Puissance: Delice

Monday was a pastry day, so after checking Bubo B. and finding nothing, I went back to Toukyuu Food Show for a third time and finally visited Boulangerie La Terre, which had the best selection of pastries (ignoring Andersen, which I visit at Isetan). I got their Pain au Chocolat, which was excellent, in that it was a proper pain au chocolat and did not disappoint. After my previous two visits to the Food Shop, the bar was pretty low, but I would like to go back to B. La Terre.

For running, I worked on learning my big neighborhood course loop southwest of Shibuya Station. Just there and back is a sufficient run in itself, so I just did three kilometer markers worth and came back.

Tuesday, I went to Takashimaya to hit another new shop from their selections and scope out a café fpr tje weelend. This time, it was Puissance and I got Delice, which is a standard almond buiscuit with layers of flavored cream, in this case strawberry. It's simple and not too exciting but it was good. My main worry with this type of cake would be that it would be too sweet or too strong a strawberry flavor, but no such problems.

The run was continuing where I left off previously (at The Bake, actually). This time I only did 2 kilometer markers. Tomorrow I'll probably practice the last part, although really only half of that will be on the next run, since I want to continue on toward Hiroo, though I won't get to much far this time.

Paris S'éveille: Citron Vert/Myrtille/Lavande

Did sort of a run down to Paris S'éveille. At least the initial parts of the trip were running, with some stops for photographs of places through the same loop I've been practicing, and will probably continue practicing this week (it's more than 8 km and it takes a few kilometers to get to a starting point), but somewhere past Shibuya Station, I got lazy and mostly walked, because I had the time. I blame congestion from pollen more than the high winds and hills, because I felt, not seriously short of breath, just breathing harder than I wanted to. During the week, I'm usually in more of a hurry, at least at least until I get wherever is selling me pastry or cake.

Paris S'éveille had two new cakes this month, both of the same style, sort of a sliced log of fruit flavors (there are a couple layers of there of biscuit that presumably help keep the layers from sliding around, though I flipped it on its side fairly early on). It's a little gelatinous, which is how you get mousse to hold a shape, which I'm not thrilled by, but not unreasonable so and maybe not more than great cakes of had of other shapes. My cake was Citron Vert/Myrtille/Lavande, so lime, bilberries (or blueberries), and lavender. The other choice was orange, something, and peach. I'm prejudiced against this kind of cake, but I'm rooting for Paris S'éveille, so I hope those balanced out to get a fair evaluation, which was that this is actually an excellent cake, so I'm more optimistic about the orange one (though I should get the Choux desert sometime).

Cake-off: Jean-Paul Hévin's Tonka over Pierre Hermé's Fraisier Pistache

Friday, I went down and did the southern half of what I'll call the southwest Shibuya loop, since it goes through more neighborhoods than I want to list here and may expand eventually when I get around to doing the other side of Old Yamanote-Doori. Bubó Barcelona at Ginza Mitsukoshi on Thursdays had croissants, so I stopped by the Jinguumae shop for Friday's pasty, but they had nothing, so I went to my back-up plan of trying another bakery at Toukyuu Food Show, this time Saint-Germain. Not counting donuts, the only pastry that they had was also a croissant, which was what I expected, so I got it. Saying it was ok is being generous. Actually, it only barely had layering, it was pretty bready but dry, and actually it was noticeably stale. I bought it at the end of the day, but if you sell it, I'm going to judge you on it. The run was long, and this was a first time running it and I might have actually gone places I've never been before, though I might not have. I had forgotten that Accueil, who have a separate patisserie further south, have their main café in Ebisunish. Fortunately, my loop already went past it (which is why I noticed it, of course). Long run and pretty much the farthest out by a direct route of the new parts of the map; and there are enough hills that it's going to be tough after 20 km.

Saturday, I was busy part of the morning and rain was forecast for the evening. I still did a cake-off, according to plan, sourced from Isetan, Jean-Paul Hévin's Tonka and Pierre Hermé's Fraisier Pistache. This is the second round for both of these, from the first-round losers. This are both seasonal and from superb shops, so I wanted to get them in before they are gone. There's no announcement on the main webpage for JPH yet, so I assume it's cake at least will make it to the end of the month. These are both cakes I that respect as sophisticated and high in quality. Today, I appreciated the chocolate nibs and dark/burnt flavor of the Tonka, as well and just the general style of this style of JPH's cakes, which is their main one.

Rather than run, I did needed maintenance and a minimum of cleaning and took out the bicycle for the first time this year. I verified that I can still get the baked cheesecake that I want for my next cake-off, which will probably be at the end of the month. I'm not sure whether I'll do an extra one that weekend, but May is also looking busy (but then there are also a lot of holidays, so I actually might work ahead at the beginning, as JPH has a couple more cakes that are available now but maybe not forever that are ready for a second round but I've been busy with other more pressing ones).

Frédéric Cassel: Fraisier

It had been a week, so I was back at Frédéric Cassel expecting them not to disappoint. I figured I could use a little rest, so I only ran one way and walked (quickly) back; also, their bags and this cake are more heavy and awkward than average to run with. Actually, I had forgotten about the Fraisier [updated for consistency]; I was just thinking about this month's tart, but there it was, so a bought it as planned last week at least. It's main component is a very dense pistachio cream, which is between almond biscuits and topped with strawberries, obviously. I was hoping for excellent, but this was great. I guess I better change my plans for Saturday and see about confirming a match for this for a cake-off out east (not for this week, since I still want another go at Tonka), but when I next get an opportunity, which will perhaps be at the end of the month, which seemed to be telling me last week would still be within it's run.

Sadaharu Aoki: Roule Chocolat

It was time to bring my superb cake shops up to 19 fresh cakes (not counting ones from cake-off wins), which meant a visit to Sadaharu Aoki (since the only other one not already at that level is Paris S'éveille, which I should probably do on the weekend to have a reliable selection). Unfortunately, I missed the cherry éclair (I assumed the season is finished, since the sakura certainly are done blooming); what they did have was (and I'm not sure of the spelling French spelling except from back translating) Roule Chocolat. I didn't have high expectations for any roll cake, which is just one level of sophistication above sheet cake, but not in a direction that improves the taste (I'd rather most frosting than a lot of whipped cream filling).

For running, as planned, I went down to Shibuya station to practice the loop that starts there. It's a mess there from construction, which has moved to the pedestrian bridges, were are complex anyway, so all my distances for my kilometer markers are probably off down there. I didn't even try to remember the ones that I've marked so far, I just focused on the new course and verifying that it was viable. It was, though I'm not thrilled about all parts of it and it's going to require some more practice, even without memorizing the kilometer markers, so It's going to be a while, and the bridges around Shibuya Station might have changed by then. In related news, one of the more eastern bridges over Aoyama Doori have been repaid for the first time since I opened the course, so I can bypass Harujuku next time I want to get do parts more east.

Unfortunately, Sadaharu Aoki's roll cake did not convince me that this form of cake is a more excuse for call. The problem is it's soft sponge combined with flavored whipped cream (both chocolate in this case), just too much soft boring parts for me. I'm not sure what sponge cakes is good for, but whipped cream at least is good on something with a firmer texture. Still, good for what it is.

Henri le Roux: Fondant Caramel C.B.S.

Monday, I did another long run, this time down to Shibuya Station, stopping at kilometer markers for my next long run in westernmost Jinguumae (1 and 5 Chou-me) and then swinging back north the long way around Yoyogi Park and Jinguu itself, verifying multiple markers in Shouto, Tomigaya, and Yoyogi. Along the way, I had a croissant from R Baker at the Toukyuu Food Show (which is part of a shopping area under Shibuya Station). It was a little bitter, though it didn't really look that burnt, and butterier than usual. It certainly was not overly bread-like (not being overly fluffy inside) and it was good, I guess, but it's not really the direction I'm looking for either (kind of greasy). Still two more bakeries there, though one only has had only croissants as pastries every time I've checked.

Tuesday, I got around to trying Henri le Roux's Fondant Caramel C.B.S., which is the closest they've gotten to fresh cake in more than a year. I think my microwave is too weak, as I did not get caramel oozing out the bottom from microwaving 15 seconds, just a sort of moist center (I think I should have unwrapped it first, too). It was still good. I did fewer kilometer markers today but repeated 6b, which is not very memorable, and did the ones in Yoyogi Park (where, despite blossoms being hard to find, revelers were still at it , including vomiting, though, not too near me this time) and next to it for the first time. Next time I finally get around to trying the new loop southwest of Shibuya Station, I think.

Aigre-Douce: Meringue Gourmandise

As promised, I did another run to Aigre-Douce in response to their cake's win in a cake-off. I took a pretty long path, feeling the need to get some more exercise to burn off eating too many homemade canelé yesterday (they had stuck to the mold and tore, though I'm not sure whether that means that there was too much butter or not enough, but I plan to bake them longer next time), and also getting lost at one point, though I didn't go any further out of my way west than I had intended from the beginning).

I choose cake poorly again. This time it was Meringue Gourmandise. Merginue sounded good, or at least different, although it was just plain baked meringue of the crispy-all-the-way-through type, which I'm not against but not sure was the right choice for this shape of cake. Sandwiched between two pieces was custard and caramel cream, which is what is visible. The problem is the type of caramel, which is not sweet and is used in what the Japanese call Purin (pudding) and apparently other people call crème caramel (not sure why) or just caramel pudding. I don't like pudding at all, though the only other America who's commented about it to me said that they thought it was a great thing about Japan, it being ubiquitous. According to wikipedia, it used to be ubiquitous in Europe, but apparently they got over that. Hopefully Japan is moving in the same direction, but not fast enough. Actually, until I got toward the end of this cake, it was good enough, but then the "pudding" flavor took over, so maybe it's really the interaction between the pudding or caramel, or maybe it's just time, since one bad characteristic is that the flavor I dislike stays as an aftertaste (a touch of coffee will do that too), which the meringue probably did not help with. I shouldn't be surprised, given my track record with Aigre-Douce. Maybe next year.

Cake-off: Aigre-Douce's Tarte Chocolat Caramel Salé over Jean-Paul Hévin's Matcha

Friday, I finally went inside Binowa Cafe, which is a place I found along my neighborhood running course opened by a "traditional confectionery research company". It's a little rustic as a café and the selection is small and overpriced for take-out, but they advertise canelé, so I figured they deserved to be on my map as a source of pastries/cakes. Their Canelé was excellent, having a nicely crunchy crust around a moist, flavorful, and spongy (versus dry or overly gooey) center. I can say that it was excellent, but again, I'm not sure similar quality couldn't be had much cheaper without a more direct comparison.
The run basically looped around Shibuya station and back back along Gaien, so a long run for a Friday night.

Saturday, for this week's cake-off, I set up a second round for Jean-Paul Hévin's seasonal cake Matcha against Aigre-Douce's Tarte Chocolat Caramel Salé for no other reason than the latter was the next first-round-winning cake on the list, not because they are well matched. Not a long run for a Saturday, but I did enough running during the week that it wouldn't hurt (or maybe would me hurt less) if I gave my feet some rest. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the Matcha today. Could be that I was eating it in too small of bites to get the full impact (though the cherry was coming through fine) or that the sweetness of the tart interfered with it, but I definitely preferred the tart, which is what matters, and that's fine: it's a great tart. I'll give Matcha another chance next year.

So it looks like I'm going back to Aigre-Douce again tomorrow instead of down to Jiyuugaoka. I wouldn't otherwise get to Aigre-Douce these days because I've had too many disappointing cakes from them, but they vary, so hopefully I'll get lucky tomorrow. They still haven't put Fraicheur Framboise back in the line-up after more than a year of looking.

Frédéric Cassel: Charlotte au Fraise des Bois

It was time to visit Frédéric Cassel again, and a new month and so a new set of "inspirations", though they still had a few other seasonal cakes (I would like to try their Fraise, the one I haven't had, next). Today, though I got the Charlotte au Fraise des Bois, which is a fromage blanc mousse with wild strawberry, essentially rare cheesecake. I ate it will a spoon. Not an exciting choice, but the cheese flavor was refreshing/nice. There's a big effect of shop bias, but I'm going to call this excellent. It certainly was not disappointing, which just good cake can be. Calling this a charlotte seems a stretch, since cheese mousse is a long way from bread, sponge cake, or biscuits that would traditionally encircle the fruit center of a charlotte. The run was fine, though a little rain was sprinkled in.

Addict au Sucre: Chocolat mûre

Had some other chores around Isetan and I've only 

had one cake from Addict au Sucre, who is visiting, and it was good, so I decided to try a second one, Chocolat mûre. This is chocolate cream flavored with blackberries on two layers of macaron. These are the soft kind of macaron, where you let them soak up some moisture for a couple days. That can be good, and the chocolate flavor was good, along with the blackberry accent, but the texture isn't really my favorite and this just didn't work as cake for me. Still, good cake, so I still think it's a good shop. 

The run was along long one, over an hour. I confirmed the location of the first 5 new kilometer markers and the part of the course in the new Jinguumae-Jinnan loop, as well as the changes to the loop leading to it, both of which were fine, so can add more kilometer markers for the next run.

Rue de Passy: Paris-Brest aux Cassis et Noisette

Monday afternoon I did my first run for a while. There was some walking too, especially where I swung past some marked locations on my Central Tokyo Neighborhood Running Map. Actual, in western Jinguumae, I found a temple that I had missed and a café next door that's related to Le Petit Mec, which is a bakery I respect, so I've had to introduce a new Jinguumae-Jinnan loop, though looking at the map, I have to wonder whether I've actually shortened it and so should have had this as part of the route anyway. I means all my kilometer markers past #21 on the previous long run and some new ones that I had made since are invalid. Anyway, my next run is going to skip some places from last time so that I can do more new parts of the route within increase the length.

Since I was off in the afternoon, I to get a new cake from Rue de Passy, who won the previous cake-off. I got Paris-Brest aux Cassis et Noisette because it was "Chef recommended". Like the previous cake I had calling itself a Paris-Brest, I don't understand the naming of this definitely now circular éclair a Paris-Brest. Anyway, since it was cream-based, I let it thaw a few minutes, though it was still plenty firm even then. Also, the pastry was nice and crisp. The mixture of currant cream and hazelnut also worked well, so I don't have any problem calling this excellent, which firms this shop up in the very good category (which is pretty bloated, so I'm going to have to cut some of these eventually, after I get to having a third cake from each, which I'm not yet in a hurry to do).

Tuesday was also a pretty long run. First, I managed to get to Donky again in Tomiyaga near Yoyogi Hachiman Stn. and this time they weren't closed early. I went with the croissant, which I walked and ran a little down to the nearest park in Shouto as part of practicing what's currently labeled as the Kamiyama-chou--Shouto loop but should actually be merged with a much larger loop extending out as far as Hatagaya. I failed, in that I turned correctly but with the wrong route in mind (I should have gone clockwise but was thinking this was part of the counterclockwise route. The rest I was okay with without checking my map, so I don't need to practice this again until I need to learn new kilometer markers for the next big run, which I haven't set yet. The croissant, while bread-type, had at least some layering in the crust and was fresh and buttery, even though Donky was minutes from closing. Don't need to go there again, but wouldn't mind if I needed to.

L'Avenue (Kobe): Cache Cache, Lady, and Segur

Only my third post of Kobe cake here. I really don't visit enough, I know. This time I got to what I think of as the best shop, although I was not as strongly impressed this time, so we'll see. Still, what a great webpage: they show all the individual cakes with both the Japanese and Western (mostly French) names with really nice pictures.

The best cake, I thought, was the Cache Cache, which is actually a series of cakes around the Kobe area, Kobe Originals, where they all try to create something original on the theme, in this case hiding various ingredients. This has a pistachio tart base (a pretty strong one) with fig in it, but on top it is more like a mont-blanc, so chestnut, vanilla cream and accented with white chocolate. It seemed excellent (all evaluations based on half a piece).

Lady was actually the first one I had, which is mascarpone (cheese) mousse over strawberry flavored center and a little pistachio biscuit. It was good but not very interesting to me, since I'm not that interested in strawberry flavor and in general it is quite mild.



The last one, called Segur, was Bretagne salt caramel in a milk chocolate tart. It was definitely good and met my sweet tooth. If I judged more on appearance, then perhaps I would rate it better but I really don't cake what cakes look like beyond what it reflects about the construction. Fortunately, my foot had finally stopped hurting (I hadn't been running through Sunday, but still did more walking than I would just commuting to work).