Cake-off: Ryoura's Soyeux over Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille

In anticipation of being too busy for a cake-off this coming weekend (or maybe a make-up for the previous one---I'll have to check before the next one), I did another cake-off on Sunday. Actually, one cake I got the day before, from Paris S'éveille, Gateau Vanille. Though I had a backup plans, I was successful Sunday of getting Ryoura's Soyeux at Tokyo Midtown via Dean & Deluca. There was 1 minute on 1 minute off running at least that far, but I walked thereafter. Still, I dropped the bag as some point which is why it's a little worse for wear. Fortunately, it's a pretty solid cake. Actually, it's much like pistachio cake I had the day before and declared excellent, but I did like this one better. In fact, in the spirit of comparison, I liked both these cake-off cakes better than the previous day's ones, even though all are 3-wins-1-loss cakes. Also like the day before, though, I couldn't decide until the end and it could have gone either way. As great as the vanilla cake is, and I should really match it up against the other great vanilla cake to see which one is the top, I'm going with thick pistachio paste and some fruit. I should have checked whether Ryoura had a new cake at Dean & Deluca but I'm never that organized. 

Cake-off: Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille over En Vedette's En Vedette

In the name of completion, I'll mention that I did a quick weights workout on Friday night, but that Saturday I was busy. Had some time to kill in the afternoon near Tokyo Midtown Hibiya. I saw that the Starbucks there was listed as "Reserve", so I was hoping that it had some of the fancy baked goods, like the Starbucks Reserve in Aobadai or the Princi on the other side of the river and the old Yamanote Road in Sarugaku-chou, but no, just the usual Starbucks stuff, except for a fancy coffee bar with their reserve brand. I shared the New York Cheese Cake, which is good, and The Chocolat by P. Libre's Ichiei Taguma, which has chestnut and caramel, besides the obvious chocolate, and ultimately didn't work for me, though it was okay.

Sunday, there was running, cake from proper shops, a pastry, a neighborhood course run, and indoor muscle training: a full day. I wrote a pastry, but on the run I started off with a pastry from Excelsior Caffé, because they are convenient, and higher priority targets along my route were closed. It was okay as a pastry (maybe good as bread), but better than that. By the time I left, they had Pain au Chocolat, which would have been a better test.

I went first to Bien-être, where I expected to get Cuit Chocolat for a fourth-round 1st runner's up cake-off. I had just been thinking that they hadn't had a new cake for a year, but they proved me wrong: the chocolate cake had evolved, though now I'm confused about into what. Maybe it was Anzu Frais Chocolat, which would be fresh Japanese apricot chocolate cake, which I could deal with, but at the time the topping looked like but the topping actually looked like Azuki Frais, fresh sweet beans. Either way, I considered a new cake (though the base cake might be the same) and wasn't prepared to deal with it. Since I was still particially in that direction, I stuck with the second target of Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille (though I had scare when the tray sold out in front of me, when it was already afternoon, but fortunately another tray was brought out) and instead matched it with En Vedette's signature cake. It's a little early for them, so the next couple cake-offs at least won't be fourth-round one's, as I still have a third round ones to do (I have a second-round one, but Sunday doesn't work for it).

Gateau Vanille is perhaps the best presentation of vanille (the competition being PH's vanille tart, which is currently one and one among cake-offs) in more or less pure form (actually, white chocolate), whereas En Vedette is an interest mixture of strong flavors. Both are interesting, but maybe the En Vedette is more challenging and I was in the mood for straightforward and am giving the win to Gateau Vanille.

Didn't notice any new cakes at PS to go for in response to their win, though I was more worried about getting my Gateau Vanille, so I didn't look properly. I've reviewing their pastries, though, so I got the Pain au Chocolat. This thing is huge and looks perfect. It's pretty hollow, intentionally, which isn't a problem but isn't particularly helpful. There isn't any more chocolate than typically, though more would probably imbalance it. Not my favorite, but I can't fault it, it was excellent.

The evening run was trying to do the updated/new Minami-Motomachi--Samon-chou--Suga-chou--Shinanomachi--Wakaba--Yotsuya loop. I knew all the sites and I might have worked out the correct order, which would pretty much determine the route (I know the roads I need), except there was a flaw in the previous map down at the nearest point to Shinanomachi Station that I fixed but going straight instead of turning a block early but didn't remember, so tonight was just practice. Still I could do the revised/new Suga-chou look successfully clockwise, all 152 meters of it, so there's that. Maybe later in the week, after I've taken cake of my main cake targets (or if I'm starting too late to try Monday or Tuesday).

Cake-off: Toshi Yoroizuka's Saint-marc over Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille

Was busy Saturday, but did a run from the morning, about 8:15, Sunday, taking pictures and adding sites along old neighborhood course loops that I haven't reviewed yet, picking off the near ones. I recently switched my target for the next cake-off, since I realized both were so easy to get that I could probably do on a half-day, so I would leave them for when I was busy on the weekend. Next in line, then, was Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille as a two time cake-off winner. If I failed to find it, there were three other cakes with the same status. Paris S'éveille has the best record in that respect, better even than JPH. But I had no problem there at around 11 am.

Next, I took the train back as far as Shibuya Stn. and then walked to B-E, along the way discovering a couple things sufficient to make a major course revision that expanded what was once just a run around a small block (for the Shibuya Viron) to a few kilometers (from about Shibuya station to near the southwest corner of Yoyogi Park). I could move a couple sites from the largest loop to the expanded one, which shrank the former down 0.8 km, which is very slightly helpful, as well as making the corresponding parts much simpler. Unfortunately, E-B never put their raspberry cake back in the line-up when they took it out for Christmas, which left me hanging with one cake. Being tired, I decided to look along the near train route and found it convenient to visit Toshi Yoroizuka and get their Saint-marc. Ended up being three train rides to get two cakes despite the initial running, but I avoided transfers, so all low fares.

As hoped doing a third round with two two-time winners, these were both really great cakes, so the decision between them came down to the last bite. Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille is probably the best vanilla cake I know, but somehow Toshi Yorizuka makes a cake that's half cream and yet the chocolate does not seem diluted at all, where I'd expect to get a milk chocolate effect (though milk has a different taste than cream). The orange liqueur, perhaps (along with a good chocolate base), brings out the flavor. (There isn't noticeable caramel in this saint-marc version.)

Only one great cake from January and no reappearances of any of the as-yet-untested one, so I'm still waiting for the next first-round cake-off of the year. I'll perhaps do a second-round one with one of the four available ones left at the end of the month regardless.

Cake-off: Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille over Sadaharu Aoki's Saint-marc Praliné

Sunday, I had some appointments. Got up early and did a one-way neighborhood course run to add the Nishi-azabu--Minamiazabu loop, down next to Roppongi Hills. I thought I would have time to do some of the nearby little loops and take some pictures, but I only had two hours. On the way, and on the target loop, I visited Café 3206 and got a Pain au Chocolat, which is pretty good before 8 a.m. on the Sunday.

After my 10 a.m. appointment, I went out again to visit Paris S'éveille, which has two great cakes I want to do second rounds on. I went with the last Gateau Vanille, though they had the other target cake. I took that home and did my 14:30 appointment. For the second cake, I tried going to L'Abricotier, but they were sold out this time (it was pretty late, so I don't blame them too much). I asked about reserving it for Saturday (though I should have asked about Friday as well, since I could get there). I figured that I got do better where things start and end latter, in the Marunouchi/Ginza area. That worked: I got Sadaharu Aoki's Saint-marc Praliné, which runs to March. I'm happy to report that both these are great. I have to give the win to the Gateau Vanille, which might be the best vanilla cake that I know. Saint-marc Praliné is maybe not my favorite Saint-marc, but I appreciate the variation.

Cake-off: Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille over Jean-Paul Hévin's Tonka

It's been a couple years since I've had the Tonka from Jean-Paul Hévin, so I was anxious to get it in a first-round cake-off. My original plan was changed to Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille because the other shop is closed for maintenance. I'm pretty sure that the next cake-off will not involve both of these shops (notice that I didn't say either of these shops, since JPH currently has five great cakes that I haven't done second-round cake-offs for yet and I don't know what order that they are going to be removed from the line-up, but I suspected the newest three might also be the first to go). The weather for the first day of Spring is terrible. I got some running in early before it worse (and well before it turned to snow) and then resorted to trains. My exploration of northwest Shibuya-ku convinced me that the route is going to become really complicated, so I should try for simple smaller loops first and merge them later rather than get too wrapped up in the big picture. I followed that advice and created a new loop for just southwest of Shibuya Station, leaving open what will happen on the other side of Old Yamanote (which can crossed at one point by an underpass).

Tonka bean is an interesting flavor, which I appreciated. However, even though I first had it just three days ago, I can't overlook how good Paris S'éveille's Gateau Vanille is. Tonka will have to wait for the second round, probably either against PH's traditional pistachio strawberry tart or (if that disappears) SA's modern chocolate praliné cake.

Paris S'éveille: Gateau Vanille

It was time to try something new from Paris S'éveille. On the way, I veered north after crossing Yamanote Line to explore tentative parts of my neighborhood map there, but now I realize that I'm still too uncertain about the parts further north that could be connected to know what the actual course is going to look like. The neighborhoods I started with were much simpler, with few entrances and exits. I'm going to have to go on foot and see where the boundaries are according to my rules of what constitutes a continuous running course before finishing that part of the map.

Between seasonal allergies with all accompanies them (such as sleep loss and side effects of medicines, although I don't use very strong medicine) and lots of running the previous days, I was pretty tired and relatively out of breath so there was a lot more walking than normal. Also, it was a late start, so another 30 minutes slower did not seem much of a problem.

At Paris S'éveille, I got Gateau Vanille, which has been in the line-up for a while now. It's not the last untried cake (I realize now that I haven't had the current St. Honore, as wekk as a kind, or other kind of, puff pastry, Parisien). This might be better than Pierre Hermé's vanille tart, which is to say it's great. No surprise that the first great cake of March came from the same shop that provided one of two great cakes last month, where the other was Jean-Paul Hévin.