation, would have garnered such a following in sophisticated Manhattan? In the second of her cookbooks (following
The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, 1999), bakery owner Torey adopts 75 easy recipes to home ovens--with the appropriate preparations, of course. Whether cookies or coffee cakes, cheese pies or ice creams, her sweet stuff is always distinguished by a twist in traditional ingredients--banana bread enlivened by coconut and pecans, or a white chocolate ice cream made crunchier with peanut brittle. Recipes rarely take up more than one page; directions are eminently understandable.
Barbara JacobsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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