Birthday Cake from Payard! 08-25-2011

Location: Francois Payard Bakery, 116 W. Houston St.

Feelings: I can be so incredibly old school Japanese. Birthdays in Japan are mainly for small children, and I never got used to the idea of celebrating my own birthday. Celebrating your own birth would be considered boastful in my culture, and many elders consider birthday celebrations as another Western import. While many younger friends in Japan and even my parents have what seems to be the American style birthday celebrations, I still have my hesitation. I do love celebrating other people's birthdays, however.

Despite my hesitation, every year, there is one thing I request RB for my birthday: A delicious and decadent French style cake. This year, RB brought home a hazelnut "le gâteau roulé"--a roll cake from Francois Payard Bakery. This is not a hazelnut flavored cake in any shape or form. Hazelnut in a shape of roll cake might be a better description since the meat and shavings of hazelnut can be found in every bit of this cake. Every bite was scrumptiously nutty and smooth, and the sweetness was ever so subtle. Since we could not possibly eat it in one day, we kept the roll in the fridge for three days. As each day passed, the more flavorful it became. The spongy cake soaked up more flavor from the cream and hazelnut, and by the third day, it had become devilish, almost an immoral piece of post birthday thrill.

The service at this bakery can be a bit strange and inattentive, but when selecting this birthday treat, RB mentioned that the service was particularly good. This cake may possibly be the best birthday gift I could ever hope for.