What would a maple festival be without more delicious, maple inspired and infused recipes than you could possibly sample in a single day? (That is a challenge, by the way!) Here are the TOP FIVE MAPLE FOODS you must try at the Muskoka Maple Festival in historic downtown Huntsville on Saturday, April 27th.
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Pancakes!
The only way to start your day at a festival celebrating maple syrup – a traditional pancake and sausage breakfast. Available from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and sponsored by Sugarbush Hill Maple Farm, $7 gets you three pancakes, and three sausages covered in syrup with a beverage to wash it down. After breakfast, strategy is key to ensure you taste as many other options as possible.
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Savoury Dishes
Craving savoury foods? 3 Guys And A Stove will once again be offering their Charred Pork Back Ribs with Muskoka Maple Barbecue Sauce. Buy a bottle of the sauce and give your grill that maple panache all year long. Jackie Lovegrove’s Catering will be creating mouth-watering Maple Bacon Grilled Cheese while the Algonquin Café and Deli returns with Maple Pulled Pork, Maple Brisket and Maple Beans. Maple chili? Yes, Hidden Valley Resort will be serving Muskoka Maple Chili with a slice of maple cornbread.
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Sweet Treats
Need to satisfy your sweet tooth? You’ve come to the right place! Farmer’s Daughter returns to the Festival with a wide arrange of treats including maple bacon butter tarts, cinnamon buns with maple cream cheese icing and trip mix bars with maple sugar, just to name a few. Seven Main Café will be bringing their delicious maple butter tarts along with a number of other maple baked goodies. Whimsical Bakery has a full maple menu, including Maple Walnut Cream Tarts, Maple Eclairs, Maple Pecan Scones, Maple Butter Tart Sundaes, Maple Butternut Squash Soup and a Sugar Bush Mocha. Don’s Bakery Muskoka features a wide variety of butter tarts, YourTV has the Maple Popcorn covered and The Strudel Lady presents Maple Syrup Strudels alongside apple and cranberry varieties with Maple Syrup Coconut Macaroons. Granny Lyn’s Kitchen returns with an extensive maple menu. Highlights include cookies and shortbread, Maple Pound Cake with Rum Maple Glaze and Banana Maple Muffins. Check out the Banafee – a scone with banana, toffee and maple and irish creams. Other favourites include cupcakes, mancakes, butter tarts and Browned Butter, Maple and Bourbon Blondies. Granny Lyn also has lots of gluten free creations. There is no such thing as too many butter tarts – Erika’s Bakery has you covered. Erika’s features Maple Pecan, Maple Walnut and Maple Bacon butter tarts as well as sugar cookies, ice cream sandwiches, fudge, biscotti, donuts, macaroons, muffins and cake – all maple flavoured. Finally, Wheelie Good Coffee will be on hand with Maple and Maple Chai Lattes – perfectly paired for samples or as a yummy pick-me-up on its own.
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Beer
Thirsty? Savoury and sweet indulgences call for a beverage or two to quench your thirst. Open from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., the Maple Festival beer garden will feature beer from Muskoka’s favourite breweries, including the collaboration brew Pancake Breakfast Specialty Maple Ale. This one-off creation represents a team effort from the brewmasters at Canvas Brewing Co., Clear Lake Brewing Co., Lake of Bays Brewing Co., Muskoka Brewery and Sawdust City Brewing Co. Available while supplies last (and only at the breweries), this maple masterpiece is on tap one day only at the Festival. Try it before it’s gone!
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Muskoka Maple Marché Dinner at 3 Guys And A Stove
Not ready to call it a day? If the fresh spring air has given you an appetite for more maple magic, let Chef Jeff dazzle you with his Muskoka Maple Marché dinner at 3 Guys And A Stove. For one special night only the restaurant is inspired by the sugar shack, featuring a unique and inventive line-up of maple infused delicacies. Some of the bespoke festival creations include the Pear, Pomegranate and Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Sesame Vinaigrette, Maple Seared Scallops, Seared Atlantic Salmon with Chili and Maple Coconut Milk, Molasses Baked Beans and Spicy Maple Pumpkin Pie. Click here to book your tickets now before they sell out!
While you’re at the Festival, be sure to tour the Maple Marketplace where you can get up close and personal with the sugarbush owners. Visit Barmont Maple Syrup, Hubbert’s Maple, Mark’s Muskoka Maple, sponsor Sugarbush Hill Maple Farm, Sweet Muskoka and Sweetwater Maple Supplies and Sugar Bush to learn all about their wonderful products. And don’t miss family entertainment, live music, street entertainers and the kids sap run.
Stay with us! We’ve partnered with local hotels and resorts to ensure that your evening is as enjoyable as your day. Make your stay memorable by booking with JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka, Deerhurst Resort, the Residence Inn Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf or the Holiday Inn Express and Suites. Click here for more info on where to stay when you visit the festival in historic downtown Huntsville, because at the Muskoka Maple Festival, the food is definitely worth travelling for!