Coffee & Treats in Owensboro

Each day at his candy shop, Mike Libs simmers sugar, cream, and butter in a vat before pouring the syrupy mix onto a steel slab and kneading it into fudge. He mastered this old-fashioned candy-making technique under the tutelage of his parents, who opened their chocolate store, Libs Chocolates, in downtown Evansville in 1950. Now at his own shop, Mike upholds his family's legacy by preparing classic treats such as peanut brittle, cream-filled chocolates, and edible busts of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Similarly, his sunlit storefront nabs motifs from his parents' candy shop, with red- and white-striped display cases to match servers' bright-red aprons.

The three sisters who run Piece of Cake grew up enjoying the homemade cakes and pies that their mother and grandmother baked. On birthdays, they looked forward to helping their mother pull birthday cakes from the oven’s rippling warmth. All three retained their love of baking into adulthood. Their shared enjoyment of confections shines through and has helped them garner plaudits such as Evansville Living Magazine's award for the Best Birthday Cake of 2010.

A case brims with cupcakes crowned with curlicues of buttercream, and the bakers dip cookies into bowls of warm chocolate and craft baked-to-order cakes. They mix batter into flavors such as vanilla or chocolate, then form it into sheets, edible sculptures, or multi-tiered wedding cakes. According to the occasion, they decorate the cakes with favorite cartoon characters, birthday presents, or a plea that you not wish for so many bees on your birthday this year.