Aigre-Douce, Tarte au Citron

Back on Sunday, the last day I had cake, due to their cake-off the day before, I was back in line at Aigre-Douce. This time I ran about 1 km and walked the rest of the way, as well as walking back. As I've noted, I've had a lot of less than good from here,  so this time I went with a cake that was similar in type, though not in flavor, to the caramel tart that I so much. I got the Tarte au Citron. It was definitely good, relative light, as lemon tarts good, which is no criticism. It was a good choice, even if I still haven't found a new great cake from there.
 

Rue de Passy, Fraise Pistache

I had delayed getting a cake from Rue de Passy when I worked through the exceptional shop because they had a surcharge if you only bought one cake, which is only unreasonable in that no one else does that. Anyway, since I was there fore a cake-off cake, I also picked up a new cake, the Fraise Pistache. The (raw) meringue layer on tope makes it different, though so does having a relatively thick, but I guess the first requires for stability. So it's an interesting combination and unique, so it gets an excellent rating from me.

Michalak, Cheese Cake Orange

Monday to Wednesday, I managed at least short runs along with indoor workouts. Monday, was too late to visit I think, and Tuesday they were sold-out, but Wednesday, I managed to get Cheese Cake Orange from Michalak as an exceptional shop. It was probably a fairly high sugar one (American-style?), and suited me fine. Hadn't known orange, which is a bit tricky for cake, worked for cheesecake, but it does.

Très Calme, Figcannelle

Last Sunday, in response to their cake-off win the previous day, I visited Très Calme, by bicycle, and chose a new cake to try. I went with the Figcannelle, which is fig, red wine, and cinnamon. Though it's pretty solid, the top half, under the coating, is actually a thick white cream-like layer, which was probably for balance, since the main ingredients are strong. It was excellent. The fig flavor was central, but not too strong and clearly balanced and smoothed by other flavors, which were not obvious. Unfortunately, I was tired, so I forgot to get a picture for presentation, so I'll slip in the picture from the shop (unlike some shops, no sign saying not to photograph) that I actually just to remember the name. 

Pierre Gagnaire, Crème de Fraises et Citron

The midweek cake for the midweek holiday was Crème de Fraises et Citron from Pierre Gagnaire, where everything was 20% off. Hope they're still in business for my next cake-off. As the name implies, this is basically just cream flavored with lemon and strawberry, with a thin sablé cookie underneath and some sheet chocolate to fence it in. But again, its a collection of good stuff that works together, so I'm happy to call it an excellent cake.

I ran in the afternoon on neighborhood courses around Omote-Sandou, where I've had to revise the loops to the north, east, and south loops due to finding additional sites. I decided to dump a park site that's attached to a public housing area that's now fenced off, probably about to be torn down, now that they're done with the south half, in order to simply the north loop somewhat. Looking ahead, the next Saturday, I finally got them all sorted out and confirmed clockwise and counterclockwise, so I can move on to other things. I'm mention, that I decided I shouldn't discriminate against the fast food places if they have takeout desserts, so I added McDonald's (okay syrupy apple pie), Freshness Burger (okay poundcake), and Mos Burger (frozen mini cheesecakes). I'm adding a couple cafes as well, if I can ever catch them open (if they are open during the state of emergency).

En Vedette, Fromage Blanche

Saturday's other cake (cutting down on trips) was Fromage Blanche (I know, but that's the logical interpretation of the phonetic Japanese; if only there was some Chou pastry, it could be Fromage Blanc Chou). White cheese is pretty tasteless, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the raspberry was just the right amount, and cheese mousse has a great texture, so I'm much more confident calling this excellent than the previous cheese cake I reported. Also, it didn't suffer from the travel by bicycle as much as other cakes last Saturday.

Lenôtre: Verrine Tiramisu Pomme Crumble

Ran Tuesday to Viron starting late, but nothing new there, after which I ran to the Hilltop Hotel, where the cake counter was closed (I mis-remembered or never knew that they closed at 8 pm), so a long run with no cake. Instead I bought some bread a Paul, which I toasted and ate with various toppings.

Wednesday, I worked not quite as late and went straight to Ginza Mitsukoshi to visit Lenôtre, which, unusually, had just two items left, both Verrine Tiramisu Pomme Crumble. Since I was expecting to get one of the verrine teramisu desserts, that was fine with me. It is quite expensive (like all their things) for something that seems like someone would make easily at home (if one made such things, which I don't, so I could be wrong). Fortunately, it was excellent, so I'm doubtful I could make it so well.

This is a 12th cake, and I'm ready to promote them to the quite exceptional group, since Origines Cacao has now officially announced that they are closing: the Ginza shop closed today and the Jiyuugaoka shop is planned to close at the end of the month, so shops from four levels advance one spot, and the exceptional category still has weakness in the bottom that the top of the quite good group can challenge. Also, new cakes have appeared at JPH, and they include great cake Tonka, which has only one loss in three cake-offs, so perhaps I should prioritize them for the weekend after next.