Two celebrities associated with cupcakes have paid tribute to blondies in the recent past.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is presumably the impetus for the Fat Witch Bakery scene in And Just Like That, the HBO sequel to Sex and the City. In the show’s first season in 2022, Parker’s Carrie character is walking through New York’s Chelsea Market with Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda character. Parker leads them into the bakery to buy sweets for Carrie’s neighbor. As she looks through the bakery’s signature brownie selection, she bonds with a blondie.
Parker is responsible for putting Magnolia Bakery cupcakes in SATC in 2000. Her AJLT statement dessert in 2022 is the blondie.
Meanwhile, Magnolia cupcakes have returned to the independent SATC bus tour that has been operating in New York for more than 20 years. There was a time when On Location Tours shuttled visitors near Magnolia, but didn’t serve Magnolia cupcakes. Instead, guests received cupcakes from another bakery while the bus was parked across the street from Magnolia. When I went on the tour in 2018, some attendees made a point to go to Magnolia themselves during the stop. When I went on the tour again this month, Magnolia cupcakes were back on official duty. The tour guide led attendees to Magnolia and picked up a box of mini red velvets while some people bought other goods to taste as well. Here on the bus tour, the original has rejoined the cast.
The second cupcake celebrity to endorse blondies is Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles and author of Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit. In her book and newsletter, Nelson describes how she came to mentor Auzerais Bellamy, founder of Blondery. The boutique bakery specializes in bite-sized blondies and Nelson is on board as a business advisor and supporter of the product.
Though they don’t speak as forcefully as cupcakes, blondies have captured the attention of pro-cupcake celebrities surveying the New York bakery landscape.
Andrea Adleman | Cupcakologist 