How You Can Make Some of Magnolia Bakery’s Most Beloved Recipes

What drew you to write a cookbook dedicated to “no-bake” and icebox desserts?

I always found that no-bake recipes are super easy. It’s about doing the assembly part and letting [the dessert] sit for a little while in the refrigerator — that’s the “baking.” All of our banana puddings are made with boxed instant pudding. You can buy other components — caramel sauce, fudge sauce, lemon curd — or you can make them. That’s how I look at “no-bake.” You can get family and friends involved — put out classic banana pudding and add sauces and toppings; I love mini chocolate chips, M&M’s, chopped cookies — so it becomes like an ice cream bar. It’s really fun and interactive.

What are back-of-the-box recipes? And how did they inspire this new cookbook?Refrigerators or an icebox from the ’40s or ’50s, or, today, a KitchenAid mixer, would come with back-of-the-box pamphlet recipes. Little pamphlets were handed out with equipment. My great-grandmother on my mother’s side had a cookbook from 1937 that she cooked from. The back of the [cook]book had additional pages she handwrote recipes down. So [to honor that], for The Magnolia Bakery Handbook of Icebox Desserts, I asked for additional pages so that you can write your recipes in there.

Your first book for Magnolia,The Magnolia Bakery Handbook, came out in 2020. How did you approach writing this new cookbook differently?

“The Magnolia Bakery Handbook of Icebox Desserts:A Complete Guide for the Home Baker, Volume 2” comes out April 22.

Courtesy HarperCollins

Bake With Bobbie

Lloyd shared three recipes from The Magnolia Bakery Handbook of Icebox Desserts for AARP members to try:

Butter Pecan Cheesecake

Top it with this rich and buttery pecan sauce and enjoy.

Magnolia Bakery’s Famous Banana Pudding

Since opening our first shop in 1996, this pudding has been our not-so-well-kept secret.

Roasted Strawberry and Chocolate Cookie Icebox Cake

Roast the berries beforehand and the complex sugars and flavors will be enhanced.

 

A: I had all these great no-bake desserts and iced desserts left over from the first book. Putting this book together was a little bit easier for me. I learned how to simplify while giving full instructions. These recipes are very explanatory. I really detailed everything as much as possible, like how to whip the cream — put it in a mixing bowl and turn the mixer on low — and what you should expect at each step of the way.

What are your favorite bakeries?

My favorite bakery in the world is probably Ottolenghi in London. My husband and I were there every morning, eating way more sweets than I probably should. Every single thing is spectacular. Aux Merveilleux de Fred, in Paris and the West Village [in New York City], is where my daughter and I had these little meringues [called “merveilleux”] that were light as a feather, filled with Chantilly cream, covered with shaved chocolate. A new bakery opened in Hudson, New York [near where Lloyd lives], called Banque. It’s in an old bank, it’s stunning, and their croissants are amazing.

Any advice for home bakers?

Always read a recipe through several times to make sure you have all the equipment, that the ingredients are at the right temperature, and that you fully understand the process. For example, checking your oven temperature to make sure the internal temperature is the same as the dial. [And] buy a scale. A lot of bakers who work at Magnolia are not pastry chefs; they’re people who learned how to bake, started out as prep cooks or dishwashers, or from culinary school.

How can we make our Magnolia Bakery Classic Banana Pudding taste just like the one from your bakery?

Use instant vanilla pudding and select semi-firm bananas that are yellow with specks of brown spots. The pudding should sit for at least six hours. The wafers should be tender when poked with a knife. But the longer the pudding sits, the softer the wafers will become. Know that bananas will turn brown in the refrigerator. Pudding should be consumed within 24 hours, preferably within 12 hours.

What are some of your fondest memories of baking with your family?

I would cut out cookies with my mom, great-grandmother and aunts. My grandmother was very good at making candy. She made fudge and divinity cookies [that look like] little white clouds; we also made thumbprint cookies, snowballs and crinkles. My sister and brother [carry on the tradition] with his grandchildren, and a lot of those recipes are in the first Magnolia Bakery cookbook.

It’s great to hear that at 67, you’re a lifelong runner, you practice yoga and you walk to work three miles every day. Is being in your 60s any different than other decades?

I don’t believe that my age has played into my career. The number of years I have been in the industry has given me the experiences I need to be a better leader. ... As a baker and chef, the more you bake or make something, the better you get. For example, I have made my brownie recipes thousands of times since I developed it when I was 20 years old. It has improved with age, just like me.