Cacahouète: Tarte Cacahouète and Baba au Rhum

Friday, by request, I went down to P. Cacahouète Paris. Someone wanted choux cubes, and I did not object. Actually, no pictures of those, which we ate in (it's a pretty cramped space and they had to move pastries to allow two people to sit, though there is also outside seating, which we were not interested in during February weather). Specifically we had the Chou Cube Vanille and Chou Cube Pistache, both of which was definitely good, if more like pudding than cake, but I liked the pistachio one more.

For cake, which we took home, we got the Tarte Cacahouète, which is a caramel cream (sorry, I've already forgotten what other flavor might have been in there, peanuts, I guess, but I'm wondering whether I'm forgetting a touch of fruit) which I liked most and was excellent, and a Baba au Rhum, which is not really my thing, but this was seemed excellent, so my impression is reinforced that this is a quite good patisserie.

Éclat des Jours: Baba au Rhum

Typhoon coming this way and the rain started as I was leaving work and peaked at about midway of my run out to Éclat des Jours (not that the typhoon had passed; the center will arrive around 9 am, last I heard). It was not great for visibility, though not a big deal running along the inner moat. It had mostly stopped by the top I crossed the main bridge and parts of the sidewalk were dry by the time I was coming back (it's night, but lots of stored heat, even on a cloudy day).

Not my fastest time, but the run to Toyo is mostly about energy conservation with respect to stoplights. Still, I needed to get there before they closed, so I still managed  about 10 km/h out and had energy for 9 km/h back. As I said last time, I'm running out of options. Basically, my choice at the end of the day is the least favorite of the standards and some tarts (as well as desserts in glasses, i.e., parfaits and verrines). This time, I went with the Baba au Rhum (486 yen). Though I previously could not see the merit of these as cakes, I've come around, so it's not so shocking that this was excellent, given the source (or than I ran a half marathon to get it, which maybe makes a difference).

Viron: Paris-Brest

Not well enough to run, but I kept a reservation at Viron today for lunch. As usual, the food was excellent. For desert, they had Paris-Brest, which they said they only make twice a month and it was what they were pushing, in that they brought the whole thing around on a platter for us to see. We got the first slice, I think, and it was a huge slice (for 1500 yen). This was quite different from the little individuals I've had called Paris-Brest and I can't remember what the slice from La Salon Jacques Borie was like (I was too shy to take a picture of it). Here, the balance between pastry and filling was much more to my liking than an éclair (that is, more filling), even though really there were 6 layers, as the top and bottom both had distinct inside and outside crusts with the praliné cream between, and there was also an small inner tube filled with custard, which I had not expected. Nuts were very large pieces, maybe halves. It made a strong impression, so I'm calling it great.

Also, the Baba au Rhum is still excellent.

Friday: Viron for lunch

Took a personal holiday and went to the Viron at Marunouchi for lunch, which included cake, although its restaurant desert and take-home cakes are different. I should say that I recommend this place for lunch, although it's not cheap, even if you don't add soup, cake, and a drink.

For the cake, we had the Tarte Tatan and Baba au Rhum, I think the names were, for 1196 and 1080 yen, respectively, where 108 yen on the tatan is for the whipped cream (ice cream instead would be +216).

The tatan was great: this is apple baked to the point that individual slices are hard to differentiate, although it is not pudding soft. It was served hot, sweet, with a caramel flavor, and the crust is also delicious.

The baba (below, with a slice already taken out) is a baba, a sponge cake, although clearly excellent. Instead of the baba coming soaking in dish of rum, they bring along a big bottle of spiced rum to dribble on it. Not that there isn't already rum soaked into it, just not just to the point that you can see it until cut into it.