Bento Cake (Simple & Delicious)

Our bento cake recipe is perfect for any special occasion. These mini cakes are a tasty and a fun way to express art through baking.

These bento cakes are cute individual serving cakes and are such a fun size. They fit in a takeaway box, so these petite-sized desserts are the perfect gift to give. I mean, who wouldn't want a mini-sized cake? And if you love this, you will love our gluten free lemon drizzle cake and gluten free carrot cake!

 

Bento box cake, or Korean bento cakes, originate from South Korea and are very popular in Korean cafes. Not only are they tasty, they are also a work of art. These cakes are often used as a canvas to create beautiful (and tasty) designs.

I love bento cakes because they are so easy to make and are the cutest size! You can easily pack them up and give them out as gifts. Then you don't have to carry around a large cake box and worry about dropping it.

Some other cakes I love are our easy Dr. Pepper cake, chocolate orange cake, gluten free apple cake, drip cake and gluten-free lemon poppyseed cake. And for Christmas time, I love our eggnog cake. This black bottom pie and these cakesicles are also fantastic!

What you need

These adorable little cakes are so easy to make. They do not require a lot of ingredients and the hardest part (which really isn't even that hard) is the assembly.

Prepared Cake Mix

For the cake, pick your favorite boxed cake mix. It is as simple as that. You can choose whichever flavor you would like too.

You will want a 15-22 oz box to make enough of these lunchbox cakes. But other than that, there really is no requirement for which cake mix you should get.

Top tip: Buy different flavors of cake mix to have multiple flavors of cakes!

Simple Syrup

Simple syrup makes everything better. It is sweet and tasty and just overall the best. Check out my Simple Syrup recipe, which is perfect for this lunch box cake recipe.

Cake Decorations

These are completely optional, but they make this recipe, even more fun. I've seen bento cakes that have fancy decorations or some that go with the minimalistic vibe. Either way, it is completely up to you when it comes to how you want to decorate (if at all) your cakes.

How to make it

Preparing Cakes

• Prepare a 12×17 inch half sheet pan with cooking spray then press a piece of parchment paper onto it
• Spread the prepared cake batter into the pan
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes or until the top is golden brown
• Let cool completely
• Using a butter knife, loosen all the edges around the entire pan then cover with parchment paper and a wire cooling rack and flip the sheet pan to release the cake

Assembling Bento Cakes

• Beat butter on medium speed with paddle attachment for 30 seconds until smooth then add in vanilla extract and continue mixing on low until completely mixed and incorporated
• Slowly mix in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time stopping at 1 ½ cups to add in the heavy cream and finishing by adding the remaining powdered sugar and continue mixing on a low speed until the ingredients are fully incorporated

• Using an 8-inch circle biscuit type cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles of cake and set aside onto the wire cake rack
• Put a 9 inch square of parchment paper onto the surface you will be frosting on and top with just a touch of frosting then add the first cake circle on top of it and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of simple syrup
• Frost that first cake layer by spreading an even layer of vanilla buttercream on top of the cake and smoothing evenly 
• Add the next cake layer on top that frosting and drizzle with another teaspoon of simple syrup then proceed to frost the entire cake with a thin layer (crumb coat) of buttercream and smooth with a spatula or scraper
• Continue until all your cakes are made then chill in the freezer for 10 minutes until the frosting is firm then remove and cover the cakes with a thicker layer of vanilla buttercream and smooth (if you prefer) then chill 10 more minutes in the freezer
• Carefully lift both cakes off the cake boards using the parchment paper and place them inside the bento containers
• Use the remaining buttercream to separate into different colors for decorating your cake by placing them in piping bags with different tips (you can even use gel frosting or sugar letters to write a message)

Buttercream Frosting Preparation

• Beat butter on medium speed with paddle attachment for 30 seconds until smooth then add in vanilla extract and continue mixing on low until completely mixed and incorporated
• Slowly mix in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time stopping at 1 ½ cups to add in the heavy cream and finishing by adding the remaining powdered sugar and continue mixing on a low speed until the ingredients are fully incorporated

These little cakes are so perfect for tiny hands to decorate. They are just the right size! I loved seeing how my kids got so creative while decorating their treats. Remember, nothing ever has to be perfect. The way you decorate is just great!

Gift Giving

I love to give these bento cakes as gifts. I use these bento boxes to package them in and they work perfectly.

Tape a little fork to the top of your to-go box for a gift that packs BIG flavor in a small package. Since this recipe makes about 6 cakes, you can really make the day of lots of people!