Party Supplies
Asakusa bashi come out and go towards a "Shimojima" store -- birthday wrapping paper and decorations close to or at wholesale prices. Bingo games, costumes, streamers, crackers, invitations, etc.

Shimojima stores list (partial? includes two stores in Nihombashi area close to Tokyo station):
asakusabashi ten
1- 9- 15 Asakusabashi, Taito-ku, tel: 3864-7077
gift rapp ten
1- 18-10 Asakusabashi, Taito-ku. tel: 3864-8812
asakusabashikuramae ten
3- 1- 11 Asakusabashi, Taito-ku, tel: 3851-0900
asakusabashi5goukan asakusabashi
1- 30-10 Asakusabashi, Taito-ku, tel: 3863-5501

Also a couple of their shops in Nihombashi:
yokoyamachou ten
5-1 Nihombashi-Yokoyamacho, Chuo-ku, tel: 3661-8355
bakurouchou ten
1-7-19 Nihombashi-Bakurocho, Chuo-ku, tel: 3661-3436

Website: http://www.shimojima.com.jp
email: hanhon@shimojima.co.jp

If you shop at Costco, you can order a cake there. Here is a photo of the different styles on the board: link to photo image
They have an order form in English which basically looks like this. I can't promise, but if they are not busy it might just be possible to get one on the spur of the moment, OR I got the feeling that fax might just be possible.

Costco Specialty Cake

Sponge Cake order form:
___ White cake
___ Chocolate cake
Filling:
___ Bavarian Cream
___ Chocolate Whipped Cream
Whip Cream icing:
___ White
___ Chocolate

Decoration: select a picture on the board and write down the name of the picture (there are 15 choices. At the moment they are football (American), pastel roses, graduation, bear, soccer, scored rosebud, chocolate roses, rainbow, baseball, basketball, golf, cross, umbrella, bells, roses)
Message: Write your message for decoration on the cake, writing style:
___ printed capital letters (1)
___ writing (2)
Pick up date: ______ Pick up time: _______
Member name: ______________________ Phone number: _____________
48 hours advance notice please
Put this form through the slit in the box (inside the Costco store)
tel: 043-213-4111 fax: 043-213-4112 (Makuhari store)

Hello everyone. I've just met and seen the work of a cake designer whose creations are pretty amazing. His name is Ben Klein, and you can see
some of his originals at http://www.cakesgaloretokyo.com.
As he's just set up shop, you can order stuff with about a week's notice, but judging from the variety and polish of these eats, you'll soon need more lead time! Check it out!

Thanks to Kit, I contacted Cakes Galore right away, and turns out that Ben is one of the few chefs in Japan who makes EGG-FREE SPONGE CAKES!
This is a great treat for people like me with egg-allergic kids. I've always dreamed of having these photographic polish cakes, and finally I might be able to have them without getting my kid all upset!

Dear Yuko,
I've got a cake recipe that I make at home which is completely egg and dairy free. It's also very simple. I'm sure you can also find more of this sort of thing on the internet. Do not forget the vinegar because it corrects the taste against the baking soda.
Crazy Cake Pre-heat oven at 190 C (350 F).
1.5 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar (the Japanese brown sugar)
1 teaspoon baking soda
a bit of salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Mix dry ingredients together. Then when oven is ready, add:
1 cup water
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Do not overmix. Pour batter into mold and do not wait too long before putting into oven. Bake 25 minutes, ready when it passes the toothpick test.

350 F equals 176 C
190 C equals 374 F
happy baking
C X 1.8 plus 32 = F
F-32 divided by 1.8 = C

Thanks Cornelia, and also Jack for the guidance! Actually, this is probably the cake that my mother made for us on some of the birthdays my son had (and if so, I assure everyone, this is good!). But it's so nice that we can share allergen-free recipes on the net!

Btw, the bakery we ordered to last year uses yama-imo potatoes to make the cake spongy. I guess it's basically the same thing as making karukan, the sweats from Kagoshima.

While we're swapping "free-from" recipes: I have a great one for flour-free chocolate cake. It's very easy, and delicious in its own right (moist without being gooey), but particularly so for anyone gluten/flour intolerant who can't usually eat cake. It does contain egg and nuts, though.

Australian Apple Chocolate Cake
(from a book called Green Feasts, by Richard Cawley - highly recommended veggie cookbook)

Ingredients: 4 eggs, separated
115g/4oz sugar
115g/4oz plain chocolate, melted
1 dessert apple, peeled, cored and grated
115g/4oz ground almonds
vegetable oil, for greasing

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas4 and oil a 20cm/8inch loose-bottomed cake tin.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in the sugar, chocolate, apple and almonds.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture.

Pour it into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Ben Klein of Cakes Galore is looking for someone to take over! He has to leave Japan. Here are his words: "if you know anyone with passion for cakes that would be interested in taking over a business with great potential, - please, send him or her this way."
ben[at]cakesgaloretokyo.com

Hi,

Any idea where I could get a picture/theme cake like the ones Ben is making at http://www.cakesgaloretokyo.com/

Any idea when is Ben coming back?

I'm planning for my daughter's birthday next month and would really like to have a pretty picture cake.

Priscila

Priscila, cakes galore is closed and the business is for sale by the owner. The picture cakes were made using a special machine. Unfortunately I don't know where else they have one in Japan. From what I have heard, Costco has a nice selection of birthday cakes a large cake is very reasonably priced. You must order in advance.

We are moving to Japan in the next month. My son's birthay will take place shortly after moving. He desparately wants a train cake or a monster or something along those lines. We will live in Ebisu area. Any idea where I could go to have a cake made?

There's Baskin Robins with the Icecream cakes, or Costco with the huge cakes. But if you want a train or a monster, I suggest COSTCO. They will design stuff for you. :) Check out the other discussion on costco to see how to get there: http://www.tokyowithkids.com/discussions/messages/333/1197.html

I didn't think Costco designs cakes but only offers the cakes they have photos of. It is possible to make a train cake yourself. Here is a photo of a cake for a 7 year old who loves boats. It was made by someone I know. Truly a labour of love.

There is a lady named Sarit who is decorating cakes. I have seen 2 of her works and they were beautiful. I'm not sure if she's in Tokyo at the moment (she might be on her summer vacation), but it's worth giving her a call and check details. Her cell phone is 090-7822-9309.

Happy Birthday!

Hi!

Kubota san had replied that some kids can be alergic to ordinary cakes, Is there any shop or online site which can deliver me spl. cake like an egglesscake?

If you know any shop in tokyo or online site which can sale take such order, please let me know.

Thanks and Regards

At 09:16 AM 09/07/2005, Michiyo sent this to the Admin by mistake:
"I know some shops where can order non-animal ingredient cakes. Here is one of them, and you can phone call or mail for an order.
http://she_watanabe.at.infoseek.co.jp/"

Note from Admin: This is located in Numazu, Shizuoka prefecture, but perhaps they ship. I know that the gingerbread house baker (posted in General Discussions: Holiday celebration: Christmas Events and Seeing Santa in Minato-ku ships all over Japan.

Mail order O.K. Custom Cakes http://monreve.boo.jp/
Here is the page that shows a huge number of samples: http://monreve.boo.jp/bdcake.html

I get a very puzzling translation using babelfish of course:

+*+ as for reservation, +*+
where we ask to the preceding day of receipt day
* * The district also the character cake which can be dispatched it is,
* * first, please inquire with the mail. * *
* The decoration price-list & * *
it is the your same price with the raw cream raw chocolate.
15 centimeters in diameter... 2000 Yen
18 centimeters in diameter... 2800 Yen
21 centimeters in diameter... 4000 Yen
(in case of the character cake, + 500 Yen it becomes) it receives separate consumer tax. This each time, from "the Toei Co., Ltd. animation" way request for deletion of the picture came with problem of copyright. Being to have resembled closely, being to mean that we want deleting, you deleted the picture. We have become the difficult to see page, but please acknowledge. Being to grant we ask the order of the original cake may.

https://www.facebook.com/VanillaBeanTheCakeBoutique?ref=hl
Welcome to Vanilla bean, the cake boutique.
100% vegetarian egg free home made cakes, cupcakes, muffins
cookies and more made to order just for you for your special
moments.

For further product inquiry and price list please contact


Mahima Jagtiani
+818034048863 or mail @ vanillabeantokyo@gmail.com.

Welcome to Vanilla bean, cake boutique.
100% vegetarian egg free home made cakes, cupcakes, muffins cookies and more made to order just for you for your special moments.

For further product inquiry and price list please contact +818034048863 or mail @ vanillabeantokyo@gmail.com.