Started as a corner shop in the West Village, Magnolia Bakery has blossomed into a full blown New York City and international chain. It has half a dozen locations all over Manhattan including shops in Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. While looking up those NYC location, magnoliabakery.com blew my mind: there are apparently more locations in the Middle East than NYC, and in Korea and Mexico as well.

Magnolia cupcakes have gone global.

Magnolia Bakery is famous for its cupcakes. They were featured on an episode of Sex and the City about 20 years ago and exploded into a trendy dessert. Of course you can get other desserts as well. Ask New Yorkers and you’ll hear Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding is more special than any cupcake flavor.

Are Magnolia Bakery cupcakes worth the hype?

I did an incredibly informal poll on Twitter and a slight majority of people agreed Magnolia cupcakes are NYC’s most over-rated dessert. A little too sweet, a little too dry, just not enough to make these cupcakes live up to their iconic status.

Still, I passed Magnolia Bakery on the Upper West Side this weekend and couldn’t resist going in.

I ordered their Cupcake of the Month Razzy Chocolate: chocolate cake with raspberry jam filling and a white chocolate raspberry meringue buttercream. Raspberry cupcakes are always my favorite and these looked so cute with fresh berries on top.

And you know what? It was delicious. One of the best cupcakes I’ve nommed.

The chocolate frosting paired perfectly with the raspberry meringue and the raspberry jam added a delightful slight tartness. It was also slightly smaller than their traditional cupcake, which might disappoint someone else, but I appreciated!

You won’t find me whining about how Magnolia Bakery is over-rated! If you visit, I definitely recommend the Cupcakes of the Month if you want something special. And if you want to experience Magnolia like a local rather than a tourist? Order the banana pudding. It’s not cute but it’ll be the best you’ve ever had.