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Cakes, Desserts Are Easy As Chocolate Pi

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

Updated: 02/11/2008 08:22 pm

PALMA CEIA - Kim Yelvington didn't envision herself as a wedding cake maker exclusively. Her shop is also a dessert shop where cookies, candies, cupcakes, petit fours and mini cakes are available.

But it's difficult to display the smaller treats in her window.

"Especially the chocolates would melt," she said.

So her challenge is to get out the word that Chocolate Pi, 2821 S. MacDill Ave., offers a variety of sweets. Valentine's Day is a holiday like none other.

"It's all impulse buys," Yelvington said. "There's no pre-order, unlike December when customers are calling as early as November to get set up."

The signature goodie is the Chocolate Pi, chocolate mousse-covered banana slices with a layer of custard on shortbread ($3.14 each).

Yelvington, 36, studied at the famous chocolate school Valrhona in France's Rhone River Valley. She uses that brand still. Her affinity for sweets began professionally at age 15 when she decorated Baskin-Robbins ice cream cakes. Later, she made desserts for Bern's Steak House.

She opened her first shop in 2002 on Henderson Boulevard. Three years later, she closed that shop and opened Chocolate Pi on MacDill.

Her chocolate candies ($1.60 each) are "not overly sweet. They taste like chocolate," she said.

All are made by hand in the back of her cocoa and dusty rose decorated shop. Some are hand-dipped; others are made in molds with a variety of fillings and flavorings. Her favorite is a ground pistachio piece.

For Valentine's, she's adding chocolate-covered strawberries and pretty boxes to the mix.

She views her creations as an art form.

"People say, 'That can't possibly taste as good as it looks,'" she said.

She strives for a European flair where beautiful desserts and candies are part of everyday life.

"We do a hand-crafted product for people who appreciate it," Yelvington said. "If I had to cut down on quality, I'd close."

For information, call (813) 831-2195.

Janis D. Froelich

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