the best laid plans

Today is my husband's birthday and I had big plans to make an ice cream cake for him. He is one of those rare people that doesn't like birthday cake- HATES icing, and apparently always has, even since he was a wee one. I had planned on getting an oreo pie crust, stuffing it with his favorite Edy's Grand mint chocolate chip ice cream, donning premium chocolate wafers in the center, and topping it with Camembert chocolate shavings. My plans literally started to crumble last night when I attempted to take the pie crust out of the aluminum casing, and it fell to pieces. His mom then upstaged me this morning by delivering a coffee cake. So this evening I ended up fixing him an bowl of ice cream with some Magic shell on top, with a lame birthday candle in the middle. C'est la vie. 

The thought of birthday cakes, however, got me thinking about my favorite bakeries in NYC- Magnolia Bakery, and its rival, Buttercup Bake Shop. The two bakeries carry the exact same items that taste the exact same. They are both amazing. It is simply a matter of proximity for me when I'm in the city. I don't know what happened between the two owners to cause a rift, but lucky for us, that means there are more locations to choose from. I've just added both of their cookbooks to the Party Perfect Favorites book shop. I own both, and have made the cupcakes from the Magnolia cookbook and the banana pudding from the Buttercup one. If you had to choose just one, I would go with Buttercup, since the banana pudding recipe they are famous for is only shared in theirs. 

photo courtesy of Magnolia Bakery cookbook