What Magnolia Bakery is known for
Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey opened Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street in the West Village in 1996, first baking cupcakes from leftover cake batter. A Sex and the City scene of Carrie and Miranda eating them nearby sparked the cupcake craze that made the shop famous.
Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey opened Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street, at the corner of West 11th, in the West Village in 1996. The shop's cupcakes started almost as a byproduct — baked from leftover cake batter — before becoming the draw in their own right.
The bakery's reputation shifted from neighborhood spot to landmark after an episode of Sex and the City showed Carrie Bradshaw and Miranda Hobbes eating Magnolia cupcakes on a bench outside; the scene is widely credited with helping spark the broader 1990s cupcake craze, and lines have wrapped the block ever since.
The bakery, now marking 30 years in business, has expanded well beyond cupcakes: banana pudding is a signature alongside a dedicated Banana Pudding Bar, and the company has published cookbooks including "The Magnolia Bakery Handbook of Icebox Desserts" by CEO Bobbie Lloyd. It also runs cupcake-decorating workshops teaching its signature swirl and icing techniques.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — The original Bleecker Street cupcakes and banana pudding bar.
USA
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