Cafe Fernando

Cafe Fernando Turns 4

Today, Cafe Fernando turns four.

I remember the day I decided on a name, bought a hosting plan, found a simple WordPress theme and published my first post, titled “Hello World!” like yesterday. So many great things have happened since then. Things that I couldn’t have ever imagined four years ago today.

One day I receive an e-mail from a food writer in San Francisco asking for travel advice, and a couple of months later my mother’s karniyarik recipe is on the cover of the food section of a newspaper I’ve left several coffee stains on back when.

One day I go to sleep, hoping to make it through the night after a heavy (and I mean sickeningly-heavy), late-night snack, and not only wake up still breathing, but also to the nicest e-mail I’ve ever received – from a personal hero of mine I have to add – giving me the nicest news I’ve ever heard in a long time.

And recently, something else has happened. Something so amazing and funny that not only did it put a permanent smile on my face, but also affirmed a big decision I’ve made recently.

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Golden and Moist Carrot Cake Recipe

This is a moist, dense and rich carrot cake, studded with toasted walnuts and sweet coconut.

It is so delicious on its own, I didn’t want to overshadow the perfectly balanced slices with the classic cream cheese frosting. A simple dusting of powdered sugar is what it only needs.

I’ve worked very hard for this carrot cake recipe. And so did the readers of my Turkish blog. I published this recipe four months ago and baked it three more times since then, based on the feedback I’ve got from readers. It was great at the beginning and now it’s phenomenal.

Plus, it is so simple to make. You don’t even need a mixer for this. Dry ingredients into one bowl, moist ingredients in the other. Mix them, pour the batter into your pan and that’s it. You are done.

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Hazelnut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

Spending your vacation at a friend’s house certainly has its own advantages. Sure, there aren’t any maids around to change the sheets and clean the sink daily, but you get to spend the whole time in the comfort of your own home, save the money to travel more and get to do things that you do at home. Like baking cookies. OK, that might not be everyone’s ideal vacation, considering there’s always dirty dishes to wash afterwards, but since you’re reading a food blog, I’m guessing the majority of you agree.

With homemade baked goods in mind, while packing for Bodrum and Selimiye last summer, I also packed my measuring cups and spoons as well as a new book that arrived at my doorstep a couple days earlier: Baked.

Even though I’ve never got around to bake from “Baked” while on vacation – turns out, sleeping under the shade all day long was what I desperately needed – I read it from cover to cover. There was one recipe that stood out for me: Monster Cookies. Studded with orange M&Ms, this peanut butter, chocolate and oatmeal combo won my heart.

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