Giveable City
The treat of Austin eats
By Kate Thornberry, Fri., Dec. 15, 2006
Enabling the Chocoholic in Your Life
Belgian chocolate truffles, lovingly handmade from the finest ingredients by an experienced chocolatier, make a stunning and memorable gift. Between last Christmas and this Christmas, local confectioner Edis Ferreira has taken her business from fledgling to full-time as Austin has discovered Edis' Chocolates. You can find Edis at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market every Saturday now, with an entire stand to showcase her creations.
When properly made, chocolate truffles are dark, sensuous, creamy, and so rich in cacao that they border on hallucinogenic. Many large confectionery companies have tried to break in on the luxury chocolate action, but the result is never quite the same. There is something about handmade chocolates that can't be duplicated by machinery. Ferreira painstakingly makes each small batch to ensure perfection, and there are absolutely no other chocolates in Austin as ravishing.
Each opulent golden box contains a mixture of flavors: Dark Chocolate, Blackberry, Grand Marnier, Mexican Vanilla, Espresso, Hazelnut, Framboise, and Coconut. The truffles are available in boxes of two ($4), half-dozen ($10), or a dozen ($20), or you can buy them unboxed for $1.50 apiece. All are made from the purest Callebaut Belgian chocolate.
Ferreira came to Austin from Brazil 20 years ago and quickly found work as a pastry chef. Ten years ago, she began her work with chocolate and started to dream of having her own company. When her husband, Delubio, joined the U.S. Army at the start of the war in Iraq, Ferreira quit her pastry chef job to take sole care of their daughter and concentrate on her dream.
"I love working with chocolate. It makes me happy," Ferreira beams. "I feel like I am bringing happiness and joy into the world, making the world a little bit lovelier."
You can find Ferreira and her chocolate truffles every Saturday until Christmas at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market in the Toney Burger Center parking lot. The market hours are 9am-1pm.
