Some people travel for beaches. Others travel for museums. We’d happily book a flight for an exceptional slice of cherry pie. From Michigan’s famous tart cherry country to family-run pastry shops in Rome and Germany’s Black Forest, these bakeries have turned cherries into works of art. National Cherry Day feels like the perfect excuse to meet them all.
Grand Traverse Pie Company
Traverse City, Michigan, USA
If Michigan had an official flavor, there’s a good chance it’d be tart cherries. Grand Traverse Pie Company has turned the state’s famous fruit into an icon with its Grand Traverse Cherry Crumb Pie. Sweet, tart, buttery, and piled high with fruit, it’s the dessert that has become synonymous with Traverse City’s National Cherry Festival. One bite explains why people happily leave with whole pies tucked under their arms.
The Cherry Hut
Beulah, Michigan, USA
Some places don’t need gimmicks. They’ve been doing one thing exceptionally well for generations.
The Cherry Hut has been baking cherry pies since 1922, and the recipe is still the star of the show. Warm Michigan cherries tucked inside a flaky crust make for the kind of dessert that feels timeless. It’s old-school comfort food at its very best, and absolutely worth the drive along Lake Michigan. Also, you can’t skip the cherry danish!
Sweetie-licious Bakery Café
DeWitt, Michigan, USA
Award-winning pie? Yes, please.
Sweetie-licious earned national attention with its Tom’s Cheery Cherry Berry Pie, a colorful combination of sweet cherries, tart cherries, and blueberries wrapped inside an impossibly flaky crust. It’s fruity, bright, and somehow manages to feel both nostalgic and completely original.
Petee’s Pie Company
New York City, New York, USA
In a city famous for pizza and bagels, one pie shop quietly became a legend.
Petee’s New York Sour Cherry Pie lets the fruit do the talking. Made with locally grown Montmorency cherries, every slice strikes that perfect balance between sweet and tart. No unnecessary extras. Just outstanding pie that consistently lands on “best of New York” lists.
Wanda’s Pie in the Sky
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tucked inside Kensington Market, Wanda’s Pie in the Sky has become a neighborhood favorite for good reason.
Its Ontario Sour Cherry Pie celebrates locally grown fruit with a filling that’s bold, juicy, and refreshingly tart. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, grab a seat nearby, and suddenly your afternoon just got a whole lot better.
Café Schäfer
Triberg, Germany
You can’t talk about cherry desserts without mentioning Germany’s legendary Black Forest cake.
At Café Schäfer, Black Forest Cherry Cake isn’t just another menu item. It’s a point of pride. Layers of chocolate sponge, whipped cream, cherries, and traditional kirsch come together in one of Europe’s most famous desserts. If you’re exploring Germany’s Black Forest region, this stop practically plans itself.
Pasticceria Boccione
Rome, Italy
Behind an unassuming storefront in Rome’s historic Jewish Ghetto waits one of Italy’s most unforgettable desserts.
Boccione’s Ricotta e Visciole combines creamy ricotta with tangy sour cherries inside a rustic pastry crust. Rich without feeling heavy, sweet without going overboard, it’s one of those desserts you’ll still be thinking about long after your vacation ends.
First Strudel House of Pest
Budapest, Hungary
Hungary knows a thing or two about strudel.
At First Strudel House of Pest, paper-thin pastry wraps around generous fillings like sour cherries, cherries with poppy seeds, or cherries blended with creamy curd cheese. Watching the dough being stretched by hand is almost as satisfying as taking that first flaky bite.
Bourke Street Bakery
Sydney, Australia
Not every great cherry dessert comes in pie form.
Bourke Street Bakery’s Chocolate and Sour Cherry Cookie proves cookies deserve a seat at the table, too. Rich dark chocolate meets bursts of tart cherries for a combination that’s chewy, buttery, and incredibly hard to stop eating. Good luck leaving with just one.
