Cafe Fernando

No-Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Cenk — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:00:28 +0000

No-bake chocolate biscuit cake is a staple in almost every Turkish mother’s repertoire. Turns out, we’ve all been eating like royalty! According to this article, no-bake chocolate cake is a tea time favorite of Queen Elizabeth II. In fact, it was one of the cakes served at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding reception. McVitie’s [...]

Saveur’s Best Food Blog Awards & Chez Panisse

Cenk — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:57:47 +0000

It was one of the best meals I’ve had during my two weeks in San Francisco and certainly the most memorable dining experience of my life. My Chez Panisse Experience is nominated in Saveur’s Best Food Blog Awards 2012 in the “Best Single Piece of Culinary Writing” category. Thank you Saveur! It is a great [...]

Tartine’s Basic Country Bread

Cenk — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:14:15 +0000

It could have risen a bit more. It should have had a more open crumb. And the “ears” would have definitely been more pronounced if I had scored the dough with a razor instead. But still, I can’t believe this bread came out of my oven. Thanks to Chad Robertson and his detailed recipe, Tartine [...]

The Best and Creamiest Chocolate Ice Cream You’ll Ever Have

Cenk — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:15:03 +0000

Long-time readers would know how serious I am about chocolate and ice cream. So believe me when I say: This is “The Best Chocolate Ice Cream You’ll Ever Have”. And the best part is, you don’t even need an ice cream maker! Sold? Take a look at my recipe and photos (and read how serious [...]

Sourdough Starter Recipe

Cenk — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:43:38 +0000

Now that the sourdough starter recipe is finalized, I can conquer all the sourdough bread recipes I’ve been dreaming about for years. The first on the list is Tartine Bakery’s Basic Country Bread. Before I share that adventure (and what an adventure it was), I wanted to summarize the sourdough starter recipe in a single [...]

World Nutella Day

Cenk — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:31:25 +0000

I interrupt my regularly scheduled sourdough broadcast with this very special announcement: Today is World Nutella Day. Happy spooning everyone! Above is Nutel Lisa, my version of Fernando Botero‘s version of Mona Lisa. Tags: nutel lisa, nutella, world nutella day

Sourdough Starter – Day 9

Cenk — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:40:25 +0000

The sourdough starter is ready at last! Remember how it rose yesterday? Looks like it rose almost twice as much after the last feeding. The napkin on top kept it from overflowing… Almost. A teaspoon of it has found its way, but the rest is fine. By the way, just a quick tip on what [...]

Sourdough Starter – Day 8

Cenk — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:12:24 +0000

Look at that! Very exciting. There’s quite a significant rise today. The sourdough starter rose by approximately an inch and a half. If I get a similar result tomorrow, I’ll bake my first sourdough bread. HOW TO MAKE A SOURDOUGH STARTER Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 [...]

Sourdough Starter – Day 7

Cenk — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:58:09 +0000

Yet another uneventful day. The sourdough starter looks pretty much the same as yesterday. The starter has to ferment predictably (rising and falling after each feeding) before preparing the leaven. Needless to say, this much of rise is not enough. I discard 80% of it, add flour & water, wipe the rim clean and put [...]

Sourdough Starter – Day 6

Cenk — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:21:25 +0000

You might remember from yesterday’s post… The sourdough starter rose by approximately quarter of an inch after the feeding. Looking at it today, I see that it didn’t rise much after that. The crust is a bit darker and drier. I peel the crust and it’s bubbly underneath. The stinky cheese smell is almost gone. [...]