Magpies

As soon as I saw its motto, I suspected I was going to like Magpies Bakery. When I tasted its cupcakes, I became a convert. The motto is inscribed on an overhead sign outside: All Butter All the Time.

The fluffy bounce of Italian wedding cake, the silky cocoa punch of a Mexican hot chocolate cupcake, the dairy luxury that surrounds big, dark chips in chocolate chip cookies all are unimpeachable proof that this kitchen does not skimp on butter or, for that matter, on any other luxury ingredient that matters.

I first arrived at the beginning of May, when Cinco de Mayo set the theme for not only that Mexican hot chocolate cupcake, but for a cinnamon-tinged churro cupcake and a buzzy citrus margarita cupcake.

It isn’t just flavor that makes these little cakes so good; it’s their silky texture: so fresh, so smooth. Normal-size and minis both are available. The everyday cupcake repertoire ranges from vanilla, devil’s food, and lemon cream to caramel macchiato, chocolate raspberry, and almond apricot.

The cookies I’ve sampled are equally wonderful, especially chocolate chip, which is extremely chocolaty but not insanely so. I even love a wheat-free one known as a chocolate-cherry-chewie, whose name describes its goodness in full.

Cheesecakes are more elegant than dense, fluffy rather than heavy. Oreo cheesecake delivers plenty of cookie flavor, but in a cloud of cream. It’s like cookies and cream ice cream, but richer.

Seasonable items from the bakery include banana pudding in the summer and apple stack cakes during the last two months of the year.