Thursday, April 22, 2010

Blog Birthday Giveaway Day Three: Bittersweet Confections Truffles

One of my favorite ways to pass time on a car trip is to talk about food.  Surprising, right!  We'll go from what is your favorite breakfast food (sweet or savory) to name the perfect New Orleans burger.  My favorite topic has always been, list your favorite dessert.  I can never choose just one, so my list typically goes something like this: Lemon Pie, a good rich creme brulee, my sister's Banana's Foster banana bread pudding, a butterscotch pupping with salted caramel sauce, and lastly a chocolate molten cake.   That's a pretty solid list, if I you ask me!
You can imagine my excitement when one morning at the Julia Street farmers market, we stumbled upon a vendor selling chocolate truffles in some of these very flavors.  If heaven is where all of your favorite sweet things are wrapped delicately in delicious chocolate, than I had arrived at the pearly gates.  It turns out I wasn't the only patron who felt they had discovered something special at the market that day.  Cheryl's truffle business, that had started as a side project, quickly evolved into one of the cutest and busiest chocolate shops in New Orleans.  Bittersweet Confections is the name of this family run business that resides on Canal Blvd. in Lakeview (the neighborhood where I grew up).  If you're not in the neighborhood, you can visit Bittersweet Confections here.

Today I am so excited to be giving away a set of four truffles (pictured above) packaged as the Canal Street Collection.   The flavors included are: Bananas Foster, Pecan, Creme Brulee, and Meyer Lemon.  (Can I enter my own giveaway???)

Like the other two giveaways, I asked Cheryl a few question about her business, and she was so gracious to reply.  I think you'll really enjoy getting to know more about the woman behind these sweet treats:

What inspired you to create your own brand? I created my own brand because of my passion for chocolate. I wanted to create a truffle that was handmade with no waxy hard shell, I wanted a creamy, soft piece of chocolate with a subtle hints of various flavors. For example, my dark chocolate bananas foster truffle. That particular chocolate is made with a brown butter reduction and a banana puree. The hints of both flavors are present but the real taste is the dark chocolate.        

Truffles can be ordered and packaged indivually. Adorable as party favors!!

What piece of advice would you give other budding entrepreneurs about starting their own business? My advice to other entrepreneurs is pick something you are truly passionate about (that way it doesn't seem like work). Networking with other professionals and become the expert in your field. Don't expect success to come to you, go out and create your own successes. Set goals each week and stick to them. Lastly, surround yourself with other successful people, it's contagious.

What is your current best seller? My best selling items are my truffles.


If you had to choose one of your chocolate creations to eat for every meal, which one would you choose? After each meal (sometimes it is my meal), I eat my 74% darkest chocolate truffle rolled in cocoa powder.

Do you find yourself using New Orleans as an inspiration in creating your chocolates and pastries? Absolutely, New Orleans has been instrumental in the creation of my "Second Line" collection. Bananas Foster, Creme' Brulee, Meyer Lemon, Pecan, Darkest Chocolate, Earl Grey, Indian Chai and Ginger. The flavors I created come from the heart.


Finally, describe your perfect New Orleans day. My perfect day in NOLA would be to spend the day with friends and family in my home (we are two weeks away from moving back into our Lakeview home). Preparing dinner, drinking wine, listening to music watching our children play and of course finishing our meal with my petite chocolate cakes (two layers of moist chocolate cake filled with dark chocolate mousse and covered with dark chocolate ganache.

That sounds like the perfect day to me too!  Here's a few ways you can enter to win the Canal Street Collection:
  1. Follow this blog (leave a little note that you do)
  2. Leave a comment telling me what flavor you would choose if you were making your own truffle from scratch (Mine would be dark chocolate covered salted caramel mousse with smoked salt on top)
  3.  Head on over to Bittersweet Confections website and tell me which flavor (from the flavor chart on the bottom left hand side of the page) sounds best to you
  4. Let me know that you've blogged about the blog birthday giveaway week!

17 comments:

  1. If I were making my own truffle from scratch it would be a milk chocolate covered mint mousse colored a beautiful hint of green with crushed chocolate dipped mint candy on top! Umm Umm good! No surprise that my favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip! Have a wonderful day!

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  2. Yum. The packaging looks familiar - is that where the truffles for Alissa's bach party came from? Those were heavenly!!

    I'd love to try the Banana Fosters one! Mmmm...

    I am terrible uncreative when it comes to comin up with flavors, but the one you described sounds awesome. I love salted caramels. Mmm...

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  3. The Creme'Brulee one sounds delicious!

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  4. Hi! I'm a follower, of course, and the flavor I would make is a key lime truffle with white chocolate and a hint of tequila, yum!
    I think the bananas foster sounds delicious from the website. I hope I win this one, my sweet tooth will be satisfied for days!

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  5. I'm a follower and have blogged about your give away week. My pick from the flavor chart would be praline. If I were to make my own it would be milk chocolate covered almond marzipan!

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  6. I'm a follower!!!! YUM! The mint chocolate ones looks divine!

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  7. I'm a new follower! Eating is one of my favorite ways to pass the time on a road trip too. These truffles look amazing! I'd make a red velvet truffle, yum.

    xo
    Valerie
    www.redvinesforbreakfast.blogspot.com

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  8. I'm a follower!!!!

    If I made a truffle, I would make a dark chocolate with cheesecake and caramel filling. YUM!!

    I think my favorite from the list would be either the Banana's Foster or the Praline! They sound delicious! :)

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  9. I would make a dark rum truffle with chocolate.
    I feel like it's Christmas on your blog this week!

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  10. Can your sister post the recipe for her "Banana's Foster banana bread pudding"?! It sounds amazing!! I'm a follower.

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  11. I am a follower of your blog, but I normally don't visit EVERY day, but with all these great give aways I have to visit to see what is up. I could use one of these treats right about now. I would choose the Rasperry or Passion Fruit! I blogged about your birthday blog week!

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  12. I'm a new follower as of yesterday! Cute blog! I would choose something caramel and nougat filled almost like a gourmet milky way with maybe a touch of something crunchy. The creme brule sounds amazing.

    alissablogs@hotmail.com

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  13. I'm drooling. I want to eat all those in one sitting, would that be wrong? I'd make a truffle with a strawberry and bailey's center. With dark chocolate. The bananas foster and chai sound fabulous!

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  14. Always following :)
    I love the Chai one-- yum!
    If I were to make my own truffle, it would be a dark chocolate filled with espresso mousse and toped with coffee beans crumbles. Can you tell I love coffee? lol :) I just posted about your blog B-day Celebration!:)

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  15. I'm a Follower.
    The praline would be my FAV choice...and If I made a truffle, it would just be plain old chocolate...yummy
    This is fun!

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  16. I am so much a follower & how did I miss this yesterday!!

    Creme Brulee with Dark chocolate

    I want them all but it would be Darkest Chocolate, Bananas Foster, and Passion Fruit.

    I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE (ok any chocolate).

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  17. YUM!!! I am craving one of these right now! I would love to try the Bananas Foster and the Creme Brulee......but really I'd love to try any of them! For sure put this on my list of things to do in NOLA! Oh, and if I were making my own it would be something with caramel and toffee...mmm.

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