FinnFest/Nordic Fair 2015

Bakery?: FinnFest/Nordic Fair
Address: Mel Lastman Square (5100 Yonge St), North York ON
Website: http://finnfestival2015.com/
Style: Scandinavian, Finnish
Price: $$

Well, well, well, this was quite the baked goods find! And especially for a Scandinavian baked good fanatic like me. :) I first heard about this from a poster in Viking Bakery; considering that I'm usually travelling in June, I little thought of it then, but luck hasn't been on my side so far (especially with my international food basket delivery service that has yet to get any interested viewers... perhaps you'd like to check out my flop of a business and spread the word?) so I did manage to check it out, although the outdoor festival at Mel Lastman Square had its own bout of bad luck: it took place on the worst weekend, weather-wise, with constant heavy rain keeping even the booths from staying open....

Nonetheless: FinnFest is an annual celebration of Finnish arts and culture... and baked goods held, I believe, every June. I'm not quite sure when or how Nordic Fair got attached to this. In reality, this *was* FinnFest, with only three stalls representing the other parts of Scandinavia: one Swedish housewares and church booth and the Danish food booth. However, it seems that whenever there is a gathering of Finns, there will be baked goods, which was the main reason why I was so happy. ;) Three bakeries showed up -- in fact, it was the convergence of all local Finnish bakeries: Viking-Milbree from Newmarket, Niemi Family Farms from Mt Albert, and Hillside Cafe on Mount Pleasant Rd (Toronto)! This was your chance to get stocked up on as many cardamom-spiced baked goods as you wanted. And prices weren't too ridiculous for a festival (Niemi Family Farms, in particular, was very affordable). There were also entries from the less popular (given almost everyone buying seemed to be of Finnish descent) Danish and Swedish booth! Wow! *-*

In addition to absolutely delicious jelly doughnuts ($2/each) from the tried and true Viking-Milbree, I also jumped on the chance to try baked goods from Niemi Family Farms, a nursery that also sells -- you guessed it -- Finnish baked goods. :) Unlike the other stalls, there was something so rustic about their treats that I had to try them. They almost look like they came from a stone oven or something. Think flat rye breads, cinnamon buns, and various unique baked goods. I had to go for the cinnamon bread ($7), which was like a mix between a pulla (cardamom bread) and a classic Finnish cinnamon bun. Mmm... this was so good!!! A nice amount of cinnamon, a hint of crumble on top -- the only minus I could find was that some of the cardamom was a little too coarsely ground and kind of gave an unpleasant sensation. I froze it and enjoyed delicious cinnamon bread for days. *-*

Of course, I also couldn't pass up the chance to try Danish pancake balls (aebleskiver; 4/$2) which I have yet to see elsewhere. I never even spotted them on my trip to Denmark! It came mildly heated, sprinkled with icing sugar (or "snow" as the lady selling them said; she also gave me one more for free given the weather conditions ^^) and served with a dollop of strawberry jam. I'm not sure who was in charge of the Danish food tent, which likewise sold "danishes" and open-faced sandwiches, but it looks like it wasn't linked to any existing store/business. All the more to snatch up these delectable moist dough balls that seem a cross between doughnuts and your classic pancakes. Simple, but tasty. I could easily have a few more. ._.

Last but not least, the Swedish church was selling coffee and home-baked Swedish cinnamon buns at $1.50/each -- can you see why I was on cloud nine!? :D These were rather petite and with the exception of the rock sugar sprinkled on top, they didn't really seem *that* Swedish to me, but they were good. And I do love my Swedish cinnamon buns. I can't see they beat the cinnamon bread, which was stunning, but they were in their own right quite tasty. Too small, but tasty.

Overall, I would have liked a little more in terms of things going on (it was pretty much dead once the rain hit hard), but I was happy to have gotten there before the rain and snatched up a whole sack of Scandinavian baked goods -- what a fantastic opportunity!!

Rating: ***1/2