Our picks for where to get your cakes, pies, pastries, cookies, bread, and more in these local favorites around the Chicago

As the melting pot of the Midwest, Chicago's various cultural bases come together in an ethnic explosion best explored through culinary delights. This list of the best bakeries in the city highlights not just American treats, but also German, Italian, European, and Swedish goods, too.

1. Alliance Whether heading to the original bakery in Wicker Park or the new patisserie in River North, Alliance consistently creates beautiful and delicious European baked goods and pastries. Pair a ham and cheese croissant or delicate macaron with a cup from the bakery's full espresso bar, while gazing at the cleverly gorgeous made-to-order cakes.

2. Bake In the world of Chicago bakeries, Bake is a relative newcomer—it opened in 2009 among a list of generations-old colleagues. But it has quickly risen to the top of Chicago's favorites with a focus on classic American desserts made with simple and fresh ingredients.

 8. D'Amato's This traditional Italian bakery focuses on breads made in its 135-year-old coal-burning oven. A local favorite for pizza, D'Amato's offers several varieties of rectangle-shaped pies, served room temperature but reheated upon request. The crust is Italian bread, and an edge piece will give you extra crispy cheese.

 9. Dinkel's Dinkel's is a proudly family-owned German bakery that's been in the same location since 1922. The vast majority of ingredients are sourced locally or from a three-state region surrounding Illinois. Dinkel's even created a new type of breakfast pastry that Chicago fell in love with: the burglaur, a breakfast sandwich in a baked bun.

10. Lutz Traditional German treats and cakes have come from Lutz since 1948. Wedding cakes are a bestseller—chances are most Chicago residents know someone who had their celebration sweetened up by Lutz. Try the stollen for the holidays or baumkuchen as an everyday snack. 

11. Swedish Bakery Andersonville's famous Swedish heritage is on display at this 80-plus-year-old bakery, where visitors can come enjoy traditional pastries like toska tarts and tarzariners. The cakes and cookies show the Swedes' true prowess with almond-based desserts. Swedish Bakery also offers a selection of European pastries and cakes. Try the cardamom coffee cake—it's a local favorite.

12. Weber's Often unanimously voted the number one bakery in Chicago, Weber's has been a city mainstay on the southwest side since 1930. Everything is made from scratch and the offerings are a testament to traditional recipes (think king cake and kolacky) married with modern additions, like brownies on a stick or cheddar cheese and onion bread. Weber's is now on its fourth generation of owners in the same family.

 —Jennifer Billock