Les Années Folles [Hinka Rinka counter]: Caramel Chocolat

Did a Ginza run to follow up on (P. Les) Années Folles, since there is a counter in Hinka Rinka in Tokyu Plaza Ginza. I started off a somewhat fast 8 km/h for 2 km, where it's most crowded and there are frequent lights (I stop the chronometer, but I slow down approaching hoping not to, at least warming up). The rest was a slow 9 km/h (that is, not really that much faster), which ended up being about 7 km, since I was able to just barely average above 8.5 km/h coming back. So not my longest run recent run, but my longest stretch of about 9 km/h.



The cake was Caramel Chocolat, which was maybe not a great choice, but not a huge selection at the counter and I don't like cherries in my cake usually, so that that ruled out the other chocolate and the pistachio cakes. The caramel was not terrible (not coffee bitter), but not really the sweet milk caramel that I like. There were pear pieces inside, which were somewhat interesting. The bottom was chocolate mousse/cream;  not sure what the differences is, except you whip chocolate but for my chocolate cream cake, you only whip the cream and then combine it with the prepared chocolate mixture (you need some hot milk first to dissolve the gelatin and then the chocolate in). Under that, was a thin chocolate sponge/biscuit bottom layer, which was good enough but nothing special. I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and call it good, but it means that I can go back to just thinking of this shop as good, which was my general impression pre-blog.

My last homemade fancy cake (#7) was "Sphere", though it isn't. As always, I didn't do the decoration part, though I intend to do with chocolate macaron with (homemade) raspberry jam that is supposed to be on top later. This was like chocolate cream cakes (I now know) that I've had before and not thought much of. All I could taste was the chocolate, even though the first two parts are a pistachio macaron base and a cream raspberry layer, which I tasted by themselves and they were excellent and good. If it had been better chocolate, maybe it would have been better cake, but that doesn't really justify the other parts being it beyond structure and color. I actually didn't do a great job on the creme chocolat either, since I had trouble whipping the cream again. I should never try to do less than a full 200 ml, since it never works well for me (this time was half a 100 ml pack). Besides the pistachio base, the chocolate sauce that goes on top is excellent, glacage chocolat, which used the same cheap grocery store chocolate (although also an equal amount compound chocolate for coating, which I got from baking supply store Cuoca).

I might skip doing the whole next cake, "Soleil", which is another fruit (mixed ) in white chocolate, so too much like the orange cake I did and never posted a picture of (what a monster that was, but the Bavarian hazelnut part was good). I do want to try the biscuit dacquoise orange base, although I'm not sure that I'll bother with the orange, since I need half a grated orange peal (if I was making 25 of them) and I don't have the best grater for that.

45 km to Aplanos: Baked Chocolate Supreme, Caramel Choclat, Gateau Opera Hazelnut

Finished another long run. Based on the finish, I could do longer, but some of the middle to end parts were unpleasant. Running along rivers is nice when there is water and toilets every 1 km, but when you're running on a dirt road through a park between two bodies of water for several kilometers toward the end, not so much (although there is a certain advantage to have no avenue of escape except continuing). Of course, my skin is not so great now, and I'd particularly like to figure out how to avoid abrasions next to my knees that seem to come from my running tights, maybe from when I pause and then start running again; that problem seems to be getting worse. Both of these are probably sweat related, as I seem to be at least somewhat allergic. Anyway, I think I need to practice organizing routes for my 25 to 30 km runs to be better before I try to extend my longer runs, if the latter are at all necessary. My next goal was to run long enough to get to Takao and then climb it, but it's hard to imagine doing that now.

Aplanos was okay. I got too greedy, which is a common problem after a long run. I tried to confirm that there was no coffee in the opera cake, they told me English was okay, but then called the part American dude from the back ("dude" because he had a general young man's accent that I can't really localize, although he said his mom was from Boston) when I actually tried to use English. I got the Baked Chocolate Supreme （焼きチョコ極）for 420+tax. It was good, although for some reason, I did not get a picture of it. Again, I should verify each picture as I take them. It's the bottom right one in the "lineup" from the link, if you are interested.

Next was the Caramel Chocolat for 410+tax. This was disappointingly bland.

Finally, the Gateau Opera Hazelnut for 440+tax just did not work for me, although it was probably just as good as the first. I shouldn't have bought three pieces, and I'm maybe getting tired of nuts, and am not that fond of milk chocolate. Now, I'm resolved to buy some tea to go with my cake. I'll try to eat less cake to compensate (financially).