Happiness comes wrapped in a box stands true with Bento cakes!
Trends come and go but one trend that has taken the cake for more than a year now is Bento Cakes! Also known as Lunch box cakes, mini cakes and minimalist cakes, Bento cakes are incredibly delicious and adorable cakes, perfect to satisfy the sweet tooth without having to count calories. Today, people have jumped on the bandwagon of this cake trend and baking their own Bento cake box. Keep reading to know how you can prepare one at home. But let’s get acquainted with the basics first!
Introduction & History of Bento Cakes
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‘Bento’ is a Japanese word that means ‘convenient’. In Japan, a Bento box is referred to as a single serving meal that is either home-cooked or for takeaway. Soon, the concept soon became popular in neighbouring countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan. South Korea took it up a notch by turning them into kawaii lunch boxes for cakes-on-the-go.
Neatly baked to the size of a takeaway box, today, these bite-sized cakes are all the rage in desserts. They can be baked for any special occasion or theme. Be it for a casual get together, birthdays or anniversaries, Bento cakes make the perfect party cake, anniversary cake and birthday cake.
If you are planning to try your hands at baking these cutesy cakes, keep reading to find an easy-peasy Bento cake recipe.
How To Bake Bento Cakes?
Source: Pixabay
Perfect for beginners or amateurs, Bento cakes are easy to bake, design and decorate. Just follow these step by step instructions and you will face no frets while preparing this Korean delicacy.
Ingredients Required: ¼ cup yoghurt, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, ¼ tbsp baking powder, 4 tbsp buttermilk, 4 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp powdered sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 pinch baking soda, 1 tbsp vanilla essence, ¼ warm milk, ¼ cup refined flour and ½ cup whipping cream.
Steps:
- Take a large bowl and add yoghurt, vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla essence and buttermilk. Whisk until it forms a smooth mixture.
- Now, take another bowl, keep a sieve and add refined flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Mix them all together while pouring milk slowly until it forms a smooth batter. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Combine the ingredients of the first and second bowls together. Do it slowly but consistently to avoid any lumps.
- Now, pour this batter into a rectangular 8*8 baking tray (having four sections) lined with parchment paper. Bake it in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) for 15 to 20 minutes.
- To prepare the dressing for the cake, add whipping cream and powdered sugar to a bowl and whisk them using an electric mixer. Keep whisking until you see the soft peaks. Once done, transfer them to a piping bag.
- Unmold the cakes and place them one over another. Keep layering evenly with whipped cream. Now, cover the whole cake with whipped cream. Remove the excess and even out using an icing spatula. You can also use chocolate ganache instead of whipped cream.
- Lastly, decorate your Bento cake with chocolate chips, sprinkles, fruits, ganache or toppings of your choice. Place it in a bento box and serve well.
Apart from being a treat to the taste buds, these bento cakes are a treat to the eyes too, given their beautiful arrangement. Have you tried this cake yet? Though you can order cake online, we suggest you try baking one!
