Treat Yourself: A Sweet Affair in Fort Bragg
A Sweet Affair Patisserie is a tiny shop nestled in the middle of Fort Bragg. Within the petite space can be found serious culinary street cred. Brittney Tuomala graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York before climbing the ladder in prestigious roles at Brasserie in NYC, becoming pastry commis at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery in Yountville and acting as pastry assistant at Coqueta in San Francisco.
Throughout her career, she has prided herself on creating exquisite works of confection using only the finest ingredients. Having returned to her hometown of Fort Bragg, Brittney opened A Sweet Affair to provide much needed indulgence for locals and visitors alike. Raising two sons keeps her busy when she is not at the bakery.
The patisserie is filled with beauty and humor, as seen in the small sign in the window proclaiming the health benefits of cupcakes. Rainbow-hued macarons and seasonal delights fill the pastry case. The walls are adorned with all manner of fun items like colorful aprons, whimsical mugs, and dishware. The hardest part of a visit to A Sweet Affair is choosing what to get. Here are just a few of the many delicious ways to treat yourself.
Macarons in the Italian style, made of almond flour and egg whites whipped into a meringue cookie with a crispy exterior and soft chewy center. A kaleidoscope of offerings change with the seasons—peach, olallieberry, pistachio, strawberry, raspberry—but the most popular is coconut with caramel. What the heck, buy twelve and have a tasting!
Cupcakes of all kinds (see cupcake health tip)! Chocolate Oreo, red velvet, lemon strawberry, or funfetti. Just the right size to delight yet not overfill.
Passion Fruit Strawberry Mousse Cakes are luxuriant in their sweetness. The fresh strawberries often come from Mist Farm in Mendocino.
Orange Creamsicle Crème Brûlée holds its delicate orange richness within a white chocolate shell that cracks satisfyingly when you tap it open.
The Olallieberry Financier is a decadent brown butter cake baked with olallieberries and homemade jam with honey mascarpone.
A spiral of perfectly toasted meringue covers the not-too-sweet lemon curd tart. Other fresh fruit tartlets and flavors of panna cotta shift with whatever is at its peak of flavor.
A Sweet Affair
401 N. Main Street Suite 301, Fort Bragg
Thurs-Sat 12-5, Sunday 12-4
(707) 961-1362. www.asweetaffairpatisserie.com
