Recipes from the World-Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen

I ordered this cookbook after finding the recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes online and making them for my daughter-in-law's birthday. Everyone liked them so much, and they were delicious. I like the simplicity of the recipes and look forward to trying many of them.

I've had Magnolia's cupcakes, and the recipes come pretty close to the real thing. I'm wondering if there's an ingredient that they're withholding on purpose, because I mean, come on, if they sell their recipes, who would buy the cupcakes from the bakery?

I have previously purchased the other two Magnolia cookbooks, and just recently got this one....only to find out it's the SAME recipes that are in their other two cookbooks - and the same photos from the previous books.

What a rip off!!! This book is going back for a refund!

If you have the other Magnolia books - don't waste your money on this one.

I ordered this book from the store because of the rave reviews. Everything I have tried from this book is not worth feeding to my dog and I end up throwing it in the trash. I have made 3 things from this book the Coconut Layer Cake had a strange taste when I say strange I mean NOT GOOD. The Lemon Layer Cake was one of the worst cakes I have ever tasted, the lemon buttercream icing calls for 8 CUPS OF POWDERED SUGAR!!! The Traditional Vanilla Birthday Cake was dry as a bone. I would not recommend anyone waste money on this book. BTW, I have a home based bakery & everything I make is amazingly delicious, so I know how to cook and I followed each recipe to a T. The recipies still turned out bad.If these are the recipies The Magnolia Bakery uses they would be OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

A few weeks ago, I checked out The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook from my local library. I don’t know if any of you have ever been to Magnolia Bakery in NYC (or heard about it on Sex and the City), but let me tell you, the treats there are DELICIOUS. The best part (for lazy Alyssa) is the fact that they are now also located in Grand Central Station! This obviously means that every time I step foot in Grand Central I must buy something (see: cupcakes) and all three days that my aunt and I were in NYC for BEA resulted in A LOT of Magnolia Bakery purchases.

I have to be honest and tell you that although I enjoy baking and have made a plethora of breads and cookies from scratch; I have yet to try cakes or frosting! I was so excited and also quite nervous to try these recipes for the first time, but overall I think they were a success, at least, no one became sick and I heard lots of yummy noises!

My first attempt was the Devil’s Food Cake (except I made cupcakes) with Mocha Buttercream Frosting and let me tell you, they were delicious! I have now made these for multiple parties – including a luau bridal shower – and everyone raves about them. The frosting is especially a hit for both lovers and non-lovers of coffee (or espresso) and I’ll tell you a secret – I’ve even plastered it on top of a cake made from a box recipe, blasphemous, I KNOW, but it even enhances the most boring cupcake recipe.

After reading negative reviews of this book, I compared the table of contents from both The Magnolia Bakery and More from Magnolia Bakery Cookbooks to this book's table of contents and found every single recipe from both cookbooks are indeed included in this one book. While I completely agree with reviewers who felt this is a rip-off if you own both previous books (which I do and I almost bought this one), it should be noted that the title of this book is The COMPLETE Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. The front flap description does state this book is a comprehensive collection of recipes from the bakery in honor of the bakery's 10th anniversary, however, no where does it state that this book is simply a combination of every recipe from both previous cookbooks. In my opinion, omitting this key piece of information is being intentionally misleading, a tad dishonest, and definitely an attempt to make a few more quick bucks. In my comparison I did not find even one new recipe in this book. If you own both previous Magnolia Bakery cookbooks, don't waste your money or your shelf space on this one. I would recommend this book only to someone who does not own the first two.

Cupcake fanatics have been flocking to the original Magnolia Bakery on the corner of Bleecker and 11th Streets for well over a decade. And for good reason since the little Greenwich Village shop makes satisfying cupcakes that are full of flavor and not overly sweet. The Magnolia gained pop culture icon status with a prominent appearance on an episode of Sex and the City when Carrie and Miranda were savoring their cupcakes on the sidewalk in front. It doesn't come as much of a surprise that a cookbook has been released containing all their signature recipes. What is surprising is that only four cupcake recipes are offered here, including their famous Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting (page 91).

Original Magnolia owners Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey only act as consultants to the bakery now since they moved on to other ventures, but they provide all the recipes here. There are 43 different cookies on their menu, as well as cakes, pies, icings, and even ice cream. The Heavenly Hash Ice Cream Pie (page 204) is a particular treat mixing chocolate ice cream, chocolate chips, and a homemade marshmallow sauce into a decadent delight. The other standout is Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding (page 212), a 1960's-style dessert made with Jell-O Instant Vanilla Pudding mix and Nabisco Nilla Wafers. The one area of marginal disappointment is the first chapter, muffins and quick breads, which really come across as standard issue compared to the other sweet creations offered here. There are sixteen pages of color photographs plus stills that capture life at the bakery. Followers should rejoice at the availability of these recipes, and non-bakers should simply make a trip to one of their five bakeries (four in Manhattan, one in LA).

I was skeptical buying this, because there were some negative reviews about the cupcakes. They don't come out dry, in fact they are light and moist. I am not a cupcake fan, because they are usually too dense. I have never had a better cupcake in my life. The recipes are rich, but each one is outstanding. I was actually afraid to spend the money on all of the ingredients only to turn out a flop. Hasn't happened yet. I have tons of cookbooks from all reputable authors and chefs. These recipes are actually easier than most, and the results are really to die for. And the funny thing is that I went to the Magnolia Bakery in NYC, and I actually prefer the homecooked stuff better.

I have made several recipes from these book and all have turned out excellent, much better than any desserts I ever baked before. I made the oatmeal muffins, the peaches and cream pie, the cream cheese icing, the pumpkin bars, the chocolate chip cookies, and the apple pie crust. I find the directions very easy to follow, and the techniques, while not difficult, are precisely described so that your baking comes out perfectly. I am really more of a cook than a baker, and I appreciate directions like, "on the medium speed of a mixer, beat the mixture for 3 minutes." It is so much easier to follow than something like, "Beat until it becomes thick." They really tested these recipes well.

With everyone complaing about no pictures it is obvious that one one reads! This is not Manolia Bakery in Waco, but in New York! So yes in other states items like cake will be dry, just adjust accordingly. Repeat this is not from. The Waco crew. This is a bakery that has been around a while.

I bought this recipe book mostly because I love Magnolias' cupcakes and I wanted to recreate, in Ohio, my favorite NYC indulgence. I was also familiar with the Torey's other recipe books because my sister makes desserts quite often from another one. I was disappointed to find that the recipes in this book are generally the exact same ones in my sisters'. There is no doubt that there are some amazing recipes in this book, as I've received many rave reviews for a few desserts that I've made. The cupcake recipe is also very authentic, as I replicate the exact flavor profile of the cupcakes I get in NYC. However, I've found that I've really had to modify many of the recipes to improve on them. I also find that I won't try recipes that are ridiculously unhealthy. There is a raspberry bar that calls for about 8 sticks of butter for two dozen bars. Also, Torey is not the original creator of most recipes, as I've grown up on many items in the book, like the cream cheese pudding bars, etc. It just seems that she replaces milk rations for cream rations, and very much loves to overdo it on the shortbread crusts. I have also taken several desserts to parties that weren't well received. So, all in all, there are a few major keepers and the rest is mediocre, like most books.

The vanilla cupcake recipe was wonderful, they came out moist and light, but the buttercream icing was TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE. Definitely an icing NOT to make because your cupcakes will look sad and unpresentable. Like the other reviewer, the icing pretty much tasted like watered down confectioner's sugar. After 6-8 cups it was still soft and wouldn't stay on the cupcakes!!! Martha Stewart's icing recipes were much better.

Recipes kept repeating themselves, not enough pictures and you had to keep flipping pages, book was not well made, you might be better off googling copycat recipes off the internet. Or get Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book (lots of pictures+more variety than you can even turn into cake recipes).

I bought this cookbook after falling in love with the vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting from the bakery. The frosting tasted nothing like the bakeries, or even buttercream for that matter. It called for 8-10 cups of powdered sugar, and that's what it tasted like, just watered down powdered sugar, i couldn't even get the frosting to stay on the cupcakes. I had to throw these humiliating cupcakes away before anyone took a bite! I've tried contacting the company, but no response. See if I ever go to magnolias again!

I made the german chocolate cake and it was amazing. There were a few steps but they were all simple for an inexperienced baker. The cake got rave reviews. I have been asked to make it again. Looking forward to trying more recipes.

We returned this book for a refund! Hoping for yummy treats like we've eaten at the bakery, my wife wanted this book. No sooner did she open it from under the Christmas tree and try a recipe did we discover the cupcake was HORRIBLE and INEDIBLE! My wife is an excellent and experienced baker, she's a nurse and is all about following instructions. We're not sure what went wrong with the recipe but it didn't work and we didn't try again.

Mrs. Nayler's eyes sparkled when she saw this book and even more when she saw the recipes inside. My eyes sparkled when I saw the blueberry muffins she made using the recipe in the book and even more when I bit into one. She made them this morning and I have had almost a half dozen since then.

I bought this cookbook after falling in love with the vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting from the bakery. The frosting tasted nothing like the bakeries, or even buttercream for that matter. It called for 8-10 cups of powdered sugar, and that's what it tasted like, just watered down powdered sugar, i couldn't even get the frosting to stay on the cupcakes. I had to throw these humiliating cupcakes away before anyone took a bite! I've tried contacting the company, but no response. See if I ever go to magnolias again!

We returned this book for a refund! Hoping for yummy treats like we've eaten at the bakery, my wife wanted this book. No sooner did she open it from under the Christmas tree and try a recipe did we discover the cupcake was HORRIBLE and INEDIBLE! My wife is an excellent and experienced baker, she's a nurse and is all about following instructions. We're not sure what went wrong with the recipe but it didn't work and we didn't try again.