Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps' Marjolaine over Pierre Hermé's Tarte Infiniment Vanille

Thursday (so no cake since Sunday), I went for a long walk with a little running for lights and downhill, enough to arrive in about 110 minutes, even with with the lights I didn't beat. I was afraid that it would be three hours, so it wasn't as far as I thought and I wasn't as slow as the beginning implied. The goal was a cake-off, with the primary being Au Bon Vieux Temps' Marjolaine, a classic. I started a little after 8am, thinking they would open at 9am (based on their not up-to-date homepage), but arriving at 9:55 am, they were closed and I was first in line, arriving just ahead of the second person. I got my cake, no problem. Would have been nice if they had had one of two other great cakes not recently in the line-up, but I wasn't expecting them. I took the train back to Isetan and got Pierre Hermé's Tarte Infiniment Vanille their standard tart. Very different in size and in price, though the larger is cheaper by weight. Tarte Infiniment Vanille remains a great vanilla cake, but the variation and bitterness of the Marjolaine brings me to give the classic the win. I should say this was a 5th round for two cakes with only one loss each going in. I have have two more likely available cakes left in that group, which I plan to hit this weekend, after which I'll have to expand the competition to include two-and-two cakes. Haven't had as many new great cakes or returned great cakes this year, so I'm whipping through the planned list rather quickly. I'll put ABVT down for a backup visit this weekend if Paris S. doesn't come through with new cakes, though I'll probably also pick up something from the main Dalloyau in that case, taking care of two shops in one neighborhood visit.

Au Bon Vieux Temps, Ali-Baba and Belle Hélène

Ran down to Au Bon Vieux Temps on Sunday, and not by the shortest way, just because I wanted to keep running rather than wait for lights to change. Got there a little bit after 10 am, which is a little late, since they open at 9 am. Their Marjolaine was down to the last piece, and that's their best cake, though I was there for new cake, not that. I'm actually two behind on them because of cake-off wins, so I decided that if they had two new cakes (and that don't seem to vary the line-up much), then I would get them, which I was able to do.

I went with two other semi-traditional cakes. One was Ali-Baba, which was closer to the original version that became the Baba in that it had custard inside rather than whipped cream, though it was still rum, which was a later change. It was good, but traditional isn't always best. Note sure whether whipped cream would have been better than custard, but that would be my choice for this type of cake, now that I've tried a custard version.

Sorry for being negative, but the other traditional cake was Belle Hélène. Of course, making this level of fruit replicas is really a new thing, a result of the ease of making silicon molds and access to refrigeration, but the desert of pear with chocolate sauce is old, or at exists independently. It was good, but the semi-solid outer covering round the pear pieces and chocolate (which is most of the cake), is pretty tasteless and doesn't have a texture I find very appealing, though it's interesting to know that pear and chocolate is nice. If I'm look for dessert and there isn't cake I want, it seems like a good option. 

Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps' Pourriture over Pierre Hermé's Tarte Infiniment Praliné Noisette

Saturday, I had a late morning appointment, so I set off at 8am for Au Bon Vieux Temps to get their Pourriture for a third-round cake-off of one-and-one cakes, matching it with the new Tarte Infiniment Praliné Noisette from Pierre Hermé. Maybe because this was my fourth time, but I appreciated the lighter and fruitier flavor of the Pourriture over the heavy tart this time. One little cup of tea really wasn't enough to cut the praliné. 

Cake-off: Jean-Paul Hévin's Longchamp Feuilleté over Au Bon Vieux Temps' Pourriture

I followed one cake-off by another for two reasons. The original reason for the plan was because I'll be busy next weekend and I like to keep to one a week. A new reason appears when Jean-Paul Hévin's Longchamp Feuilleté won the previous cake-off, because I don't have any new cakes, or even excellent cakes for a retry, from Jean-Paul Hévin. Also, I'm not sure how long Pourriture will stick around at Au Bon Vieux Temps and I've been waiting for a year for it to appear. I think the fruit is fig, which seems to be in season now, at least as far as cakes goes. 

It was rainy Saturday, which feels fairly redundant for the last few months. At least Sunday was better. I decided that it was rainy less hard than the last time I went out that way, so I didn't bring the big umbrella and ran about two thirds before I decided that I was wet enough and the rain was heavy enough that I wanted to pull out the portable. No problem getting the Pourriture. I came back by train as far as Isetan to get the Longchamp Feuilleté from JPH. I'm afraid the Paris-Brest isn't going to manage a first-round cake-off before it's gone again, but I'll survive that.

I must of been pretty jaded with JPH cakes when I first rated Longchamp Feuilleté as just excellent, because it didn't have any trouble eclipsing the pour Pourriture, which which has cheese and fig to impress me. This was only a second-round cake-off, so it might get a chance for a third round, if it can hang on until the beginning of November. 

Tarte (Framboise Pistache)

This is the sad story of a cake that traveled by bicycle, though in my defense, it was a blog to begin with, just a round one instead of a square one, and maybe taller. This is a tart, in that there is a hard slab underneath. The flavors aren't terrible, and I don't to punish it for my hard handling, so I'll say it's good but still not post this to Twitter. With this case Au Bon Viex Temps looses it's chance to take over the superb cake shop spot temporarily held my Viron. Instead, it goes to Bien-Étre, which I've tried more cakes from than either of those.

Cake-off: Paris S'éveille's Théatre over Au Bon Vieux Temps's Marjolaine

Saturday morning was rain, so I went for a walk to Jiyuugaoka for cake-off cake. I used a compact umbrella, but it didn't stop before I got cake, so I kept using it. At Paris S'éveille, I got their Théatre. Didn't look like they were open for eat-in under current conditions, but that was okay. No wait (unlike when I looked in there Sunday afternoon). From there, it's not such a long walk to Au Bon Vieux Temps, where I got their Marjolaine, a classic. These are both three time winners in a fourth-round cake off, though three wins isn't really so much, so it might be more chance than anything, though they've definitely proved themselves as great. It was hard to decide between these until the last couple bites, and then it was definitely the multiple textures and chocolates of Théatre: it was melty from the beginning, but actually that turned out to not be bad. Seems like you want to eat this on the edge of collapsing. No big shop that PS is dominates, as this is the second of only three 4-time winners so far and they have the most three-to-one cakes as well, though I'm not sure how many of those are in the line-up right now.

Cake-off: Bien-être's Mont-Blanc over Au Bon Vieux Temps' Chocolat Framboise

Sunday, I went out by bicycle, as a little cross-training is good, plus it was predicted to be around 30 degC, although it wasn't sunny, so it didn't seem especially hot on a bicycle. The goal was to get cakes for a third-round cake-off, which I'm still trying to finish off: I'm up to October at the same time I'm current on the fourth-round. This time was between two one and one cakes. I started by going to Au Bon Vieux Temps to get Chocolat Framboise, as the far point. I got few hundred meters and I was thinking I would visit Paris S. nearby, and realized that I hadn't actually looked carefully at ABVT, so I went back and confirmed that the two great cakes I haven't seen for a while there still aren't there, whereas the other one I have is there, ready for its next round. At PS, I saw they had a new cake, so I made a plan to visit Sunday, but kept to the schedule to go up to Bien-être to get their Mont-Blanc, which they always have (and it was early enough that they we're close to selling out). They seemed to have three new cakes, but (looking ahead) one had disappeared the next day and one turned out to be a known cake by a different name. Still, I should get the Melon Shortcake soon, before it's gone.

Got home and had lunched and then went out again, this to to Ginza Mitsukoshi to get what I missed the previous weekend, special croissants from Frédéric Cassel, by #2 shop. These just started last weekend, only on the weekend, don't start selling until noon, and were sold-out last Sunday before 3 pm. I got the regular Croissant and the Croissant aux Almondes. While I was there, and because I've been busy during the week and gotten into the habit of squeezing all my cakes into the weekend (plus I'll be busy next weekend), I also got a new cake, though I was surprised that they had two. My choice was two cakes similar to ones I just had, but that's not much of a problem with a shop this good. I went with the Roulé Pêche, though I'll get to that in a different post.

The croissants came with instructions for heating them up, so I followed them, even though usually I prefer not to, as I'm not so much into the soft croissant. I have a regular oven rather than a toaster over, so I went with 150 degC, which seemed about right. These were both excellent, I can say, and certainly high quality, but didn't convince me that FC's viennoiserie should be that high a priority, though these were only the 2nd and 3rd of those, since usually they stick with cake and packaged things (and macarons). Still, after their cakes, these are the best I've found from them so far, but usually (when they aren't closed for two months), I don't have trouble satisfying myself with just cakes from them.

Having put it off to the end, as my might have noticed from the photo, the Chocolat Framboise was a little worse for wear: the top of the brownie shifted off the rest of the base and circled, so I had to shift it back and break it up a little to get it back together. Probably not a big deal, since the different parts don't hold together under cutting anyway, so I don't think it affected the texture. Still, I have to acknowledge that, as I have having trouble feeling the greatness this time. It's appear is chocolate and raspberry, of course, a little strong on the raspberry and definitely rich with the chocolate on top, with the brownie base there to keep it grounded. Still excellent, but I'm not sure. The Mont-Blanc, which doesn't have any obvious tricks or accents, like currant or meringue, and yet still great. I think maybe there is liquor or something that vaporizes so that you get a lot of flavor in the back of your mouth. Despite moving to lose some excess mont-blanc from the greats list, this one definitely stays, and should see a fourth round this year, since it's only got one loss.

Au bon Vieux Temps, La Môme

Finally, to the other cake of Monday (since not much cake during the week, before or after), La Môme from Au Bon Vieux Temps. This is meringue (raw) on top, rosemary-flavored apricot jelly and confiture, and apricot cream. The biscuits apparently use olive oil. It's all very mild though and not my thing, so this just rates good, which in no way reflect how poor a job I did keeping it intact.

Now, actually, I had a lot more running after that, just around the near neighborhood, doing or practicing updated loops, taking pictures, which I'm not caught up on uploading, 4 days later. So another snack, to give Caffe Veloce another chance their little baumkuchen, which seems to be generic, but it gets a pass, as a substitute for a packet of calorie mate.

Finally, another Yotsu shop I hadn't visited before was Amaguri Tarou (basically, Sweet Chestnuts Guy). They had other little snacks, but I figured I should try the chestnuts at least once. They are okay, but not my thing and really too much trouble to shell for me.

Cake-off: Lenôtre's Feuille d'Automne over Jean-Paul Hévin's Duja Pistache

Sunday, I finally got to the next cake-off. I started off toward Au Bon Vieux Temps a little after 8 am, which is not that early, since they open at 9 am. Still, I felt that I didn't have to arrive so early and I wanted to check out a couple things along the way. For example, I confirmed that I could do the revised Sendagaya central and south loops clockwise, though I altered the latter after the fact (the length looks the same and it eliminates two turns). Took a picture of the cake shop I found on Google. No sign, so I'm not sure that they actually sell things from there (though it does look like there is something on the table on the left), but there's a window where they could do, so maybe. Someone was in there working even that early, and poked his head out a second to see what I was doing. With those looks, it made for a long run, so I arrived maybe 10 am and, no surprise, they not longer are making their blue cheese cake (it seemed seasonal, but I had no definitely information and I've had other seasonal cakes from more prominent shops to deal with).

Still, I was hungry (I had only had one energy cookie), so I got a Pain au Chocolat there. It's pretty well done, as these breads go, but that's not a bad thing and this qualifies as excellent. The croissants were already sold out, but there were some other more elaborate things that might count as pastries that I could try in the future.

I was going to take the train straight to Mitsukoshi Ginza, but I missed the crossing due to a train going the other way and would have waited for the next local, so I ran two stations (not that far, in this case) to see what the shops near Jiyuugaoka had. Now I'm not sure whether PS still has the Giverny, which is not an immediate problem, though Dalloyau has definitely retired the L'Echiquier from individual cakes, which reduces the chance I'll get another cake from them. I think their reputation as a superb shop depends on a cakes made by a chef who's moved on, though at least they still make their Formage Cru and Croquant Fraise.

I was successful at getting one planned cake and the backup, where they know me well. I confirmed that FC had some new cakes, but the just returned Breteuil seems to been changed from chocolate to white chocolate coating, which is a mixed blessing. Also, since I was in the neighborhood within an hour of opening, I stopped by Sadaharu Aoki to sample their Croissant Chocolat again (also, I was really hungry, and almost asleep on my feet), and it was definitely fresher and definitely excellent. I can't say for sure it was great, but I liked it more than the Matcha (which seemed too sweet). Also I confirmed what cake was back in the line up through February (but I've already done three rounds and it's not enough of a winner to be a priority) and one new cake that I hope to get to this week.

The cake-off was a second round for two cakes from the winners, Lenôtre's Feuille d'Automne and Jean-Paul Hévin's Duja Pistache. Sorry JPH, but the combination of L's meringue and different textures of chocolate was a clear winner. Sadly, I don't have anything to match it for the next round yet (if I'm correct about Breteuil being replaced). Happily, there is a Rouge version available for this season as the reward cake that I'll be able to try this week (the brand does not seem established enough to sell out much). Not sure whether the Duga Pistache is seasonal, so it will have to wait. Actually, someone had posted on Twitter a Sicile from L'abricotier just after the shop told me that they we're making it, so I went out there by bicycle (I decided I was too tired to do more neighborhood loops) and, as I expected, the photo did not reflect reality. If I track down which person, I'll probably un-follow them, though actually they were reporting on a cake in the foreground.

Au Bon Vieux Temps: Sainte-Maure

This should be short: I did a run down to Au Bon Vieux Temps. Didn't set an alarm and managed to sleep until 8 am, so it seemed a little late, since I wasn't able to get out of the house until a little before 9 am, but I could arrive at 10:30 am, which is actually a pretty good time (before 10 am, some cakes aren't out yet, even though they are open). I choose the Sainte-Maure, because I recognized it as something that had been around for a while, yet I had never tried it. I only got as far as reading that it had cheese before I was busy ordering, paying, and getting my cake arranged. Still not sure that was in it: probably some sort of red fruit, not too strong. The name is the name of the cheese, which probably means its the name of a region. It's goat cheese, which is a first for me with cake, as far as I can remember, and the cake seemed to be a rare cheesecake. Eating it was like eating not wet ice cream (which is a good thing), partially because I chilled it down to zero before eating it, but the same can be said for other of their cakes that are not cheese. Definitely excellent and unique. Not like what usually comes to mind when I think "cake", but I'll definitely be more interested in any other cheese cakes they have, though I've already had their Fromage Cru and it was just good.

Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps' Pourriture over Pierre Gagnaire's Finger Ruby Fig Framboise

Saturday as a series of failure: Route 99 does not have fresh cake, I don't know Daita--Daizawa--Hatagaya--Kamiyama-chou--Kitazawa--Motoyoyogi-chou--Nishihara--Ooyama-chou--Shouto--Tomigaya--Uehara loop well enough to run (remembered where and why I changed part, but not how exactly and it wasn't obvious on the fly), and 1 pm is too late to get a cake at Au Bon Vieux Temps'.

Also I fell early on, so I'm got road rash and some clothes that will have to be replaced sooner. I did get a couple fresh viennoiseries, Kouign Amann and Chauson aux Pommes Caramélisées (I think) from Paris S'éveille and Sadaharu Aoki, respectively, both great.

Sunday, I had a comfortable run to Au Bon Vieux Temps, arriving at about 10:30 a.m, which is early enough, at least on a rainy Sunday, to get the cake I wanted, the Pourriture. I matched it with another recent fig cake by taking the train to Pierre Gagnaire and getting Figner Ruby Fig Framboise and coming back. After lunch I compared these and was happy to keep them on the great list (we'll see how I feel when they have to match established cakes). I decided I liked the simplicity of the Pourriture, though that means the other cake is the one that's available from a cake-off against the JPH late-October traditional cake, which is was a little worried about, since I didn't have anything else available for that role. I also expect a first-round cake off next week, so that might produce another candidate.

Afternoon was riding around, verifying no great cakes as a couple shops and taking a few pictures and verifying a few shops around the southeast periphery of the established course. Evening was a full indoor workout.

Au Bon Vieux Temps, Pourriture and Michalak, Tarte Chocolat Pecan

Saturday, I woke early and was out running by about 6 am. I was planning to take rest from cake, so I started by working on the neighborhood course and was able to do the revised Moto-Azabu--Azabu-Juuban loop clockwise, getting a lot of missing photos of sites on that loop along the way, though I missed one. Of course, most of the shops were closed, which is not ideal, but since otherwise it's dark, I'm okay with that. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I noticed a shrine along the way that should have been on the Roppongi 6 loop, so I modified it (making it the Roppongi 5&6 loop), so it was one step forward and two steps back. After that, I reviewed the course on the west side of Hiroo, ruling out some coffee shops as unworthy and figuring out where I need to double-back to get near something sites. I added a bunch of photos there two. I was waiting for Hikarie to open at 10 am, so I also went over and tried to run the Ebisu-Nishi east and west loops, but only managed the easy east one (so at least I'm even for the day: two directs completed but two directions on one loop that need redoing). I had wanted to get a pastry I saw at Hikarie a couple weeks back, but it was already gone, so I went completely without fancy sweets. I more than made up for it the next day.

Sunday, I was busy in the middle of the day, so I decided to get cake for two in the morning. I went to Au Bon Vieux Temps because I owe them for a cake-off win and got a new cake, Pourriture. Then I took the train back and got the new tart from Michalak, who I want more new cakes than the line-up has quickly supplied. This time Tarte Chocolat Pican, perhaps (they don't keep an updated Internet presence for me to check about new cakes). I also got a Picnic Maron from Sadaharu Aoki, which I consider a pastry and I half-intended to get Saturday but decided that there was not hurry.

Au Bon Vieux Temps is maybe not the best choice for a cake to share, but their cakes are so small: half of one is two small bites. I'm going to say that Pourriture was great and see if a cake-off proves me wrong. It's a blue cheese and honey mousse over roasted fig on a semi-dry fig tart, or that's how I'm parsing the Japanese card.

The chocolate pecan tart was the best Michalak tart I've had. We both agreed that it was excellent. I've turned the stop on top where I damaged it after getting it safely in the refrigerator to the back, and that might be a fingerprint on the front.

The pastry, which has custard inside, as well as the chestnut cream, was also excellent. It's only around for a short time, exclusively at Shinjuku Isetan.

In the evening, I finished off the Moto-Azabu--Azabu-Juuban loop, again, and got the Roppongi 5&6 loop. I wet as far as Tokyo Midtown by bicycle, so it was only about 45 minutes of running.

Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps' Marjolaine over Dalloyau's Croquant Fraise

It was a busy day. First, I ran to Jiyuuoka and got my favorite (still available) cake from Dalloyau, Croquant Fraise, and then continued two more stations distance and got Marjolaine from Au Bon Vieux Temps to have a third-round cake-off with two undefeated cakes. I'm not going to get through all the third rounds this year, I think, so I'm prioritizing to at least staying caught up, in terms of month, on the top winners. Next week I can do a pair one-and-one shops for August cakes.

I came back by train and had a half-lunch before going out by bicycle to try to learn what had been the Daita--Daizawa--Hatagaya--Kamiyama-chou--Kitazawa--Komaba--Motoyoyogi-chou--Nishihara--Oohara--Ooyama-chou--Shouto--Tomigaya--Uehara loop when I ran it, but might need a name change when I finish renewing it. I've had to split off about one third of it as separate loops, as I add shops or notice inconsistencies. In 3 hours, I could do about half, checking out new shops or routes and trying to follow the old route, which I've never known. I may never get this loop, so I'll probably alternate with other more reasonable loops.

The result of the cake-off was that Au Bon Vieux Temps' Marjolaine is perhaps a perfectly executed traditional cake that is nutty, creamy, and not too sweet. I'm less excited about other traditional cakes, but this was is rich and flavorful enough to satisfy me. The Croquant Fraise lost some of its croquant, in that the crunch decoration wilted over time (it should be sticking up behind the strawberry). Seven hours is a long time to wait, but then sell it over a longer period of time. I'm now trying to adjust my handling to un-box cakes when I get them home. The drawer I put them is much smaller than their regular showcase but should be better than just the box. Sorry Dalloyau. I'll try to treat you better next year. (They still have a non-baked cheesecake in line for a third-round, but it lost the first two rounds and I wouldn't surprised if I drop it from the greats list after the next round.)

In the evening, I went out to do neighborhood run down in the Azabu area again. Note sure whether I was wrong about Friday and this was the night I got the Azabu-Dai--Azabu-Mamiana-chou--Higashi-Azabu loop clockwise or what the deal was. I can't think how I would mess it up once, but I'm missing a try somewhere. As I wrote for Friday, the next loop south is still under construction, so even if I got it correct (which I think I did), the course itself was wrong, so no advancement. Southwest of that is the Minami-Azabu west loop, since is a little over 3 km, but I really don't know that one, so I didn't even try to do it without consulting the map. It seems to leave out a correct I thought I had already made to avoid a traffic light, so I adjusted it, but then found a bakery cafe in a hotel, so I adjust it again. Also, there is a tiny path of the main road that looking down it doesn't really resolve whether it is correct to go back a little green space squeezed between apartment buildings.

I went through a lot of Calorie Mate packets (800 kcal worth). I'd like to eat better things or lose a little more weight, but after 1 hour running, I need some energy to keep my immune system sharp, so I watch my time and take care of myself.

Au Bon Vieux Temps, Nonetto and Ryoura, Passionemon

Had a long run out to, first, Au Bon Vieux Temps. Thinking that I had lost an umbrella (since found) I stopped by the doughnut shop and swung through Kita-aoyama and found that Q-Pot Café had moved northeast (I had seen the new shop, but wasn't sure whether it was a branch or also whether it included the café), so I can take the kink out of that neighborhood running course loop (the new shop is already on the adjacent northeast loop).

It took the usual 100 minutes to get to Au Bon Vieux Temps (since I always seem to take a detour), where I went with the Nonetto, which is chocolate, passion fruit, and hazelnuts. This was in reward for winning a cake-off, since otherwise I've already over-sampled this shop, which is quite excellent.

Since I wanted to go back by train, and it takes two lines, and also my priority is more to get two weekend cakes and run without cake another day during the week, I ran to Ryoura, which only too about another 20 minutes.

Google said I could get a bus and arrive in the same time, but waiting for a bus on Sunday wasn't attractive, even if the Nonetto got a little skewed. At Ryoura, which I've undersampled, I went with the first cake in the line-up that I hadn't had before, which was the Passionemon (Or I suppose Passion Lemon if you don't pronounce the L, but "lemon" is no French for lemon, so forget that), which is, of course, passion fruit and lemon, with whipped cream and I think light meringue on top.

The results are perhaps predictable. The Nonetto is lots of things that I like and Au Bon Vieux Temps doesn't lack skill, so it was excellent. The Pssionemon is fruit and more fruit with nothing substantial to cut it (I had tea, but not that much), so as much as a tried, though it was good and I enjoyed it, it wasn't special to me. Au Bon View Temps remains near the bottom and Ryoura remains near the top (and I've had about double the cakes from the former), so not much changed, just these are likely to stay settled as quite excellent shops, though my priority is still to get too more cakes from Ryoura, and that's even before I get them into another cake-off (they currently have one great cake available, but I've already done the first round).

Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps's Marjolaine over Paris S'éveille's Giverny,

Just for the record, I went out Saturday night, before the rain got bad, for 40 minutes of running on the local neighborhood course. That was enough to revisit my southwest Shinjuku loop and the northern part of Sendagaya, so I can focus on central Sendagaya when I go out again. I think I'm going to try to revisit just at least the already mapped neighborhood course inside the Yamanote Line before I revisit though further out or work on new routes further out, though I've some new spots inside Yamanote Line that I overlooked previously or were cut off due to construction before that I'd like to do sooner rather than later.  It's going to take awhile, though, since I'm usually more interesting in running for cake.

Sunday morning, I ran to Todoroki in Setagawa to visit Au Bon Vieux Temps and get their Marjolaine for a cake-off. The run was 89 minutes, though I didn't use the most efficient route. That was about the limit for how far I felt ready to run this weekend, especially since then I had a two-station walk back to Paris S'éveille in Jiyuugaoka to get Giverny and then take the train back home. I've built up enough distance now to get to most shops that I want to reach for weekdays, so I should start doing some interval work to build up my strength so I can go at least a little faster.

As a cake-off, the Marjolaine was much stronger than I remembered and the caramelized to the point of almost a burnt taste really made it hard to appreciate the Ginvery. Perhaps I should have switched from comparing bites to clearing my palate more and figuring out what was great about the Ginvery, because its taste combination wasn't really working for me this time. I think any fruity cake would have trouble against the Marjolaine, so I should probably be careful with both cakes next time. As it is, I have to give the Marjolaine the win and mark the Ginvery as potentially not great. This was a second round of first-round winners, so the Ginvery isn't going to get booted from the great list for one poor performance. In a sense, this is revenge by Au Bon Vieux Temps for Ginvery's first-round win over its Chocolate Framboise. However, if the third round comes around next year, PS already has three double winners and two more possibles to ABVT's only one, so no reason to feel sorry for them. Now I need to use a weekend/holiday to visit ABVT again and try a new cake.

Cake-off: Jean-Paul Hévin's Guayaquil over Au Bon Vieux Temps' Tentation Chocolat

Friday, I did the pasty thing. Still cold a little rainy, but it stopped by the time I got to Sora. I made all the lights but the last (where I took the pedestrian overpass) and managed +10 km/h for a little under 3 km. I tried the Pain au Chocolat and it was okay as a snack but not impressive as a pastry, for which the few layers were either too thick or under-baked, I thought. Of course, it would have been better warm, but I'm criticizing the basic structure.

I went on to practice in order to reinforce the correct path (so I don't have to stop and confirm it next time) on the Minami-Aoyama--Nishi-Azabu Loop and then that the café/boulangerie across from Gaien is still closed, so I don't have to alter my Minami-Aoyama north loop to include it.

Saturday morning was the run for the cake-off. I had a cancellation of my 10 am appointment and could go to Au Bon Vieux Temps early and get the Tentation Chocolat before it sold out this time. I note that the all-male staff (I think) aren't as friendly as some places, though that could just be to me (though it could be more about being sleepy part-times). I've had experience with too friendly. Anyway, after confirm the no changes in line-ups and two relatively close stores, I took the train back to Shinjuku and, after waiting in line for a while at Jean-Paul Hévin (they are really busy with chocolate sales, for Valentine's Day, though they've closed the chocolate bar and use that for the shorter line for cake, as well as higher-end chocolate sets), I got the Guayaquil.

Eating these, I was thinking that I must be comparing two first-round cake-off winners, because these were so obviously great, but actually this was a runner's up second round. I can't fault either. The Tentation Chocolat is almost entirely an extremely dense chocolate cream (or maybe it's a creamy ganache). The Guayaquil is a straight chocolate sponge (I suppose) layer cake, with just a little ganache and chocolate on top. In the end, I feel that the Guayaquil wins for making a traditional chocolate cake so good.

Au Bon Vieux Temps: Mont-Blanc

As usual, I'm behind on most things, such as answering mail and messages. Sunday, I went cycling for about 3 hours. As reward for winning a cake-off, I got a new cake from Au Bon Vieux Temps, Mont-Blanc, not that it's likely new to them. Unfortunately, for the cake, it had a long trip by bicycle after that, so it was plastered up against the side of the box by the time I got to it. I scraped it off as best I could, but imagine it symmetric to begin with, but still small. It was a pretty basic Mont-Blanc, being a cream surrounded by a relatively thin layer of mind chestnut paste on a forgettable meringue base. It was basically good but pretty far from what I want in cake. I more positive news, The cake I want for the next 1st-round cake-off was still available, at least as of last Sunday, so I'm going to go for Afternoon.

Monday, I tried to get the new cake appearing today at Jean-Paul Hévin but I was pretty late, so it seemed to be sold out (lots of other cakes still there after 7, though. I'll try again tomorrow. Instead, I got a Croissant from Andersen. I've had their Croissant before and knew to expect something good but not great. What I really wanted to do was see whether heating it up in the oven a little would be okay, since, in this weather, I've had experiences with pasties that I regretted eating cold. 2.5 min at 100 degC seemed fine. The outside flake wasn't very stable to begin with (it perhaps did not have the most gentle return home, since I had other shopping to do and my normal bag to carry) but wasn't harmed by the over. The running Monday was just over 65 minutes down to the Kirakawachou-Kioichou Loop, where I turned too early going north, and then back along the Akasaka North Loop, where I missed one turn. However, I discovered a crosswalk that I had not noticed before connecting to the Akasaka West Loop and making it possible to have one big loop from Akasaka down through the north edge of Roppongi rather than long links that I have to return by. The 60-kilometer run is going to wait until I can sort it out.

Cake-off: Au Bon Vieux Temps' Chocolat Framboise over Bigarreaux' Le Plaisir

Friday, before a 60+ minute run trying the new Roppongi-Akasaka Loop and Akasaka East Link (yes, I've renamed all my routes again to focus on the neighborhood names on this neighborhood running course map), which I did not do perfectly but good enough that I'm ready enough for a 60 km run, when it fits in my schedule (I'm thinking in two weeks). As desert, as "pastry", I got a Gâteau Basque from Maison d'Ahni, who are visiting Isetan now. This was definitely good to the point that I would probably call it excellent if I were more into this type of baked good, which is a sweet biscuit with jam inside priced like cake.

Saturday, as indicated by the title, I tried a cake-off run, which was foolish given that I could not start until almost noon. I followed the lights and ended up at Shibuya Stn., where crossed via the 1st floor of Hikarie, which is much more reasonable that the pedestrian walks outside, in terms of crowds. The lights kept me going west rather than south so it turned out to be faster to go to Bigarreaux for Le Plaisir (where I bought the last one) before Au Bon Vieux Temps for the 1st in the list for 2nd round cake-offs, Tentation Chocolat, which was sold out. Fortunately, I have a smartphone now so I could look up this blog and see that I could use Chocolate Framboise as a backup (though that was pretty far down on list, which is only based on the order I originally blogged this cake). The total run was 14+ km and then I walked two stations to see what the Jiyuugaoka shops had for future cake-offs.

Though both these cakes were losers in the first round, I reported them as still great. Starting on them, though they were definitely good, it was not immediately obvious that they were great, so I had to adjust my strategy with the first half of each cake of alternating between small bites of each to larger bites continuously of each, which worked for recognizing their greatness. Le Plaisir is a little subtle, having lots of cream, so you need enough to get a good experience of the flavor. I'm going to go with the Framboise Chocolat, though, which is ironic in the usual way of contradicting what I just wrote earlier in the week about having a brownie bottom is a bad idea (though this has a couple thinner layers, unlike a brownie, which makes a difference).

Even though I still have to get to Tentation Chocolat as a priority, my next 2nd-round cake off will be between two former winners, which is more interesting. However, I've got a couple recent new great cakes that I'd like to do a first-round with, so I'll see whether I can manage that, even though I'm not going to be able to start any earlier than this week. On the plus side, both target shops open later and are closer, and one has multiple branches, so I can try a different location if I fail at the first.

[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.