It was a crisp winter night, the chilly air practically sucked the life out of us, and to add to our misery, we decided to brave the never-ending queue outside Magnolia Bakery to try that viral tres leches cake the internet (and apparently Alia Bhatt) can't stop raving about. Since the day of its launch, Magnolia Bakery's outlet in Gurugram, the first in Delhi-NCR — has been in the news for queues that rival pilgrimage sites and for entrepreneurial folks reselling the desserts to those desperate for a taste. So, we too gave into the hype and found ourselves lined up outside the fancy Godrej GCR, Gurgaon–Manesar Urban Complex, where Magnolia Bakery is housed, at 11 PM.
Now, mind you, 11 PM is their closing time, but the humble staff was more than happy to accommodate folks that stood outside. They deserve a pat on their back for managing the queue so well, because it moved surprisingly smoothly and quickly. After 25 minutes of waiting, we were finally inside and stepped onto the checkered hexagonal mosaic-tiled floor with Magnolia Bakery etched into it for a little photo op. The space is minimal, with white bricked walls done up with tiny screens flaunting those gorgeous desserts and the Magnolia Bakery logo all with a touch of mint green to match the brand's colour scheme.
The setup is quite smooth: you simply move along the stations while the servers ask you what you would like added to your tray at each station. You get that 'kid in a candy store' eyeing those beautiful desserts and your self-control might just take a long long walk in that moment. We stuck to the OGs and got ourselves the tres leches cake (both with and without egg), banana pudding, double fudge brownie and blueberry cheesecake. All this while watching a pastry chef skill-fully drape a huge decadent cake in layers of butter cream — but as they say, eyes on the price.
Now, here comes the lowdown on the taste. The tres leches is everything your heart desires — a soft, light and moist sponge that soaks up that lovely sweet milk concoction (similar to the rasmalai, some might say). The eggless tres leches is a little less sweet and we actually preferred that a bit more. The banana pudding is super rich and too sweet for our liking. The bits of banana and vanilla crunch mixed with that creamy vanilla pudding and condensed milk, delivering a sugar rush that’s too hard to handle. The brownie and cheesecake are mid, nothing special and we would honestly prefer Big Chill in this department.
Bottomline is, if you enjoy your desserts very sweet, Magnolia will definitely bamboozle you. But if you are like us and like 'em balanced, you might return home with less excitement than expected.
Timings: 12 PM - 11 PM
Google Rating: 4.1/5
Price For Two: INR 800 (approx.)
