cupcake – TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST

I squealed when I saw the sign for Magnolia Bakery in the Ala Moana Center because I didn’t think it existed outside of New York City. I’ve wanted to eat a cupcake from there ever since the cupcake craze of the early 2000s when I used to bake them all the time.

There was a casual store in the open-air shopping center but because we were so hot, we didn’t mind paying the tip etc in the cafe for air-con and a decent seat while we indulged in our sweets (I’m using the prices from the menu which do not include gratuity or taxes).Classic vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream rich, buttery, old-fashioned cake with a light crumb. Our most popular cupcake! ($3.50). I was a bit skeptical that this would be too sweet because Americans have a notorious sweet tooth and there was a generous swirl of icing on top, but it was perfect. The cupcake was light without being dry and the icing provided the right amount of sweetness. All in all, the perfect cupcake. It made me want to start baking again!It really did have a ‘light crumb’, this had the perfect cake and icing texture.Classic vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream rich, buttery, old-fashioned cake with a light crumb. Our most popular cupcake! ($3.50). TimmyC preferred the chocolate buttercream but I preferred vanilla. I guess it comes down to personal preference, but you should eat both too to find out what you like. 😉Red Velvet cupcake whipped vanilla icing ($3.50). I didn’t think this was as nice as the other cupcakes because of the icing, maybe if I chose the cream cheese frosting it would have been better.Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding layers of OREO® wafers, fresh bananas, creamy chocolate pudding, and chocolate shavings ($6.50). For something that sounded like it would be ridiculously sweet and OTT, it was actually really delicious and not overwhelming. Another side note is that my friend and I aren’t particularly big fans of banana but we both really enjoyed this. It was very light and reminded me of the texture of mousse.Honeydew melon cooler honeydew puree, honey dew juice, lime soda ($7.00). This was fantastic, it tasted more like honeydew more than some actual melons that I’ve tasted. It was a perfect sweet refreshing beverage.The staff was very efficient and friendly. It is definitely worth sitting in the cafe to enjoy the service and air conditioning, while enjoying the delicious delights. I wish I was hungry enough to try more cupcake flavours.