Presqu'île Chocolaterie, Chocolat

Couple kilometers past Shinjuku Station.

Did a long run today, about 28 km, plus another couple kilometers walking under Shinjuku Station and near Kichijoji Station. It rained in the morning and was cool to the point of being cold in just my mess running shirt, though the rain did not return despite the dark clouds all around. I knew it was a long run, so I was running between 8 and 9 km/h the whole way.

Getting near Kichijoji Station

Mid-way, in car country.

My intended target was L'epicurien, but there is not good information on when they are open other than not particularly during the posted hours, at least for cake. Today, there was a sign on the door saying that they were closed for today, though I did not read it very closely, for one reason cause it was 1 meter away, do to a shutter over the entrance. Last time I went there and they were not open for cake, at least you could go inside and see that they were not open for cake (they were just selling the non-fresh-baked baked goods, like cookies).

I had a couple alternatives that I wanted to get to in the area, so I made a second visit to Presqu'île Chocolaterie, which was open (which is kind of amazing in itself, as far as not being out of business, but someone was buying before me, so maybe they sell enough). I got "Chocolate", which is classic chocolate cake with thick layers of ganache and enough biscuit for a reasonable texture. The chocolate was a beans-to-bar Granada chocolate, which they also hard bars for. It's a little basic, but definitely excellent. That's two excellent cakes from them, so if the Excellent shops ever make room, Presqu'île is perhaps the top candidate among the Quite Good shops for promotion.

In other news, September starts tomorrow, which means we've left hottest month behind and shops can move away from summer substitutes and get back to cake. Jean-Paul Hévin has four great cakes that are being reintroduced to the line-up, one for just a month, so it's going to need to be in the next cake-off, as well as their regular Chocolate Tart, which I have not blogged yet, so maybe I'll get it (with something new from Sadaharu Aoki as a back-up, for the previous cake-off win). Another JPH great cake is thru Oct., and another is the Mont-Blanc, which is an old favorite that would otherwise be the top priority based on when I first blogged that it was great.

Frédéric Cassel: Turin

Yesterday, I just had a croissant from Pierre Hermé, from the Omotesando main shop. It was good but expensive and not that special. It was soft versus crispy in a buttery way rather than a dry fluffy way, to explain its position among the spectrum of croissant types. That's the second non-cake pastry that I've had from them that was nothing special, so I should probably steer clear of them for those types of things. On the plus side, they had all three of the advertised new cakes, whereas Isetan had only one by the time I could get there. The running was relatively fast, 10 km/h going and 9 km/h coming back for a total of 8 km (a couple of those being from going by way of near Shinjuku Station, because I had somewhere else to visit). Interestingly, the run down Meiji Avenue between Shinjuku Station and Harajuku Station was not that congested, though I still got sort of lost when I turned on the back streets to cross over to Aoyama Street, and it's not as flat back in there as I expect.

Today, the run was to Ginza and back (with a stop at the grocery). It was 9 km total, not including walking under Ginza, but only 8 or 9 km/h. It was a little hot and definitely humid, as there was some light rain, especially going out. (If there is steady rain, the paper bag or even just its handle would not survive). Not sure what the real name of what I got was. I'm going with Turin (updated, based on JPH's spelling of one of their chestnut cakes). It's from Frédéric Cassel, who I'm almost caught up on (though, I'm not sure what I'll do then, since most of the other places I need to go are not available weekdays). it's chestnut cream and mascarpone cheese (which features heavily in a hot of their stuff). Unfortunately, it's not very exciting and of course expensive, but definitely good. On the plus side, their Mont-blanc Jewel is back, so I'll probably be doing my next cake-off with that.

Pierre Hermé: Éclair Infiniment Chocolat

Got this week's fresh cake from Pierre Hermé via Isetan: Éclair Infiniment Chocolat.

The running was once along the second half of the Shinjuku History & Culture course (which is from Shinjuku 1-chome to Akasaka), which is about 6 km, at 10 km/h, despite hills and stairs, and another 6 km home (well, a convenience store, really) by way of the Ichigaya Nikunohanamasa to get some roasted peanut pieces for making peanut butter, at 9 km/h. It was hot, due to being too hot a day and cloud cover, though I started after 8 pm, but not terrible, so I survived despite forgetting to bring water.

Éclair Infiniment Chocolat was definitely good, but not special, just a straight chocolate éclair. Maybe I'll try one of their baked goods tomorrow, as a non-patisserie day. I'll have to go to Omote Sando, since Isetan is closed.

Cake-off: Sadaharu Aoki's Cassisier over Très Calme's Mont Blanc

Started off with morning cycling with the new bike to check out the route to Maison Douce. Google had a short cut from the main road, but I'm not the only one it told about and it's not really wide enough even for two large cars to pass each other without pedestrians and cyclists, so I think I'll just put up with the noise along the main road. It was about 28 km and I was back in under a couple hours. No major hills, but I did manage to get it to top gear on one somewhat downward stretch.

For cake, I decided to do a cake off with the nearly reappeared Cassisier (though I spelled it Cassissier before, though I'm not sure whether I was correcting their spelling then) from Sadaharu Aoki. First, though, I had to run up to Très Calme, which I tried to do by the Google route, but ended up too far west by one bridge and maybe did more climbing than necessary. It was still cool (with a sweat-soaked shirt in a breeze) with clouds, until 10:30, but then got pretty hot when the sun came out. It's about 13 km round trip and I could manage 10 km/h up and 9 km/h, despite heat and slopes (though only about 30 m each way). Then I hit Isetan for Cassisier and confirmed the actual ingredients in my previous Sadaharu Aoki visit. I also did a short (< 1 km) shopping run after that, all these at around 9 km/h or more.

Both of these cakes are definitely excellent, so I don't want to demote them, but neither stood out strongly. In the end, I'm giving it to Cassisier based on degree of difference from other great cakes (I've had other great Mont Blanc), but the Mont Blanc would win for value, since it's about 60% of the price.

Paris S'éveille: Éclair d'Été

Did a run down to Paris S'éveille in Jiyugaoka, to complete my sweep of the three Superb-level patisserie. It was really not (I learned that, technically, Paris S'éveille should open at 5 a.m., but maybe they can argue that's when they start baking). I started off at 10 km/h for at least the first 4 km, which was fast for the heat and not having warmed up much (I got up late, and intended to stretch when I was stopped waiting to cross a street, which I did), and then slowed down but still ended up on the 10 km/h side of the actual ~9.5 km/h. It was ~11 km long and I took the train back, not only for the cake but because I was scheduled to picked up my new bicycle (which I should take a picture of and post, before it gets stolen) at noon, not that they probably cared when I was going to actually show up.

I only had one choice for a new cake, Éclair d'Été, though I suppose I could have gotten the new version of Everest (it's oval instead of circular, but maybe that's the only different). As usual after running, and because I would not remember anyway, I didn't read the card, so I'm not actually sure what is in it, but obviously it's an éclair and it's got chocolate as the main component (and whipped cream), and some sort of fruit in the middle, so the question is, what is the fruit: I can't even tell from the dried fruit bits on top, so it maybe be something exotic, but my best guess of the moment is grapefruit. It was mild and tropical but too tart to be orange although not really all the way over to lemon or yuzu. Maybe pineapple is equally likely; it does not have the usual pineapple taste, but then I did not recognize the distinctive grapefruit taste, either. In any case, it fits with this cake and this is definitely excellent, so I'm pleased.

I went over to Isetan to see whether they had the same new cakes at Sadaharu Aoki as at Tokyo Midtown, which they did, and I got greedy and bought some bread at Andersen. The new thing is the Denmark Roll, which is sort of halfway between a usual roll and a cookie, in terms of texture and shape. It as icing, so of course it is good, and it was pretty cheap, maybe 120 yen.

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Sadaharu Aoki: Marron Fruits Rouges (updated)

Hotter even today than yesterday, so another short run, just down to Tokyo Midtown and back (6 or 7 km) and with a shopping stop (despite carrying cake). Actually, I was after the green tea mille-feuille, which is exclusive to Midtown. I saw it there the previous time and the website shows it, but it was not there (though I didn't ask, and setting out on a Friday would not be surprising), but instead they had three new cakes. Isetan may have the same, but at that point I didn't want to circle back, which is several kilometers, so I bought the Marron Fruits Rouges at Midtown. I'll check Isetan tomorrow to see what they have, because they also had Cassisier (according to the card there), which is on my list of greats that I've been looking for, so final success on finding an old cake.

The Marron Fruits Rouges seems to be from their cheesecake line, with a thick layer of chestnut paste on top, whipped cream (not cheesecake; I should have let this thaw out more, perhaps, though it was having a hard enough time supporting the thick chestnut cream as it was) in the middle, and then red fruit, hazelnut biscuit, and Pâte sucrée (I read the card this time). This was definitely an excellent harmony of fruit, chestnut, and cheesecake good cake for both cheesecake and chestnut, so I'm saying it's great and hope that it will be around again when it comes time to do a cake-off with in.

Trianon [Shinjuku]: Apricot Chocolate

This was a short run, but hot, and through some unfamiliar streets, though it does not matter much because I'll probably never be back again. Total, it was about 7 km around 8.5 km/h each way, but slightly faster out than back.

I got the Apricot Chocolate (I don't actually remember, so it could have been Chocolat or Choco), at it was least a promising shape as an individual. On the plus side, it was cheap cake (~450 yen?) and it did have apricot taste and presumably chocolate, though not strongly, that was not bad. However, it was not actually as good as, say, fat-free yogurt and banana, so I can't say that it is any better than okay. If you need to go to a café and eat cake socially and this place is the closest, it's fine and actually I don't have any other suggestions in this neighborhood (like most neighborhoods) other than get on a train and leave, but then I don't think people go to Okubo for cake (maybe to buy Korean boy band idol goods).

Frédéric Cassel: Éclair Chocolat

It was hot today, not as hot as a lot of this summer, but it was also cloudy, so it did not cool off much in the evening. I went to Ginza to visit Frédéric Cassel at Ginza Mitsukoshi, but went underground from the corner of Hibiya Park. Coming back, I actually circled north as far as the International Forum, just to remind myself how to get there underground (I still want to see if that is a shortest route), because I was at Ginza last weekend and needed to get to Tokyo Station in the rain. Anyway, besides walking a lot underground for the crowded bits, I kept my speed down to 9 km/h out and 8 km/h back, running 9.5 km total.

Although I had seen some things I wanted more when I visited Sunday morning, today I had to be satisfied with my next choice, their Éclair Chocolat (600 yen), though there were still too other less attractive choices, a slice of roll cake and another flavor variation on the Mille-Feuille Finger (whereas, what I really want is the chocolate regular mille-feuille that I saw Sunday, but that might be a weekend only thing).

The éclair was definitely excellent and I had determined to call it great, but I've backed down on that. I can compare chocolate éclairs someday separately from cake-offs. This particular éclair is rather thin/flat and has a fairly thick crust, but the filling is also rather thick and it actually balanced out so that it seemed rather different from other éclairs, though my experience is still insufficient.

Jean François: Kouign Amann

Today was a no cake day, at least a no fresh cake: I still got a snack. I ran, somewhat fast (because it was somewhat hot) to Ginza 6 by a not so direct route, a little under 6 km at a little over 10 km/h. Coming back was 9 km/h, as I dealt with a less familiar route that took be through Hibiya Park and also shopping.

I got a Kouign Amann from Jean François at Ginza 6, opened this year. Jean François is a Viennoiserie, which means sweet breads, though they have plain walnut bread, so I'm not sure what counts. I'd really like to see some breakdown of baked goods from fancy fresh cakes down to breads. This cake/pastry/bread was, I think, excellent, though I'm highly biased toward it. It was sort of the middle of the spectrum as far as the balance between crisp flaky and soft parts, as these things go, much like croissant (no special center, but there was some caramelization on the bottom.

Pierre Hermé: Ispahan

I should perhaps have taken a day off cake to make up for two pieces yesterday (Sunday's failed cake-off), but I'm going to do that Tuesday, when my main department store sources are closed (Isetan and Mitsukoshi) for a summer holiday. Instead, I wanted to get in a cake for my new "Quite Superb" shop Pierre Hermé. It was a tough choice between a cake I had been putting off for a long time and type of cake that I barely recognized as cake (cream puffs) and I went with the former. First, though I visited Pierre Gagnaire to see if they had their chocolate tart from March for a future cake-off, but they didn't.

Coming back, I did the second half of the Shinjuku History and Culture course in reverse, which for all the times I've done this stretch, I think I've never done. It was actually maybe better, in terms of the timing of lights, and the variation in which hills were up and which were down was interesting (much steeper slopes than what I've been calling training hill running, although with some space between them). It's about 6 km (just for the H&C course) in under 40 min, which is pretty good for the up-down. Also, I could run along the embankment overlooking Yotsuya Station (not sure why the embankment is there, but maybe it's related to the old outer defense wall for Edo).

The Ispahan is a traditional cake, apparently, or at least Dalloyau is not the only place that has it. It's a big macaron with lychee on the inside and raspberry on the outside, as well as a little cream to cement things in place. I'd like more cream and less fruit, but I respect it and so I'm going to say it's excellent (also, it's beautiful). I tried cutting it with a knife and eating it with a fork but if I ever get it again, I'd rather just pick it up so that I can more easily get a balance of all the elements, which I think is best.

Dalloyau: Tarte Fruits des Bois (second time)

I intended to do a cake-off, but confused one cake for another. It's actually surprising that it does not happen more, though it was not completely useless. What triggered it was my first choice being unavailable due to summer vacation and Frédéric Cassel having their limited Tarte Ruby Roman available only until Monday. Actually, Tarte Ruby Roman was only rated excellent, so it didn't qualify for a cake-off, though it's also not a waste of time to confirm an excellent one. Also, it's an excellent match for Tarte Fruits des Bois from Dalloyau, which I had rated as great.

The 5 km I ran going to Ginza as at 11+ km/h, being not too hot in the morning, although that did rise to less comfortable levels later and there was more sun than I would have liked. I got both cakes and took the train back, more because I thought they were a little delicate for jogging than because of the heat.

The tart bases of these two are equally excellent, so I wouldn't mind learning how to make them, and the fruit is good as fruit goes, but it's hard to say that these tarts are definitely excellent, much less one of them being great. I'm downgrading Tarte Fruits des Bois, disqualifying it from a future cake-off. Since I've already downgraded Dalloyau to just Superb, which I've visited quite enough for, they'll just have to put one of the several great cakes that haven't been available back in the line up to get me to return, though I'll probably be back for pastries, because theirs are great, and I've never even tried their breads.

At noon, I went up to visit Trianon near Okubo Station: note to myself, never jog past Okubo Station; what a mess on a narrow sidewalk (it's the Korean shopping district). Trianon is on my list of places visited by Sweet Sonobe that I should give a chance, but I haven't gotten to it yet because I only was considering the main store, which is 15 km out (but open to 9 p.m., so doable on a weekday). It has a lot of pretty old-time Japanese Western-style cakes and reminded me of a lot of shops in Kobe (and not the good ones). Still, there were some cakes that looked like they had the possibility if being good and it's possible that they've survived 57 years for a reason, so I expect it to be my next new shop to visit. That was about another 6 km of running/walking at various speeds before stopping to order myself a new bicycle.

[Fri] Yu Sasage: Chiboust Mangue Passion, Deux Fromage ｄ’Été, and Savarin Pêche Melba

Did my running early, in a winding path through Akasaka to Tokyo Midtown, where Toshi Yoroizuka continue to not have old favorites (though I'll visit for something new soon, so it matters that they have something, though I'm not sure that I'll go to Midtown for it). Set off thinking I might do some sort of speed or pace training at Meiji Gaien, but it was too hot and humid (i.e., not raining). I think I did 9 km at about 9 km/h, but I was using paths that Google Maps does not allow (cutting through the park-like path and bridge between a couple buildings), so couldn't calculate very exactly.

In the evening, there was a request for cake, and since Yu Sasage was available and convenient, we went there.

The first cake I had half of was the Chiboust Mangue Passion, which is what it sounds like (a mango and passion fruit chiboust). As chiboust's go, it was more gelatinous (versus airy) than I expected, but still I thought it was excellent. The "egg wash", if I'm getting the translation correct for the Japanese-French, for the bottom caramel tart has mango, as well as banana, whereas the chiboust part has the passion fruit, according to the description. I look chiboust and this as different without being bad, so I found it excellent.

The second cake was Deux Fromage ｄ’Été, which is a summer two-layer (baked and rare) cheesecake flavored with pineapple confit and passion fruit and mango gelatin. I thought the cake was a little grainy, somehow, and also, the rare was pretty soft and the baked part was harder than some I've had, so I was really not appreciating the texture and construction of this one. However, the taste was still good, so this counts as good cake.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same of the last one, which was Savarin Pêche Melba, a baba with a peach liquor and white wine based syrup, a raspberry glazing, some peach confit, vanilla cream, I think accepted with baked white chocolate somewhere, though I'm not sure where, and uncredited almond slices. This was just too dry for me and did not have much taste. Not it was was bad as sponge goes, but what's the point of a dry baba?

[Wed] Yu Sasage: Numero Sept

Numero Sept 

Yu Sasage visited Isetan, and even though it wasn't really due for another cake yet, since it had slipped from quite excellent to excellent in my shop ratings, being at Isetan made it pretty convenient, and it was still essentially at the boundary of the two categories, so getting Numero Sept (#7), although a mistake, is not something I'm going to regret. Cakes with banana are ones that I usually avoid because they are often pretty unsophisticated. This cake also can appeal to simple tastes, but I do not think is restricted to them. It's three main layers under a coating of baked chocolate and almond. The layers are cream cheese on top, baked chocolate mousse in the middle, and cake flavored with baked chocolate and banana as the base, where the baked chocolate is white chocolate. It's a somewhat simple cake, but it works and I don't mind the banana. I'm going to call it great until some other cake proves to me that this can be done better.


The run was training on a slope (250 m horizontal), 7 reps in the rain (like earlier runs this week) which were averaged above 10 km/h, which is pretty good.

Dalloyau: Chou Cubique Mangue

Tried running to Frédéric Cassel, at about 10 km/h in the rain, but even though they still had three types of cakes I hadn't bought yet after my last purchase, last week, this week they were sold out except for two that I've already had, so I'll wait until next Monday, maybe, to visit again.

Instead, I went to Dalloyau and abandoned my "choux à la crème doesn't count as cake" rule and bought the Chou Cubique Mangue for 540 yen. I figured that I've had prejudices against various types of cake that I've overcome, so some day I'll find a cream puff that changes my mind. This wasn't quite there, but it was definitely good. It seemed to be the soft Japanese-style rather than the traditional crisp chou. For the traditional, you really want to get them filled at the time you buy them (e.g., try Ryoco's, if you're willing to order ahead).

Éclat des Jours: Tarte myrtille

Started a little late, but it was cool, so I ran probably as fast as I ever had to Yoso, 12 km/h average (certainly that speed at the beginning, although I had some timing problems, just because I was stopping and starting suddenly, as the opportunity to cross the street became available), but still about 8 km/h coming back, under increasing rain.

As expected Éclat des Jours' selection was very limited, in terms of fresh cake (there were several attractive pastries), so I took the only thing available, the Tarte Myrtille (453 yen). Unfortunately, bilberries are not very exciting. The tart was competent but did not really do anything to overcome the limitations of bilberries and in the end I find that I can't rate it higher than ok, which ends Éclat des Jours' run at being promoted to a Superb shop.

I'll just have to explore other candidates. Guess I'll have to check whether Ryoco has three cakes that I'd like to try, since they have a three-cake minimum, though of course I could try to time a visit there when I can share. Before that, though, Yu Sasage is at Isetan starting Wednesday, so I'll probably take advantage of that.

Paris S'éveille: Tarte au Yuzu et Citron Vert

In response to their win of Friday's cake-off, I visited Paris S'éveille for something new and got Tarte au Yuzu et Citron Vert (600 yen). In terms of taste, it's definitely good, with a nice balance of citrus flavors, but in terms of construction, it seems overly delicate to work as a cake. I would prefer this taste with something more bike-sized (and not stuck to cardboard, which is inconvenient for eating). It's a nice little tart for the season, with tea, I suppose, but not something I'm terribly interested in. Still a superb shop with several great cakes which have done well in cake-offs.

On the way back, I visited Les Cacaos, which had about the same selection as when last I visited, which is fine and good to know for a cake-off. I also stopped at the Trek store by Roppongi Hills, since my current bike is heavy and has a slightly bent front wheel, a broken shifter cable (so it's now a one-speed), and rust various other places (besides the shifter cable). Today was it's last ride outside of Shinjuku, I think, but it's still usable for local shopping. Probably will get the Trek FX 3, 2018 model.

[Sat] Au Bon Vieux Temps: Mille-feuille aux Fraises

For winning one cake-off back, I cycled down to Au Bon Vieux Temps. It was around noon, so some things might have sold out. I decided on Mille-feuille aux Fraises (410 yen?), which is a little standard (custard) mille-feuille with strawberry slices and strawberry jam icing on top, I think. I much prefer strawberry slices for this than large pieces like some similar mille-feuille use (if it were bigger, I'd rather it be bigger horizontally than vertically). It seemed excellent, but I took a little longer getting this to the park, so it was not as chilled as I would want. This would better straight at 4 degC on chilled plate,

The cycling was about 40 km, stopping at four different shops. None had added great cakes that I was looking for, though I could confirm one was continued from previous months. This is my first year of trying to track great cake availability for cake-offs, but it's looking like for the outlying shops (versus the big-brand central shops), once every two months would be plenty.

Cake-off: Paris S'éveille's Giverny over Au Bon Vieux Temps' Chocolat Framboise

As planned, I left early and went to Au Bon Vieux Temps to get their Chocolat Framboise to compare with Giverny from Paris S'éveille, which is just two stations away. Unfortunately, Chocolat Framboise was not ready as early as I arrived, so I recommend waiting until 10 am, which was about when at least some missing cakes appeared, for fresh cake from Au Bon Vieux Temps. I passed the time looking at everything else.

The run was by the recent usual path with no surprises except it was cloudy and a little misty rain, so I was not always on the usual side of the road (since I didn't need shade). Around 13 km at 9 km/h. This was to Au Bon Vieux Temps. I carefully walked my cake to Paris S'éveille to get it's competition, the Giverny.

Actually, I could have done a better job of matching up cakes, but too late now. The Chocolat Framboise is very rich chocolate with nuts a little raspberry, whereas Giverny is pistachio cream with only a little chocolat. Both are great, which is really the important information, but it was not obvious which was better. I'm going with Giverny because I like chocolate, so I've designated a lot of chocolate cakes great and I doubt that this one, which is simple in some ways, being sort of a nutty maybe semi-dry (demi-sec) biscuit with rich chocolate-raspberry (I think, but maybe just chocolate with separate fruit) cream, is the best, whereas I sort of respected the creamy layers of Giverny more. I'm looking forward to having both again, however, for example, when it comes time to do round two (including run-offs of round-one losers) with cakes that were confirmed great.

(Thur) Il Pleut sur la Seine: Croissant aux Amandes

In order to get the name of yesterday's cake, I went back to P. Il Pleut sur la Seine. I didn't get cake, though that would perhaps have been less decadent, as they did not have bostock, so I got Croissant aux Amandes (380 yen). As usually, this had almond paste inside, which makes it very heavy, but there was also almond paste (I assume) on top, like a layer of icing. When I bought cake yesterday, they gave me a sample Gallete Bretonne (which would normally be about 300 yen, so not a bad get), whereas today they gave me Baton Fromage (I was not really expecting anything with a pastry, but it cost almost as much as a cake, and I imagine at least double the calories). The latter two "secs" were definitely good, but I'm less interested in them than cakes and pastries (and demi-secs, like financiers). I had some shopping to do, stopping by Nikunohanamasa for roasted peanut pieces, so it was about 12 km total. Even with the temperature down, it was humid and not cool, and frankly I'm out of shape/practice for running fast, so I was still only 9 km/h.

Il Pleut sur la Seine: Deauville

Hottest day of the year so far, so even in the evening was hot, though not necessarily the worst night for running so far. It's about 5 km each way to Il Pleut sur la Seine by the shortest path, not that the shortest is exactly what I use, but not so different, and I was between 8 and 9 km/h. I also got a free baked good (as I often do from them), so maybe I'll go cake-free tomorrow in preparation for the next cake-off and just have that.

I was not initially sure what I got, as only parts of the name stuck in my head, but I've confirmed that it sounds like Deauville, which fits. I needed another run to confirm the name, but neglected to confirm the ingredients, so maybe there will be a further update. The cake is definitely a mousse dome and definitely has apple (which is as far as I read and remember), and I'm guessing cassis as the red part, though I couldn't identify what the other fruit flavor was. I think that they are big on healthy cakes, as well as classics, and this might fall into the former category (there was a lentil-biscuit cake on the other end of the case). My main meals are extreme healthy, so I don't need that in my cake. Still, this was good and competently made. However, just good is not enough to keep the shop among the Quite Excellent shops, so I'm finally bumping them down to Excellent. Still, they have had two great cakes and at least one is still in the line-up, so I'll probably be back for that again before too long for a cake-off, since I'm doing a good job of making my first pass through the available great cakes.

Frédéric Cassel: Soleil

Did a slow jog, because it's still very hot and very humid with a little rain from the passing typhoon. Today was just to Ginza Mitsukoshi to visit Frédéric Cassel, though I walked from the scramble underground and passed by Dalloyau on my way back. I got the Soleil, which is a layered rare/baked cheese cake flavored with lemon, which is not very original, with some ornamental blueberries. For some reason this seemed perfect, so I'm going to say it was great until I can prove otherwise.

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).

Cake-off: ABVT's Marjolaine over L'Abricotier's Le Piemont

Did a cake-off despite the heat warnings, but left very early. The cake was from Au Bon Vieux Temps, which opens at 9 am, thankfully. They do not have everything ready that early, but their Marjolaine was, so that worked out well (another I'll want to get to some time soon was not ready, so maybe I'll go a little later that day). Strangely, I was hottest around 8:30, but more on that later. Running was about 12 km at 9 km/h.

The primary great cake whose turn had come for a cake-off review was Le Piemont from L'Abricotier. I arrived close enough to opening time that nothing seemed to be sold out and I got home before noon despite not using the nearest station (which is a less convenient line for me). This run too felt less hot than late in my early morning, but when I checked the weather station at home, it was a few degrees hotter than when I had started; it might have increased while I was on the train, but probably not that much. Some of it was humidity that burned off, maybe (at least, I often have the same sensation running early in the morning), but I suspect it's more that my body adjusts (if it had been sunny, that would have been more difficult). The mystery is whether my body really cools itself down or just I become insensitive to the heat, but if anything, I increase my water intake over time. I should keep in mind, though, that I might not be able to trust my sense of the heat and still make sure that I drink enough any limit my running during high heat. But no symptoms at all suggesting anything like overexposure to heat, so I think my running plan was sound. The late morning runs was another 10 km (by the time I got to my preferred station for the return) but still closest to 9 km/h, despite walking in the underground from Isetan at the intersection of Meiji-dori and Shinjuku-dori to Yasukuni-dori and the Yamanote Line underpass (it's not that less hot underground, but no stop lights and a lot fewer people, so it might not actually be any slower).

Both of these cakes were great and very similar in ingredients, being nutty and a little (relatively) chocolaty. The Marjolaine has the coarser crunchier texture and caramel, whereas Le Piemont is mostly smooth with some biscuits for texture. It was very difficult to decide, but I need to, so I'm siding with the stronger caramel flavor of the Marjolaine. I seems to have some bias for certain iconic French cakes.

Akane: Specialisté

Could leave home until about 2 pm, so I went some place new (relative to blogging), which means that they would have something that I haven't had. I cycled, because it was above 30 degC, though cloudy. It's about 12 km, so not so far, in Ota-ku. Unfortunately, this south area remains somewhere that I never need to go. There were other customers buying a smoothie before me and cookies after me (and something else in a bag that I suppose could have been a cake). I got the "Specialisté", which is a rare cheese cake with a little pineapple and I think the other fruit was peach. The cake is unique, as it was much closer to soft cheese than any cake I've ever had before (versus a cheese mousse), sort of gelatinous in a cheese-like way. Also, it looks like it has a mini-macaron on top, but it was actually an unexpectedly hard cookie. Or maybe it was normal rare cheese cake that sat around too long, but it seems unlikely that they are that incompetent, as they've stayed open for a number of years now.

The fruit was nice and the cheesecake did not taste bad but not good, so I'll just label it okay. I regret not getting something else, though the choices of cake were few and not exciting: traditional gateau chocolate, a mousse/cream chocolate cake that looked promising but was banana (never a good sign), and a Mont-Blanc. Didn't notice a shortcake, to fill out the standards, but maybe it was sold out.

(Friday) Jean-Paul Hévin: Éclair Constanza

I went to Tokyo Midtown for lunch and got cakes which were shared for dessert, along with Madagascar and Ghana hot chocolate (I'll stick to just showing the cakes). The Duja I've had many times before. It's a hazelnut biscuit chocolate cake that is excellent; pretty standard though fancy chocolate layer cake. The other is a new éclair for this month only, Éclair Constanza, and is also excellent, though I definitely prefer the tart to the éclair. 

This was a café visit rather than solo-cake, so running is not necessary, but in the evening I did have time and did another Marunouchi to Ginza loop, this time skipping JPH but checking Frédéric Cassel. Still no new information. In general, August does not seem to be a time to introduce new cakes. To motivate myself, I did get another snack, from Le Boulanger de Monge at Ginza Six: a Croissant d'Almonde. They threw in three kinds of bread samples as well, cranberry, walnut, and mixed fruit and nuts. The croissant was kind of dry and not better than good, but at least with butter, the bread was all excellent.

(TW) Jean-Paul Hévin: Tarte au Chocolat Constanza

Did a research run past Marunouchi Jean-Paul Hévin to Viron to Toshi Yoroizuka to Origines Cacao to Dalloyau on Tuesday the first, but only the first stop had anything new. It was not too hot, so I could do 12+ km for 9 km/h.

The cake is called Tarte au Chocolat Constanz, although it was more like a giant bon-bon chocolate than a cake or a tart. Rather than having a tart crust, the tart shell is solid dark chocolate. The filling is chocolate mousse and a few fins of solid chocolate, so the only taste is chocolate, though obviously, there are differences in texture. The main issue then is how good is the chocolate, and it was excellent. The other issue is how eating this was different from eating mousse or just tablet chocolate, and my belief was that this was a nearly perfect chocolate creation. The solid chocolate gave some crunch and encouraged chewing but because it was mostly mousse, I did not have experience of chocolate pieces filling my mouth, like when eating a chocolate bar. It was a great cake and I hope that they make more tarts like this one with other kinds of chocolate. I should say that, as the name suggests, this is made from Dominican cacao.

Since I had a good cake Tuesday, it was reasonably cool, and I was busy (one excuse for being so late writing up these blogs), I did a cake-less run Wednesday. Of course, I still need a snack, so I got a Pain aux Raisins from Hediard at Isetan. It was excellent, as one would expect. The running was 18+ minutes averaging 10 km/h up and down a nearby 250 m long slope. Apparently, it's too flat for Google giving elevation information.