Frédéric Cassel, Tarte Tatin

Went by bicycle (since the main exercise was indoors) to Ginza Mitsukoshi and got my target cake, Tarte Tatin. Not sure whether it will continue after today, since I see on Facebook that a fig tart is starting tomorrow and running to mid-November. This has a pretty hard pecan sablé base, which is what set it apart enough that I can call it excellent (not that tarte tatin are so common).

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.