Yes, I cried in a bakery. No wonder the shop is called Sensitive Sweets! I cried in a bakery, but they were very happy tears because my heart was touched. Being a mom to a child with food allergies, Sensitive Sweets new bakery in Fountain Valley is heaven sent.
If your kids don’t have food allergies, you probably haven’t given it much thought. Why would you? I never did until we were faced with it ourselves.
But with the number of kids with allergies on the rise, I am sure you know at least one family with food sensitivities or special gluten-free diets, so PLEASE do them a favor and forward this post today, because here’s the truth about food allergies: it’s hard!
At times it can also be heartbreaking. My almost two-year-old Morgan can’t have any eggs or milk. That means baked-in eggs and milk too. Imagine at any given birthday party if your child couldn’t have the standard pizza, ice cream, cake or cupcakes. To put it bluntly, it sucks!
However, I just finished a big project to help children with pediatric cancer, so in the scheme of things, our situation is NOTHING and I keep a positive perspective, but still it is hard.
When we are in the bubble of our own kitchen, it’s fine because I have learned how to create a daily menu just for her of “safe” foods she can eat so our kitchen is full of options.
The problem comes when we go out of our bubble to things like play dates, parties, restaurants, etc. Even if I am stocked with her “OK” foods – we all know how kids ALWAYS want what other kids are having.
So it was incredibly serendipitous when my friend Melanie started her bakery last year called Sensitive Sweets, which was created out of a passion for baking and a need she saw because her son Bradley is severely allergic to many foods. You can read their story here.
When she started her company I always dreamed she would open a retail location so I would have a place to take Morgan to get a treat.
So, the day she told me she had found a location and was opening a bakery in Fountain Valley I was absolutely ecstatic!
When we walked in for the first time, Morgan’s eyes lit up when she saw all the cupcakes on display. I was thinking that some would be free of some things, and others would likely have milk and eggs, so I asked Melanie which ones were safe for Morgan, and she said, “all of them!”
That’s when I teared up.
She told me her dream was to have a child with food allergies able to come in and point to the one in the display that they want and be able to have it.
So all of her cupcakes on display are gluten free, egg free, dairy free and soy free. And they are DELICIOUS!
Morgan took one bite and yelled, “MMMMMMM!”
To have Morgan be able to pick anything and not be told she couldn’t have it was SUCH a gift.
I then promptly ordered half a dozen to freeze and have on hand to bring to birthday parties and family get togethers so she will always have her own special treat!!
The bakery offers fresh baked cupcakes, muffins and breads daily and anything can be special ordered. She can also ship anywhere within the US. Here are her blueberry muffins….YUM!
The shop is just LOVELY.
Bright and cheery and completely KID-FRIENDLY and even has a train table for kids to play with.
This particular day there were lots of kids there! I overhead some moms talking and many had children on a gluten-free diet, and they were thrilled about the bakery too. Fun at the train table…
Here is Melanie (photo left) at the shop…
She is so incredibly talented and can also custom make special occasion cakes and cupcakes to fit any theme. You can’t believe the creative cakes and cupcakes she can make for you!
Just look at this Alice in Wonderland cake she recently did. Incredible!
It is fun to {Like} Sensitive Sweets on Facebook, it is so fun to see her most recent concoctions. AMAZING!
Recently it was my older daughter’s snack day at preschool and we brought in cupcakes for her birthday (she does not have food allergies.) I knew from volunteering in the class before that one of the boys was gluten-free, so I brought one of the Sensitive Sweets cupcakes I had frozen just for him.
The teachers were so touched and thought that it was so wonderful. I wanted to tear up again. I think every preschool should have these in their freezer so kids with special diets can celebrate like all the others.
So again, please forward this to anyone you might know that could use a custom bakery to fit their child’s dietary needs. They will thank you BIG time for it!
17431 Brookhurst St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Bakery Hours:
Tue-Fri 10am-6pm
Sat 10am-5pm
Closed Sun & Mon
714-968-9169
{Disclosure: Melanie is a friend of mine and a Tiny Oranges Sponsor – complimentary.}
After the last post, we checked it out and my 2 year old with allergies was in heaven. He ate his cupcake lightening fast!! Luckily, we see an improvement in Declan’s milk allergy over last year, but I am scared to death for preschool next year. You are right, they should have a stash on hand.
Wonderful! I have had Melanie\’s cupcakes at an event…yummy! I wish her all the best on her new location!
SO good, right?! She fed me a “healthy” muffin when I was in with my girls that was egg/milk/soy/gluten free and I was shocked at how delicious it was!!!
You wrote “heaven sent” it touched my heart bc Cody is also sensitive. When I met Melanie, Cody had his first cake when he turned 3, he didn’t eat the cake ( only bc it was unfamiliar territory for him and he is just about scared to eat something new, yes a two yr old has fright of new foods!) but as a mother, I cried when he blew his candles and licked his cake..
Melanie has a mother side that relates to us mothers who have sensitive little ones. I talk about her bakery to EVERYONE I meet bc yes, we all know someone who has some kind of allergy and has never been to a bakery and enjoy the simple sweet life.
Wonderful, touching and and job well done to the owners of Sensitive Sweets ~ will support via phone/email orders until you make your way to Northern California 🙂
Deb in San Francisco
I LOVE Sensitive Sweets! I recently had the same experience with my food allergic son. It was the first time ever that we could walk in to a bakery and he could choose whatever he wanted. As I started talking to Melanie, the waterworks started as well. While I always try to give him his version of whatever the other kids are having, he always feels separate. At the bakery, he was just another kid in a bakery. I can’t wait to go back!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your love of Sensitive Sweets, Jen!
It’s always so great to hear about bakery resources for allergy free cakes. My 4 year old son has a level 5 dairy allergy and although I have adjusted our lifestyle to fit his needs, it is very hard at preschool and other places outside the home. I too, teared up when I first went to the Veggie Grill, since it’s vegan and he could eat anything off the menu. Hats off to Sensitive Sweets!
Oh my goodness! That Alice In Wonderland cake. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that perfect! What talent!
totally pinning this.
We love Sensitive Sweets! Our daughter is allergic to milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and sunflower. What a dream for her to walk in and have whatever she wants. It seems so small to someone without allergies, but to a child with such a medically restricted diet who is always hearing no, this place is absolutely heaven sent!