We had the honor of designing a trio of fabulous custom sweets for a wedding this past weekend at Chicago Botanical Gardens for the most wonderful and infectiously joyful bride!  The bride chose shades of fuschia & coral to adorn every detail of her wedding, from the hand-accented invitation suite to the fabulous sweet table designed by Kathleen Olson of Sweet Table Chicago, to our trio of hand-packaged favors.  It was the perfect palette for a fabulous summer wedding in such a beautiful setting.  We can’t wait to see pictures of the whole affair…but we also couldn’t wait to share our studio pics with you!

For her wedding reception favors, Alycia chose the 2″cube box from our Debi Lilly for truffle truffle Couture Favor Collection in a beautiful shade of poppy, with a fuschia paper sash and custom placard.  Though truffles were her first choice, Alycia agreed to fill the cubes with our artisanal caramels to avoid the destructive wrath of the summer sun (thankfully, because the week proved to be an extraordinarily hot one!), so we chose fleur de sel, lavender peach & dulce de leche to indulge her guests.

The rehearsal dinner favors were 2 truffles (kid-friendly flavors of cookies & milk and cupcake, per Alycia’s request) packaged in an adorable linen bag with a custom placard and cork charm to complement the dinner’s wine-tasting theme.  We just absolutely adore these!

Finally, Alycia wanted to add a custom touch to her hotel welcome baskets, and we were happy to oblige!  She chose our famously-delicious double chocolate chip cookies individually wrapped in a glassine sleeve and adorned with our signature skyline placard in her chosen colors.  We can’t think of a sweeter way to welcome your guests to Chicago!

We’ll share the official pictures as soon as they’re in hand… in the meantime, we hope you love these as much as we do!

Last Thursday, July 21st, truffle truffle had the pleasure of participating in the first summertime Indie Wed , a unique wedding show that features artisanal, indie vendors & the brides who love them (www.indiewed.com)!  Despite the excessive heat, newly-engaged & about-to-be-married couples turned out in great numbers to meander around the gorgeous venue space of Room 1520 & the Aeree Loft (www.room1520.com), exploring all of the creative ideas on display.  And what an amazing collection of vendors to behold!  Some of our favorites included Five Grain Events, Salted Caramel (artisanal confections), Estera Events, Plate (Vintage Crockery Rental & Rescue) & Clandestino Catering, each of which had a gorgeous display & unique ideas for brides seeking alternatives to a traditional wedding, and hoping to add an extra special personal touch to their special day.

truffle truffle’s design team of Lindsey Quaglio (MadebyQ) and Stephanie Smith (Project Maven, www.project-maven.com) created a beautiful & whimsical display showcasing favors from our new custom favor collection in a gorgeous palette of deep red, cement, sunshine yellow & pool.  The display was set as a formal dining table, with each place setting highlighting a different category of favor ideas, wedding reception, bachelorette party,  shower & grooms gifts.  The centerpiece was a cluster of glass pedestal plates abundant with samples from our Debi Lilly for truffle truffle Couture Favor Collection, destination wedding offerings, bridal party thank you gifts, and “functional favors” that double as escort cards or place cards.  Perhaps the highlight of the display, however, were our 2 custom truffle cakes perched atop converted birdbath, one covered in smoothly-finished white chocolate truffles, and the other in our beer & pretzel truffles, which give the cake a gorgeous rustic & textured look.  The 3-tiered truffle cakes got a lot of gasps throughout the evening, and we’ve already fielded a number of inquiries from brides & grooms looking to incorporate this creative alternative to a traditional cake into their own indie-inspired receptions!

our wandering cake jars have generated quite a lot of buzz, and to tie in with our gourmet giveaway, we thought we’d showcase these fabulous gifts this week.  our screw-top glass jam jars are versatile vessels for any of our artisan confections, and they provide basically a blank canvas for our fabulous designers to customize in any way you can imagine!  they’re the perfect custom favor for a wedding, shower, milestone birthday, or anytime gift!  whether you are looking for a sleek, modern finish or something with a more homespun, DIY vibe, these jars can be transformed to suit your style!  our designers will add finishing touches to your exact specifications to create the perfect finish for your custom gifts, whether that be a decorative paper sash & custom label, a fabulous paper or fabric bonnet, or anything else you envision!  so many great customization options, and we haven’t even talked treats!  these 7oz jars can be filled with all sorts of deliciousness!  for a casual afternoon shower… perhaps custom cookies are the perfect fit; for a birthday party… take home birthday cakes-in-a-jar; for a wedding… custom chocolate tiles in alternating flavors selected by the bride & groom; and for custom gifts anytime… a wandering pie is just the thing!  our brand new custom favor collection lets you mix-and-match among our artisanal treats, fabulous packaging options and handcrafted finishing details, and with all of these amazing options to customize our basic jam jars, you can easily design the perfect fit for your next special event or gift need… we’ll do the rest!

we spend a fair amount of time every day around here pouring over wedding photos…occupational hazard, i suppose!  and i find myself always being drawn to those little personal touches a couple adds to mark the day with their own unique spirit.  perhaps that’s why we created the new “DIY-with-a-twist” Design It Yourself Custom Favor Collection, which allows our clients to mix & match from among our artisanal treats, awesome packaging, and handcrafted finishing options to create a take home favor for their guests that is one-of-a-kind, delicious, and entirely customized.  in designing the collection, we wanted to create fabulous customizable favors for every bride and any budget, so we created an assortment of individually-wrapped treats that allow brides to add a personal touch without adding huge expense!  our individually-wrapped truffles make a fantastic little favor, perfect for a place setting, candy bar, or welcome bag!  easily customizable with your choice of ribbon color and an adorable scalloped-edge gift tag with a monogram, message or custom motif, these little favors pack a punch in the irresistible & delicious categories!  starting at just $2.25/favor, our individually-wrapped truffles are an easy and budget-friendly way to add a personal and delicious touch to any occasion!

we had such a blast participating in Sunday’s Dose Market at the River East Arts Center!  as soon as the doors opened, the atrium space was filled with happy folks wandering from vendor to vendor gushing over the wares and sampling tasty treats.  we were busy handing out samples and bagging up treats, but we made sure to take some time to browse too, and couldn’t believe how many wonderful things had come together under one roof!  personal faves included charcuterie from Old Town Social, floral arrangements by Sprout, Snooklefritz’s fabulous ice cream, and Roost’s collection of vintage home decor goodies.

in creating our sweetscape display, our creative design team of Lindsey Quaglio (MADEbyQ) and Stephanie Smith (Project Maven), went with a “rustic chic” approach perfect for such a carefully curated market.  combining a burlap runner and twine-tied fabric bonnets over the wandering cake & pie jars with our porcelain pedastal-ware and vintage-inspired chalkboard created the perfect market-meets-boutique vibe. check out these amazing pics.  Lindsey’s polka dot bunting was an adorable touch and had folks swooning!

we were proud to debut our new “i <3 Chicago” collection at the Market and thrilled with the response!  it’s even more fabulous in person, nevermind the deliciousness!  nothing could have prepared us for the buzz created by our gourmet pop tarts though! we sold out with hours to go!  we’ll be back at Dose on September 25th with an assortment of pop tarts, and lots of other tasty treats!  hope to see you there!

we are so excited to be participating in the first ever Dose Market (www.dosemarket.com) this Sunday, June 5, at the River East Arts Center! our treats are scared of the heat, so we don’t typically get to experience the market vibe, and we’re counting the days. It’s going to be such a fun day, and I can’t wait to browse all the fabulousness brought forth by the other vendors! As for what you loyal truffle trufflers can expect to find, we will be there with a mix of treats from our signature “truffle truffle sweet suite” collection, and custom creations we normally only get to share with our special event clients… here is a sneak peek of the menu:

packaged treats!
wandering cake…dark chocolate & espresso mousse layer cake
wandering pie…lemon curd with fresh raspberries
i ‘heart’ Chicago collection…12pc artisanal truffle tin full of local love

assorted treats!
caramels… dark chocolate-dipped fleur de sel caramels & milk chocolate-dipped beer & pretzel caramels
milk & cookies sandwich…chocolate chip cookies & buttermilk frosting
cake bonbons…lemon cake with lavender cream cheese buttercream
brownie bonbons…double dark brownies in dark chocolate
gourmet pop tarts…flaky puff pastry pockets with almond cream & housemade berry jam

market basket!
assortment of treats…2 milk & cookie sandwiches…2 bonbons…2 pop tarts…4 chocolate-dipped caramel

we are especially excited to introduce our brand new “i ‘heart’ Chicago collection” at a special dose market price of $20 for the 12 piece artisanal truffle tin. we’ve teamed up with local loves Metropolis Coffee (www.metropoliscoffee.com), Half Acre Beer (www.halfacrebeer.com) & The Spice House (www.thespicehouse.com) to create delicious truffle flavors that are overflowing with Chi-Town spirit!

Time to get back into the kitchen to start prepping the streets for Sunday! Hope to see you Sunday at Dose!

In the past several months, truffle truffle has undergone a major transformation in order to be able to focus more on special event services and custom favors & gifts. Though this reflects a slight shift in the focus of truffle truffle, for me it represents a return to the beginning in a way.  Before truffle truffle took on a life of its own, I had dreams of being an event planner. I love the idea of being able to be an integral part of incredibly happy moments in people’s  shared histories, and to bring their visions to life.   The desire to  be a part of those special moments, and to create a platform for our incredibly talented staff to apply their creativity in new and different ways based on the whim and fancy of our clients is what is behind the creation of our brand-new Design-it-Yourself custom favor collection  and our couture favor collection, Debi Lily for truffle truffle. and we are so thrilled to finally be able to launch the new collections and introduce them to the world! We hope all you loyal truffle truffle or love them just as much as we do!

Over the next several blog posts, I’ll be introducing you to the different features of truffle truffle 2.0, with its expanded focus on limited edition collections,  custom dessert tables, truffle “cakes”, and personalized event favors and gifts. We think you’ll love the new face of truffle truffle, and we can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the new collections! Stay tuned…and for now… Some eye candy!

"best of truffle truffle"

custom brownie bonbons

our first full week in the new space was busy to say the least — it almost felt like holiday season, which makes increasingly more sense when you consider it is now november!  how did that happen?!

in spite of feeling like we’ve slipped through some imperceptible crack in the space-time continuum, we are definitely on top of things and are so excited about all of the projects we are working on: truffle boxes for the premiere of the Conan Show on TBS, wedding favors, and the test batches of our Winter Collection (coming soon!).  all of this made for a chocolate-y weekend — with close to 900 truffles being hand-enrobed and finished for packaging!

so many truffles...so little self-restraint!

and…as if that weren’t enough to do, we’ve also been trying to add our personal touch to truffle truffle’s new home.  needless to say, there is still a lot of work to be done in order to build out the retail space, but our packaging area is now organized and adorable, thanks to Project Maven’s Stephanie Smith,  a true organization/beautification superstar!  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/Project-Maven/162715700412582?ref=sgm

Stephanie only had about 2 hours to get the space looking sharp before the surprise arrival of a local news crew, and she did an amazing job!  not only are our shelves looking spiffy…but we also know where to actually find things now! thanks Project Maven!

wrapping our boxes of boxes in decorative paper makes for a much more attractive workspace! thanks Project Maven!

so, after almost 3 months of transition, infinite trips to the hardware store, and hours of painting, spackling, grouting & scrubbing, we have finally moved into a new home that is all our own! phew! we couldn’t be more excited about our shiny new kitchen and packaging space! not only does it mean we can make all of our tasty treats without tripping over ourselves… and each other… and other businesses, but we can also host brides and event planners for custom favor consultation appointments and offer our local customers an opportunity to avoid shipping costs by picking up their orders directly from us!  we are not set up as a traditional retail store just yet – though stay tuned for a storefront location because that’s our next big project – so we will only be open to the public for limited hours at first, but we are thrilled at the opportunity this move affords us to develop closer ties to our customers and our community…and make even more tasty artisanal treats!

it has been a crazy busy year here at truffle truffle, and we are so grateful for the support of our customers, which has allowed us to take this big leap!  and we are madly in love with our new fall and forthcoming winter collections, which we are sure are delicious enough to earn your continued loyalty!  my personal favorite at the moment is the mexican hot chocolate caramel: chewy, spicy, sweet perfection!  www.truffletruffle.com/fall2010.php

can't wait to fill these shelves with more delicious ingredients to turn into tasty treats!

some of the stuff we use to hand-package our goodies before sending them to you...including our "ribbon and label kebabs"!

space...glorious space! so excited to have room to spread out, plan and organize!

It’s a wonderful day here at truffle truffle because – even though it still feels a bit chilly outside – the flavors of spring have arrived!  I always have fun with the seasonal collections because they give me an opportunity to play with new flavors and ideas, but I especially love this new spring line.  The truffles deliciously showcase fresh herbs from the garden, and each is topped with a tiny burst of flavor that perfectly compliments the infused ganache centers.  I am personally in love with the arugula truffle, topped with a candied pinenut, and the thyme truffle, topped with a candied dried organic cranberry.  The flavors are clean, surprising, well-balanced and perfect for the beginning of Spring!

Not to be out-shined, the Spring caramels are also fabulous!  I am totally obsessed with the rose water caramel right now – the sweet-and-salty balance of our original caramel recipe is perfectly enhanced by subtle floral notes.  And the strawberry rhubarb caramel is also delicious.  We dehydrated fresh rhubarb to concentrate all of that intense, unique flavor into a fine powder and used that to flavor these caramels, alongside fresh strawberry puree.  What a delicious and fitting homage to the culinary delight first pulled from the earth every Spring – rhubarb has never had it so good!

Try our Spring truffle and caramel collections, or select these flavors individually to combine with our other delicious treats.  What better way to kick-off a beautiful Spring?!