Cakes Fit For A Queen

This post is directed towards Americans because I am American. I want to try and explain how we have been deprived of delicious food, especially sweets. We've been lead to believe bigger is better and our palates have slowly been dulled by loads of sugar and salt. Once you have been abroad you quickly realize this. Which leads me to one of my local cake shops here in Tokyo.

Because of Valentine's Day and my wife's birthday I spent some time at the sweets floor of our local mall. The whole floor of this mall is dedicated to all kinds of sweets. These are not your normal sweets though. They are incredible looking deserts fit for a queen.

I bought this incredible berry flavored cake for my daughter on Valentine's day.

The pink coating was a raspberry flavored chocolate with bits of berry and what I think might have been corn flakes. Inside was a typical yellow cake. Most of the flavor was on the exterior though. The strawberries were perfectly sweet along with the whip cream they sat in. However except for the strawberries, everything was semi-sweet. This leaves room for the rest of flavors to shine as well.

The size was perfect too. A single serving about 2.5" in diameter so not too much that you would feel "stuffed" after eating it.

While I might have balked in the past at the price tag, $6, the price is worth the taste. Why pay for something that doesn't live up to expectations? By spending just a little bit more than you normally would the experience is worth it.

Next up was the birthday cake for my wife. I wanted to surprise her, but she insisted on getting the one she wanted so we went to one mall with all the sweets shops.

She likes this particular cake shop and apparently gets a slice here every once in a while when she feels like indulging.

It was a good thing she insisted on picking because the one I would have picked was totally different. Can you guess which one I was thinking of getting?

The cakes on the top shelf run from $30 - $40. They are about 8" round and are a cross between a tart and cake. The larger cakes on the bottom shelf are sold by the slice between $5.50 - $8.80 ea. I'm sure you can buy a who cake, but Japan does not discount for bulk purchases like the US so you will pay the per slice price. I can tell you for sure though, those slices are worth it.

My picked this tart cake.

The impressive presentation was equally matched by the taste. Like my daughter's cake earlier in this post, everything was semi-sweet. The cake had a layer of custard that matched great with the tart crust. The strawberries were bursting with flavor. After 1 slice I was completely satisfied.

The cake cost $38 after taxes and it was totally worth it. My wife was happy and of course that is the most important part, but I was happy to because I've finally come to the realization sometimes less is better, especially when it comes to quality.

If you're in the US I'd urge you to skip that grocery store cake and seek out a higher end bakery. Spend a little more and you'll realize what you're missing.