Cafe Fernando – Food Blog » Cafe Fernando turns one

Cafe Fernando turns one

Posted By Cenk On March 31, 2007 @ 9:00 pm In Chocolate,Tarts and Pies | 12 Comments

It seems like yesterday… I was reading my friend’s blog… I clicked on a link and it brought me to another food blog. What I saw was out of this world. Then I discovered others. Once I started reading through these wonderfully crafted journals of food, there was no turning back.

It was a world I never knew existed. I knew nothing about CSS, photography, blogging or anything related. I read, researched, got a camera and read further… I wrote, shared and in turn heard back. I even baked professionally and sold my tarts, muffins and cookies at Harvey Nichols Istanbul. You did not leave me alone there, either. Quite a few Turkish readers visited the cafe and emptied the shelves.

So I would like to thank those who inspired me with their wonderful photos and writing and to those who supported me by leaving encouraging feedback and providing links to my blog showing their appreciation.

I baked an old favorite (and a once bestseller at Pure by Cuppa, Harvey Nichols) for the occasion: Chocolate Ganache Tart.

This time around, I tried Dorie’s Sweet Tart Dough recipe (from her book Baking: From My Home to Yours), which turned out to be the best tart dough I have ever tasted.

Also, for those who are thinking about starting their own blog, I compiled a list of websites, blogs and books that will be helpful in saving you time and energy.

I learned a lot from these resources and hope you will, too.

First things first. If you are an aspiring food blogger, you must read Nicky’s “Foodblogging Do’s and Don’ts”.

And then:

Photography and Image editing

Food Photography Blog – Articles on food photography
Still Life With – Lara’s blog on food photography
The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

Design and CSS

Small Potato – You want to create your own WordPress theme? Here is where you start.
Urban Giraffe – Another WordPress theme guide.

Writing

Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob – Complete guide to writing cookbooks, restaurant reviews, articles, memoir, fiction and more

Blogging in general, Search Engine Optimization, Increasing traffic, Making money

Alister Cameron – Blogologist – Wealth of information!
Problogger – Looking for tips to increase traffic to your blog or make some money to at least cover your hosting fees?

CHOCOLATE GANACHE TART

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch tart

1+1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 tbsp (9 tbsp) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 large egg yolk
12 ounces (330 gr) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1+1/4 cups heavy cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190C) degrees.
Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the yolk and pulse again until the dough forms clumps and curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and very lightly and sparingly, knead just to incorporate dry ingredients.
Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze crust at least 30 minutes before baking.
Bake blind for 25 minutes, remove the weight and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool.
Place chocolate in a large mixing bowl.
In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour hot cream, through a sieve, over chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture.
Pour chocolate mixture into center of cooled tart shell (if chocolate is lumpy, pass through a sieve). Let stand until set, about 2 hours, or chill for 1 hour.

Article printed from Cafe Fernando – Food Blog: http://cafefernando.com

URL to article: http://cafefernando.com/cafe-fernando-turns-one/

Click here to print.