Appel, Jennifer

PERSONAL:

Female.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Buttercup Franchising, Inc., 973 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, business owner, clinical psychologist. Magnolia Bakery, New York, NY, co-owner, 1996-99; Buttercup Bake shop, New York, owner, 1999—.

WRITINGS:

(With Allysa Torey) The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes from New York's Sweetest Bakery, photographs by Rita Maas, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.

The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook: More Than 80 Recipes for Irresistible, Old-Fashioned Treats, photographs by Sang An, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

Buttercup Bakes at Home: More Than 75 New Recipes from Manhattan's Premier Bake Shop for Tempting Homemade Sweets, photographs by Ann Stratton, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

Author of the blog Cupcakes Take the Cake.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jennifer Appel was a clinical psychologist who loved to cook, especially desserts, and who changed careers when she and partner Allysa Torey opened Magnolia Bakery in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. In creating their cakes, the bakers often had leftover batter, which they used to make cupcakes. These became such a hit that they were featured in an episode of the television series Sex and the City, which is set in New York, further increasing the bakery's exposure. They offered the sort of baked goods that appealed to customers seeking cookies, pies, and other treats that were reminiscent of their childhoods. In 1999 the partnership ended, and Appel opened the Buttercup Bake Shop in midtown Manhattan. Employees of both bakeries also branched out with other shops, including Billy's, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and Little Cupcake. Many of these shops have also become successful, and Appel went on to franchise Buttercup.

Appel's first cookbook, The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes from New York's Sweetest Bakery, was written with Torey. It contains retro desserts with a contemporary touch, including an icebox cake using Nabisco wafers, and a variety of cheesecakes. Many are variations of recipes that have been published in women's magazines. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called the recipes "good, if ordinary."

In The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook: More Than 80 Recipes for Irresistible, Old-Fashioned Treats, Appel offers recipes for classics that include cakes, cobblers, pies, cookies, and puddings. She also has a section on frostings and fillings and another on seasonal recipes.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, September 15, 2006, Judith Sutton, review of Buttercup Bakes at Home: More Than 75 New Recipes from Manhattan's Premier Bake Shop for Tempting Homemade Sweets, p. 82.

New York Times, November 5, 2003, Julia Moskin, "Once Just a Cupcake, These Days a Swell," p. F1.

Publishers Weekly, October 18, 1999, review of The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes from New York's Sweetest Bakery, p. 76.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (May 3, 2007), review of The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook: More Than 80 Recipes for Irresistible, Old-Fashioned Treats.

Buttercup Bake Shop Web site,http://www.buttercupbakeshop.com (May 3, 2007).

New York Online,http://nymag.com/ (May 3, 2007), Adam Sternbergh, "Sweet and Vicious."