More Gourmet Cupcakes!

We continue our review of the duet of speciality gourmet cupcakes prepared this spring.

In contrast to the subtle flavors of our vanilla and lavender cupcakes, this cupcake was sweet, dense, and richly flavored.

We began with a classic butter genoise, loaded with toasted and ground hazelnuts. Once cooled, we soaked the genoise with a syrup infused with Frangelico hazelnut liqueur, ensuring the cake would be both moist and delicious.

Topping the genoise was a classic cooked French buttercream, redolent with hand-ground cashew praline dust. The sweet, yet bitter, burnt sugar of the dust made the perfect compliment to the smooth buttercream.

Topped with chunks of cashew praline, these cupcakes were dense and delicious.

Next, we turn our attention to a specialty birthday cake, made in classic Italian style. You don't want to miss this, so we'll see you again soon at 'comparing apples and orenji...'

Gourmet Cupcakes

In today's post, we review the first of two specialty "springtime" cupcakes we were commissioned to create for a dear friend and client.

The first flavor began with a dense poundcake-like yellow cake, richly infused with butter and Tahitian vanilla. Following baking, the cakes were soaked in a simple syrup containing Hawaiian lavender, creating a moist and delicately-flavored floral pastry.







The cakes were then topped with a freshly whipped French buttercream, flavored with freshly zested lemon peel and lavender essence. The acidity of the lemon perfectly complimented the deep floral undertones of the lavender, creating a delicate sensory experience.










Topped with candied violets, these cupcakes were perfect for a summer picnic, high tea, or a lazy afternoon snack.





Tomorrow, the second of our gourmet cupcakes-- very different, but equally as delicious!

Mother's Day Treats, part 4...

We conclude our review of Mother's Day 2008 treats with an orenji signature creation: Milk and Dark Chocolate Orange Slices with Candied Orange Peel.

We begin with the finest Belgian milk and bittersweet chocolates-- smooth and creamy-- into which we fold bits of our hand-candied orange peel.

The peel creates a bitter-sweet, sugary contrast to the smoothness of the chocolate, infusing it with deliciously vibrant, yet subtle, orange flavor.

We also are pleased to offer our hand-candied orange peel by itself-- the perfectly sweet finish to any meal.

Wrapped in our signature orange foil, and packaged in gold boxes with 'orenji' embossed ribbon, these orange slices are the perfect gift for any occasion.

Next we turn our attention to some springtime cupcakes in various flavors. You don't want to miss this!

Mother's Day Treats, part 3...

We continue our review of treats created for Mother's Day 2008 with our mother's favorite cookie-- Apricot & Almond Shortbread. These cookies are dense, rich, and buttery-- the perfect balance of sweet fruit with nutty flavor.


Starting with a dense and buttery shortbread crust, these bars are topped with a Grand Marnier-infused apricot filling redolent with Tahitian vanilla and fresh orange zest. A struesel topping, made with brown sugar and roasted almond slices, completes the bar-- adding deep nutty flavors, as well as a delightful textural contrasting crunch.



A simple confectioner's glaze adds visual appeal and creaminess to the already rich and dense shortbreads. Packed by the half-pound, we guarantee that these cookies won't last very long!






Also prepared during Mother's Day 2008 is a classic confection and orenji customer favorite: Chocolate Enrobed Graham Crackers.

We start with hand-crafted grahams, which we enrobe by hand in the finest Belgian milk and dark chocolates. Drizzles of chocolate and sugar flowers create both visual and textural contrast to these fine spring treats.












We bet you can't eat just one! Be sure to check back tomorrow for continuing coverage of Mother's Day 2008.

Mother's Day Treats, continued...

Mother's Day 2008 brought with it a high demand for the confection featured in this post: our hand-crafted Hawaiian sea salt caramels.








These confections start with a slow-cooked combination of fresh creamery butter, cream, sugar, Tahitian vanilla, and of course, Hawaiian red sea salt. Once cooked to the perfect creamy consistency and cooled, these melt-in-your-mouth caramels are cubed and enrobed in the finest Belgian milk chocolate. Sprinkled with sea salt, the sweetness of the caramel perfectly compliments the saltiness, creating a unique and wonderful flavor contrast.



Boxed in our signature gold boxes with 'orenji' embossed orange ribbon, these treats make the perfect gift for anyone special in your life!




More Mother's Day 2008 treats tomorrow. See you then!

Mother's Day Treats!

We begin our reviews of the treats prepared for Mother's Day 2008 with a look at a delicious new flavor in our line of gourmet caramel corns.

This sweet blend begins with gourmet caramel corn, which we cover in the finest Belgian milk chocolate and liberally sprinkle with hand-crafted English toffee bits. We then add a handful of roasted and salted cashews, and finish the blend with smooth Belgian white chocolate and decorative sugar flowers.

We call the newest edition to our line of gourmet popcorns "coffee-toffee" caramel corn, and our customer reactions to the flavors have been extraordinary.

The "coffee-toffee" corn joins our other gourmet popcorn offerings:

peanut butter, salted peanut, & milk chocolate caramel corn—our most popular!

“tropical fantasy” popcorn-- toasted coconut, macadamia nut, & milk chocolate caramel corn with white chocolate

“rocky road” popcorn— bittersweet chocolate, toasted almonds, miniature marshmallows, & white chocolate

“creamsicle” popcorn— orange scented white chocolate, milk chocolate, hand-candied orange peel, cashew pieces



We continue our review of Mother's Day 2008 treats tomorrow, with a look at some of our special springtime creations. Be sure to check back!

Orenji Spring & Mother's Day Pricing Guide Now Available!

The orenji Spring 2008 and Mother's Day Pricing Guide is now available!

In the guide you will find a delicious selection of handcrafted chocolates, confections, cookies, brownies, shortbreads, and cupcakes, as well as our Sweet Fortune line of exotic chocolate "fortune cookies!"

To access the pricing guide, please click on the following link:

Orenji 2008 Spring and Mother's Day Pricing Guide

Or access the pricing guide in the "links" section of the blog, below and to the left!

We look forward to helping you celebrate Mother's Day with a special treat from orenji!

Sweet Fortune: Spring Flavor

Easter 2008 presented us with the perfect opportunity to expand our Sweet Fortune line of gourmet fortune cookie-shaped chocolates. Each chocolate is hand poured, hand filled with an exotic truffle filling, and subsequently assembled into a "cookie."

Our newest flavor in the line was a Bittersweet and white chocolate shell filled with a milk chocolate truffle infused with the flavors of vanilla and Earl Grey tea. Sweet FortuneSmooth and smokey, sweet and sharp, the truffle filling is unique and delicious-- the perfect complement to the smooth Belgian chocolate enrobing it!




As with all of our Sweet Fortune confections, the finished product is artfully presented in Chinese take-out containers-- in this case, pastel colored, for Easter-- and closed with fine satin ribbon.



We will highlight additional flavors, as our product line increases. Until then, we wish all our faithful readers and customers Sweet Fortune!

Easter Treats: Packaging

Easter 2008 presented some fun and creative opportunities to package our treats. In general, we like a simple, clean aesthetic in our packaging-- much like in our food!

We choose simple white boxes, which we tie with beautiful satin ribbon, and decorations of the season!

Simple, elegant, beautiful.

Thanks to all who made our Easter 2008 season so successful! We look forward to serving you again in the future!

Easter Treats: Chocolate Eggs

Here at orenji, we love chocolate. More than that, we love creating with chocolate... and Easter 2008 provided the perfect opportunity! In celebration of the festive spring holiday, we set out to create some delicious hand-poured chocolate truffle eggs. In the end, we were quite pleased with the results!

At the right, you see two of our varieties of eggs-- milk chocolate eggs filled with two peanut butter fillings. The first filling was smooth and deep in flavor, combining the finest Belgian milk chocolate with creamy organic peanut butter. The second filling, was denser in texture, and richer in peanut butter flavor. Taken together, the eggs were an explosion of flavor!

The bittersweet chocolate egg pictured contained a smooth and creamy chocolate-caramel truffle filling-- the finest Belgian milk chocolate combined with our own hand-crafted sea salt caramel! Deep and rich.

Our peanut butter eggs-- some in signature orange foil, were a very popular item!

Joining them in the selection pictured at left were bittersweet chocolate and cappuccino-truffle filled eggs. Dark, rich espresso joined smooth bittersweet Belgian chocolate to create a delicious truffle filling. Surrounded by bittersweet chocolate, and drizzled with fine white chocolate, these eggs were a coffee lover's dream!

Beautifully packaged in spring-colored "tulip" cups, these Easter treats made the perfect addition to any Easter basket!

The last of our varieties of hand-poured Easter eggs were filled with a toasted coconut and caramel filling. Chewy, and delightfully textured (thanks to the crunchy freshly toasted coconut), the filling was the perfect complement to the smooth Belgian chocolate enrobing it!

Just one more day of Easter coverage! Make sure you check back tomorrow...

Easter Treats: Gourmet Popcorn

We continue our review of treats made during the 2008 Easter season...

An orenji highlight of nearly every holiday season is our ever-popular line of gourmet popcorns!

For Easter, we prepared five types of gourmet popcorn:

peanut butter, salted peanut, & milk chocolate caramel corn (pictured)

“tropical fantasy” popcorn-- toasted coconut, macadamia nut, & milk chocolate caramel corn with white chocolate

“rocky road” popcorn— bittersweet chocolate, toasted almonds, miniature marshmallows, & white chocolate

“creamsicle” popcorn— orange scented white chocolate, milk chocolate, hand-candied orange peel, cashew pieces

“coffee-toffee” popcorn—espresso infused milk chocolate, hand-crafted English toffee chunks, salted cashews, white chocolate

Packaged by the half pound, with delicate satin ribbon, this popcorn is addictive... and the perfect snack!

Next post will focus on our hand-crafted chocolate eggs with truffle fillings... You don't want to miss that post!

Easter Treats: Brownie Eggs

Here at orenji, we are developing a reputation for our brownies... and we're okay with that-- At least it's a good reputation!

The brownies we prepared for Easter 2008 were a variation on our classic "blondie" family recipe. We took our traditional recipe-- rich in brown sugar caramel and vanilla flavors-- and packed it full of freshly toasted coconut, macadamia nuts, and milk chocolate chips.

But we didn't stop there!

Baked in egg-shapes, we then coated the brownies in the finest Belgian white chocolate-- velvety smooth and sweet. A sprinkling of toasted coconut, and a drizzle of fine Belgian milk chocolate completed these large and delicious brownies.

What else did we make for Easter 2008? You can be sure that you can read all about our creations on comparing apples and orenji! Be sure to come back and visit!