Coffee & Treats in Tempe

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When they emerge from the La Dolce Pesca kitchen, the wedding cakes, cupcakes, and cookies are almost too pretty to eat. This makes sense, as the bakery's seasoned pastry chefs handle their culinary creations as though they were works of art, decorating them with elegant fondant flowers, dazzling swirls, and whimsical patterns. Their gorgeous baked goods have made appearances at many a wedding, baby shower, and bar mitzvah, as well as in the glossy pages of Arizona Foothills and Arizona Bride Magazine.

The chefs customize cakes and pastries to order, taking time to meet with the customers beforehand to discuss preferences and administer tastings. They invite clients to choose from a variety of cake flavors, fillings, and frostings, or to choose from a selection of gourmet layer cakes, such as the German chocolate with coconut pecan frosting or the lemon mousse with candied lemon zest. The chefs can also tailor cakes to accommodate clients with wide variety of unique dietary concerns, such a birthday boy with a gluten allergy or a groom who turns into a frog whenever he eats a pecan.

For some families, a new generation means baby showers and tiny clothes. For the Power family, it means shock-freezing technology, online ordering, and a high-tech factory specially tuned to quickly churn out delicate rum cakes. In fact, the family recipes Lisa Power uses are the only old-fashioned parts of her eponymous business, which she runs with her husband and their three daughters. Together, they separate moist layers of cake with rich custard, finishing off each creation with a topcoat of thick icing. Creative combinations of custard, cake, and sometimes fruit, candy, and sauces help build an eclectic spread of flavors. Drizzles of caramel over slices of apple make the aptly named caramel-apple cake an autumnally flavored confection, and the stars-and-stripes cake alternates strips of red velvet with vanilla custard and whole organic blueberries. Thanks to the factory’s packing and freezing technology, customers across the nation can indulge in Lisa’s signature desserts; they have shipped cakes to more than 300 cities in 40 states, but still just the one planet.

After making a few pilgrimages to frozen-yogurt shops across the country, the founders of Yogurtopia came up with their own recipe for success. They only wanted to use high-quality frozen yogurt and toppings that emphasized both good taste and health.

Now, the shop’s creamy frozen treats swirl from self-serve machines in more than 90 flavors, such as nonfat swiss chocolate, low-fat cookies 'n' cream, and no-sugar-added wild strawberry. A bountiful toppings bar cascades fresh fruit, nuts, and candy options such as rainbow sprinkles, gummy bears, and Butterfingers on top of the frosty swirls. Best of all, patrons can choose to pile the frozen peaks and toppings over warm belgian waffles before heading to the weigh station to settle their debts.

Mind Over Batter, a confectionery dreamt up by a whimsical mother in Tempe, opened its doors on Valentine's Day 2011 and shortly thereafter won the Phoenix New Times' annual Best Cupcakes award. After being dismayed by the banality of store-bought desserts and the lack of business ethic among shadowy sheet-cake cartels, the team at Mind Over Batter decided to set out on their own, eventually expanding their labor of love to two different locations in Tempe and Gilbert. The shops bake cupcakes in an array of traditional and less common flavors, such as peanut butter and strawberry or chocolate chip and fudge, with the bite-sized cakes come adorned in glittering sugar crystals or technicolored layers of creamy icing. Cake pops weigh down skewers with cake spheres dunked into various buttercream icings and candy coatings. Custom-made cakes commemorate baby showers, weddings, or the weddings of love-struck babies with batters such as chocolate red velvet or classic butter yellow, and fillings such as chocolate ganache or seasonal fresh fruit.

The Gelato Spot’s frozen-dairy hotshots merge ingredients imported from Torino, Italy, and churn a bevy of creamy gelati and sorbets daily. The gelateria’s small tongue-chilling batches have earned the shop the title of Best Frozen-Yogurt/Ice Cream Spot in AZ Central's 2011 readers’ poll, which praises the eatery’s extravagant displays and cheerful staff. Though The Gelato Spot specializes in traditional Italian flavors, such as stracciatella and amarena, they also craft American renditions such as Snickers, new york cheesecake, and salted caramel. As diners shovel in glacial delights on The Gelato Spot's heated and misted patio, they can also cruise the web with complimentary WiFi.