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What to eat in Europe? Top 32 European Sweet Pies

Last update: Fri Feb 14 2025
Top 32 European Sweet Pies
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01

Sweet Pie

SIFNOS, Greece
4.6
Melopita
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Translated as honey pie, this light Greek dessert is traditionally associated with the island of Sifnos, but its varieties can be found in other Greek regions as well. The pie combines fresh cheese, preferably mizithra based on sheep or goat milk, eggs, and honey, and it is usually baked as a round, crustless cake.


It is recommended to garnish melopita with a sprinkle of cinnamon and an additional drizzle of honey.

02

Sweet Pie

GERAARDSBERGEN, Belgium and  one more region
4.4
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A typical dessert of the East Flanders, mattentaart is a small puff pastry pie with a tender, almond-flavored cheese curd filling called mattenbrij. These delicious Flemish pies are traditionally made in the city of Geraardsbergen and the neighboring village of Lierde, and their production depends heavily on the Geraardsbergen area's dairy produce, since genuine mattentaarts are prepared using only fresh milk, butter, and buttermilk from the local farms.


Although the origins of mattentaart can be traced back to the Middle Ages, the oldest known recipe was found in Een Notabel Boecxken van Cokeryen, the first cookbook in Dutch, written and published in 1514 by Thomas van Der Noot. Later on, the famed mattentaarts were even depicted by the Flemish Renaissance painter and printmaker Pieter Bruegel the Elder in his 1567 painting The Peasant Wedding

MOST ICONIC Geraardsbergse mattentaart

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03
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Szarlotka is a traditional apple pie that is hugely popular in all of Poland. There are countless ways of making it, but typically, it's made with shortcrust pastry or semi-shortcrust pastry and cooked or raw apples. It's a double-crust pie, and the top of the pie is usually crumbled.


However, there is one variation of szarlotka that is well-known, and that is one that also includes a meringue layer underneath the crumble topping. Szarlotka can also have other fruits like peaches and pears, the apple filling can have raisins, and the crumble topping can be mixed with almonds. 
04
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Appeltaart is a traditional apple pie that is very often accompanied by a cup of hot coffee. Although it is essentially the same as most apple pies, Dutch appeltaart differs from the classic American apple pie in many ways: it is baked in a spring-form pan, making it deeper; it is drier on the interior; it is full of big chunks of apple, currants, and raisins, and it is full of speculoos spices such as cinnamon, lemon juice, and other warm spices.


Appeltaart dates back to the Middle Ages and it is believed that the baking time was measured by the number of prayers one had to say until it was ready to be taken out of the oven since ovens with temperature controls didn't exist at the time. In the Netherlands, appeltaart is usually served at room temperature and topped with a dollop of whipped cream, what is known as appeltaart met slagroom

MOST ICONIC Appeltaart

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A close relative of galaktoboureko—that is distinguished by the use of phyllo sheets—classic Greek galatopita combines semolina, milk, eggs, butter, and sugar into a creamy, custard-like treat. Often enriched with citrus zest (and wrapped in pastry in some regions), galatopita is baked until golden-brown and is typically garnished with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or cinnamon.


With its light texture and delicate flavor, it can be served on any occasion and is best enjoyed well-chilled.

MOST ICONIC Galatopita

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06

Sweet Pie

JEVINGTON, England
4.2
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Banoffee pie is an English dessert made with cream, bananas, and toffee on top of a pastry shell or on top of a base made with crumbled biscuits. The name of the dish is a combination of the words banana and toffee. The sweet pie was invented in the 1970s by Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding at The Hungry Monk restaurant in East Sussex.


It became extremely popular when the customers started to check regularly if the dessert was still on the menu. Today, banoffee pie is so popular throughout the world that it even has its own place in the dictionary, denoting "a tart or pie made with cream, bananas, and toffee", while the recipe for the pie can often be found on tins of Nestlé's condensed milk.

MOST ICONIC Banoffee pie

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07

Sweet Pie

LIMBURG, Netherlands
4.2
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Vlaai is a sweet pie originating from the province of Limburg. It consists of a yeast pie base and a filling of creamy custard which is topped with streusel, a crumbly topping. The pie has a rich history: it was first consumed by Germanic tribes who used to drizzle the dough with fruit juice or honey, and later, it was used in monasteries as a special, sacrificial bread.


Over the years, vlaai was brought over to Maastricht, where it was used for festivities and celebrations such as birthdays and weddings. Today, there are numerous varieties of vlaai–filled with chocolate, rice pudding, or fruits such as cherries, strawberries, apples, and bananas.

MOST ICONIC Vlaai

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08
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Mustikkapiirakka is a traditional blueberry pie originating from Finland. The crust for the pie is usually made with a combination of flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and baking powder. The dough is pressed into a tart pan, pricked with a fork, and pre-baked.


It is then topped with fresh blueberries (in Finland they traditionally use bilberries, which are very similar, but different to North American blueberries) mixed with sour cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cardamom, if desired. The pie is placed back in the oven and it's baked until the middle is set and the edges have browned. 
09
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This Italian dessert consists of cheese or cream and fruit in a crusty pastry, similar to fruit-filled pies. The most commonly-used fruit in crostata are cherries, berries, apricots, or peaches. It can be prepared as an open-faced dessert or covered with a top crust, usually in the form of a lattice.


Its name is derived from the Latin crustata, which means crust. The earliest mentions of crostata in print can be found in cookbooks such as Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Martino da Como and Cuoco Napolitano, both from the 15th century. 

MOST ICONIC Crostata

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This baked dessert is made with a base layer of shortcrust pastry that is topped with lemon custard and fluffy meringue. The custard is usually made with a combination of lemon zest and juice, sugar, egg yolks, and (sometimes) starch. The origins of this sweet treat are murky and mysterious – some credit Elizabeth Coane Goodfellow of Philadelphia as the inventor, but her 18th-century recipe mentions lemon pudding, while the meringue is used in minimal amounts, as an accent.


Other sources say that the first recorded recipe was written by Alexander Frehse, a Swiss baker, and some suggest that the botanist Emile Campbell-Browne had a similar recipe in Wigbeth, Dorset, in 1875. Regardless of the origins, lemon meringue pie has been the favorite of presidents, and it even has its own day – August 15, known as National Lemon Meringue Pie Day.

MOST ICONIC Tarte au citron meringuée

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Sweet Pie
PITHIVIERS, France
3.8
16
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Sweet Pie
LIMBURG, Netherlands
3.7
18
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Sweet Pie
BOURGES, France
n/a
21
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Sweet Pie
MARLBOROUGH COMMON, England
n/a
27
Dessert
BASSANO DEL GRAPPA, Italy
n/a
28
Sweet Pie
RHINELAND-PALATINATE, Germany
n/a
29
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Savory Pie
CARINTHIA, Slovenia
n/a
31
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TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 32 European Sweet Pies” list until February 14, 2025, 1,751 ratings were recorded, of which 1,385 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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European Sweet Pies