October 7, 2007
After having established itself as Santa Fe's premier maker of all-organic wedding, birthday, and other specialty cakes, Tree House Pastry Shop and Café set its sights on the next logical challenge: cupcakes.
In a move likely to evoke comparison with Marie Antoinette's infamous—though misattributed—pronouncement “let them eat cake," Tree House has announced the formation of the Sweet Obsession Cupcake Club, a frequent-purchase club that rewards member loyalty by offering one free cupcake for every dozen purchased.
"It's a twist on the baker's dozen," says pastry shop owner Maria Bustamante-Bernal, "for every twelve cupcakes you purchase, you get one free. It's our way of saying 'thanks for supporting Tree House.'" No membership application is required.
"Some might say that 13 cupcakes is a bit decadent, but, for us, cupcakes aren't self-indulgent. They're a good thing—a way of making every day a celebration."
With a menu featuring flavors such as Mocha Bean, German Chocolate, Chai Spice, and Caramel Sel du Mer, Sweet Obsession Cupcake Club promises quite a celebration, indeed.
Like everything on the Tree House Pastry Shop and Café menu, Sweet Obsession cupcakes are made from scratch, using all-organic ingredients.
"We put the same level of care into our cupcakes that we do our special occasion cakes or any dessert item, constantly refining the process and always looking for the best ingredients," says Bernal. "We just get so much pleasure from the creative part of baking and the reactions from our customers. We're serious about sweets at Tree House."
It seems Tree House customers are serious about their sweets, as well. Judging from the number of cupcakes flying out of the pastry display case (wings not attached), the Sweet Obsession Cupcake Club looks to be a serious success, albeit one with a somewhat whimsical essence.
The simply curious and the obsessed alike can purchase cupcakes—and join the Sweet Obsession Cupcake Club—at Tree House Pastry Shop and Café, 1600 Lena Street, Santa fe, NM. Tree House is open Monday through Saturday from 8am to 3pm.