The Best Sarasota Desserts (& Shops Nearby)
Since moving to Sarasota we’ve been searching for the best bakeries, pastry shops, ice cream shops, and more. If you’re looking to indulge in a sweet treat in Sarasota then these Sarasota desserts are absolutely delicious options! And let me just say, I think there’s something for everyone here. Of course, no list is ever complete so be sure to check back often as we add more and more places to this list of Sarasota desserts!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which we may make commission from. As always, we only recommend places and products we love!
The Sweet Doctor
In 2011, the Stinson family opened The Sweet Doctor and first started by perfecting cake pops but then moved on to creating delicious flavors of cupcakes, cookies, macarons, and cheesecakes. As of late, they’re even dabbling in freeze-dried candy flavors! There are so many delicious things to try at The Sweet Doctor that we have yet to sample everything. But their mini cupcakes are so moist and packed with flavor. The lemon and vanilla are two that I’ve tried and loved and do yourself a favor and pick up a bag of the freeze-dried sour skittles.
Location: 7638 Lockwood Ridge Rd, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm, Closed Sunday & Monday
Kurto’s Chimney Cakes
Kurto’s Chimney Cakes specializes in baking a delicious Hungarian pastry from a 300-year-old recipe. A recipe that is one of the most popular treats in Europe! All of the cakes are hand-rolled on a wooden cylinder one by one then rolled in sugar. After they are baked in a special oven specifically designed for these cakes. As the dough cooks it is turned slowly so the sugar caramelizes on the cake making a slight crunch! Once fully baked the cakes are rolled into different toppings like cinnamon, almonds, coconut, and more. These cakes remind us of Baumkuchen, a German cake that is very popular in Japan.
Location: 1383 McAnsh Square, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 8am-2pm, Saturday 8am-4pm, Closed Sunday & Monday
Sorrento Sweets
Sorrento Sweets is a popular downtown spot for Italian desserts. However, before opening in Sarasota, the story behind this Sarasota bakery starts back in the early 1960s when at the age of 9, Salvatore Paturzo took over his family baking business in Sorrento, Italy. Yes, you read that correctly. AT THE AGE OF NINE. I’m just… speechless. Later he met his wife, Rosa and they moved to New Jersey together where Salvatore worked in a number of phenomenal bakeries before moving to Florida to create Sorrento Sweets.
Today they craft all of their cookies, cannolis, florentines, and more with ingredients shipped directly from Italy so they’re authentic in more ways than one. All of the cookies are sold by the pound so you can choose how much you’d like to get! Keep in mind that these are not typical American pastries so you’ll probably find the flavor and sweetness more subtle.
Location: 1473 Main St, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Sunday 7am-6pm, Wednesday & Thursday 7am-8pm, Friday & Saturday 7am-10pm, Closed Monday & Tuesday
Choulala Fine Pastries
Choulala Fine Pastries is best known for its signature choux cream puffs. These delicious pastries are made with a pâte à choux dough and are covered with a crunchy craquelin crust. After baking they are then filled with rich pastry cream that varies in flavors and topped with either meringue, chantilly cream, or marzipan. My favorites have been the amaretto, passion fruit, and pistachio. Also at Choulala Fine Pastries, you’ll find macarons, eclairs, and cakes!
Location: 309 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday & Saturday 11am-10pm, Closed Monday
OfKors Bakery
OfKors Bakery is a fabulous coffee and pastry shop in downtown Sarasota. While I usually get a pastry and a coffee at OfKors Bakery they also have sweet and savory menu items like crepes, sandwiches, stuffed croissants, bagels, and chia pudding. My favorite dessert at OfKors Bakery is the honey cake which is a traditional eastern-European cake with honey in the layers. It is subtly sweet with a punch of honey flavor and moist sponge cake. It’s a rather unique dessert that is definitely worth trying!
Location: 1359 Main St, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Sunday 7:30am-2:30pm, Monday-Thursday 7:30am-9pm, Friday & Saturday 7:30am-10pm
Five-O Donut Co.
If there’s one donut shop that I say you HAVE to visit at least once in your life it’s Five-O Donut Co. Each day Five-O makes an incredible amount of yeast, cronuts (croissant donuts), and cake donuts of all different flavors. But our favorites are the “fancy” yeast donuts. They have some of the best fancy donuts we’ve had by a long shot. If I had to pick just a few I’d say get the cookie monster which has Oreos and cookie dough bites, peanut butter Butterfinger, and strawberry shortcake.
Location: 2241 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota // MAP (A few other locations in Sarasota)
Hours: Monday-Friday 7am-1pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am-1pm (or when sold out)
Meaney’s Mini Donuts
Meaney’s Mini Donuts is a walk-up donut shop that offers mini-donuts that are rolled directly off their assembly line and info the fryer then served piping hot and coated with the topping of your choice. These donuts are light, fluffy, and closely resemble the texture of beignets but a bit denser. If you want something simple I recommend getting the cinnamon sugar topping but for something even sweeter the strawberry cheesecake is a big hit. It is cream cheese frosting and strawberry jam on top of the mini donuts.
Location: 386 St Armands Cir, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 8am-10pm, Friday & Saturday 8am-11pm
Norman Love Confections
Norman Love Confections started in Florida and now has a shop in Sarasota with over 25 different chocolate flavors using premium ingredients and perfectly crafted in many unique designs. The chocolates are absolutely decadent and you can purchase them individually or by the box. I have yet to try them all but I recommend the coconut, passion fruit truffle, peanut butter marshmallow, yuzu mango, and the hazelnut praline truffle.
Location: 192 N Cattlemen Rd Unit 7, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Sunday 11am-6pm, Tuesday-Thursday 10am-7pm, Friday & Saturday 10am-9pm, Closed Mondays
READ MORE: The Best Restaurants in Sarasota
Kookies & Kream
Kookies & Kream is serving up delicious mega cookies with a variety of nostalgic ingredients to bring you back to the treats of your childhood. Think frosted animal cookies, Pop-Tarts, Nutter Butters, Oreos, and more. The flavors rotate weekly so it’s hard to make a solid recommendation on flavors. Well… wait, who am I kidding?! All of the flavors are delicious so you truly can’t go wrong.
However, there is a way to best eat your cookies. They give you an instruction sheet on how to best enjoy your cookies but DO NOT, I repeat, do not skip warming them up! But you wanna know what’s best of all? If you enjoy Kookies & Kream as much as we do and want to get them over and over again they ship! Flavors rotate weekly so be sure to check their Instagram to see what’s new!
Location: 39 S Beneva Rd, Sarasota // MAP
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 12pm-5pm, Closed Sunday-Tuesday
Ding Tea
If you’re looking for a boba shop in Sarasota then Ding Tea is the spot to go! Ding Tea has a variety of milk tea flavors, Yakult, slushes, flavored teas, and lattes to choose from. Our favorites are taro milk tea, mango green tea, Hokkaido black milk tea, and matcha milk tea but I’m sure they have your go-to order or can help you find something you’re sure to love.
Location: 4462 Cortez Rd W, Bradenton // MAP
Hours: 11am-9pm daily
The Cheesecake Cutie
The Cheesecake Cutie is located on nearby Anna Maria Island but it’s definitely worth a visit. Jennifer, the owner, brought her mother’s cheesecake recipes from New Jersey to honor her memory and first started by selling them to friends and family while they encouraged her to open her own shop. Thus the storefront for Cheesecake Cutie opened in 2019!
While Jennifer makes regular size cheesecakes my favorite is ordering the cuties which are mini cheesecakes the size of a cupcake! Our favorite flavors so far have been Peanut Butter Dream, Chocolate Raspberry, and Blueberry-Lemon.
In addition to their sweet mini cheesecakes, they also have a full menu for breakfast and lunch.
Location: 3324 E Bay Dr, Holmes Beach // MAP
Hours: Monday-Saturday 7:30am-4pm, closed Sunday
READ MORE: The Best Ice Cream in Sarasota & Nearby
Which of these Sarasota desserts do you want to try first?
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