My love affair with Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding began in the summer of 2014, when I was headed to NYC with my friend for an adventurous day.
“Come to the city with me,” she said. “Let’s trot around the streets, grab some lunch, do some shopping, and then stop by Magnolia Bakery. You have to try their banana pudding!”
I admit I was a little hesitant at first. While I don’t discriminate against desserts, pudding usually isn’t high up there on my list of favorites. Little did I know that my whole idea of what pudding is was about to get turned upside-down.
After a lovely afternoon of enjoying the city’s sights, we stopped in Magnolia Bakery before catching the train back home. As soon as I walked into the door, I was greeted by the smell of freshly made baked goods. I was taken by the variety of beautiful cupcakes, but my friend insisted that the pudding was what I needed to try.
Photo by Liz Mirra
Now I have a question for all of you readers: Do you believe in love at first site? I used to be a nonbeliever, but the second I lifted the cardboard lid off of the container and laid my eyes on that silky, sexy pudding, I knew I was in love.
Magnolia has managed to elevate a simple Southern dessert into a dessert unlike any other. The texture of the pudding is not that of your typical pudding – it is more of a whipped consistency, with bananas and Nilla wafers blended in. The result is nothing short of a CLOUD in your mouth.
Photo by Liz Mirra
It’s been almost two years now since banana pudding and I entered into a committed long-distance relationship. Every time I go to NYC, I visit Magnolia to delight in my one true love, my darling banana pudding. Now that I think of it, the relationship is kind of one-sided; I’m always the one traveling to visit.
It breaks my heart that there isn’t a Magnolia Location closer to me. If you are ever in NYC, forget Broadway, forget the MET, forget Central Park… just go to one of several Magnolia Bakery locations (Oh, and there’s also one in CA, IL, and HI).