One of the first things i fell in love with when visiting New York City in the past was Magnolia Bakery. Now that i live in NY, it’s not often that i get to stop in anymore even though there seems to be one not too far from wherever i am! One of my clients was visiting this month and he has a major sweet tooth so while we waited for takeout at Rockefeller Center, we ran around the corner to the Magnolia Bakery on 49th & 6th.

For a first timer, it’s really tough to make a decision, but for me it’s really easy. Banana pudding. That is all.

The best thing about Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding is you can make it at home and it really does taste like the real thing! [ recipe here.] Don’t skimp on the brand names. Definitely get Nilla wafers — there’s cute mini ones and i do go for the reduced fat Nillas. i try to cut down on sugar as much as i can so the sugar free/low calorie Jell-o instant vanilla pudding is my choice. The vanilla pudding allows the banana flavor to come from the bananas themselves and not from the pudding so stick to vanilla even though it might be tempting to go for banana flavored pudding in the grocery aisle.

My lesson learned during my last go at home was not to over whip the whipped cream…i do know now that i like it softer and not as thick.

Happy Sunday everyone. Hope you try this at home and serve it to your loved ones. What i found is it actually tastes better the next day so maybe you can bring it to work and impress everyone with your kitchen skills or if you have President’s Day off then invite friends over and stay in!