YUVI'S BAKE SHOP
Hoppen Hierarchy:
★★★⭑
District: Pop-up
Cookies, French Pastries, & Baked Goods
Perfect For: Baked Goods
Standout Dishes: Canale; Creme Brulee Cream Puff; Lava Cookie; Hazelnut & Chocolate Spread
That was Yuvi Kolbar’s goal was she moved to the United States from Israel in 2020. She’d long been fascinated with the pastries and confections crafted in French patisseries, and baking has always been her passion. Yuvi dreamed of serving croissants, Paris-brests, and macarons that would transport her American customers to the streets of Paris.
The result is a pop-up that consistently delivers treats that thrill not only the tastebuds, but the eyes as well. Yuvi is a home baker who takes online orders and makes deliveries, but she also does pop-ups, caterings, and dessert table packages that allow her to display her international baking prowess.
Whichever pop-up you attend, you’ll find a table filled with elegant-looking French desserts such as tarts, pies, eclairs, and slices of Basque cheesecake. Yuvi gets back to France whenever she can to visit patisseries, sample what’s new and exciting, and come up with ways to create it herself.
Here’s a sampling of what to expect:
- Canele: For my money, one of the best dessert bites in Omaha. A crisp, chewy crust gives way to a creamy, milky, custard-y filling. The contrast in textures, along with just the right amount of sweetness, is stunning.
- Creme Brulee Puff: a flavor grenade. Once you crack through the crunchy, caramelized sugar crust, there’s a cocoon of flaky pastry and a center that erupts with velvety vanilla custard.
- Saint Honore Tart: The shortbread crust is so buttery it practically dissolves in your mouth. And though there’s both salted caramel and vanilla pastry creme, it’s not too sweet.
- Tarts: The crust on these tarts is the pie crust your grandma has tried her whole life to achieve. Flaky and richly buttery, the freshness of the fruit tamps down the sweetness. The Apple Tart in particular is a treat.
- Macarons: These mini sandwich cookies are technically perfect. The shell of the cookies has a crisp texture that gives way to a chewy center as you bite. A soft, decadent buttercream awaits in the center to deliver a sugar-y punch that accentuates the mild cookies. These finicky desserts are very difficult to master, but Yuvi has come darn close to perfecting them. She tends to favor fruity flavors, and the raspberry version has just the right amount of tartness to balance the sugar.
Yuvi’s treats are typically on the smaller side, usually 3-4 bites max. This allows you to try several things rather than get the same flavor over and over again, and she has such a variety that you’ll want to taste them all.
Elegant as Yuvi’s desserts are, she knew she’d originally need to introduce herself with something familiar, something Omahans knew: the chocolate chip cookie.
Thus, the massive Pizza Cookie became the cornerstone upon which Yuvi’s Bake Shop was born, and her Omaha customers fell head over heels for these 10-in. nostalgia bombs.
To be clear, Yuvi would’ve had a successful business if she stopped with the Pizza Cookie. Once briefly reheated in the oven, this massive doughy frisbee has the perfect chewy, just-firm-enough-to-not-fall-apart consistency.
Yuvi not only stuffs the confection with milk chocolate chips, but also allows customers to top the cookie with more chips, candies, Oreos, and more. The crisp exterior, gooey innards, and salt/sugar balance make this the chocolate chip cookie to make you forget all others.
The process of ordering couldn’t be more convenient. When you place your order, you pick a day and time you want your treats delivered. Yuvi drops them off on your doorstop within the desired timeframe. And once you get a taste of her baking, you’ll be dying to try more.
Much as Yuvi loves recreating desserts and pastries she’s experienced around the world, she also wanted a product she could put her name on. So after months of testing and tasting, she released her Hazelnut & Chocolate Spread.
Wait a second, you say… isn’t that just Nutella? While the description sounds similar, this product is so far superior it’s like comparing Michael Jordan to a benchwarmer for a high school team because they both classify as basketball players. While Nutella’s first two ingredients are sugar and palm oil (not to mention skimmed milk powder and emulsifier), Yuvi’s spread is hazelnuts, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, sugar, and cocoa powder. That’s it.
That focus on really ingredients gives the spread such a rich, intense chocolately flavor with nutty, creamy notes from the hazelnut.
You’ll be tempted to spread this on everything, from toast to French bread, pancakes, cookies, bananas… heck, just take a spoon and eat it out of the jar. I’m not judging.
The spread makes an appearance in Yuvi Bake Shop’s best seller, the Lava Cookie. Imagine a chocoholic made a cookie mixed with a lava cake. When you bite into this tender, rich chocolate cookie, you’re met with a burst of smooth, warm Hazelnut & Chocolate Spread, rushing your taste buds with decadent chocolate.
Yuvi’s backstory is wild—a native of Israel ends up in Omaha, Nebraska selling French desserts? What?! But her flavors are even more jaw-dropping. And Yuvi’s desire to keep pushing has her constantly adding to her menu’s roster. You’re bound to find something new at each pop-up and event.
If you’re a cookie fanatic looking to cure your latest craving, Yuvi’s can scratch that itch. But this growing business has so much more to offer, including incredible desserts and pastries you can’t find anywhere else in Omaha.