• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Honest Food Talks
  • Recipes
  • Locals Eat
  • Guides
  • In The Kitchen
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Locals Eat
  • Guides
  • In The Kitchen
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
×

Home / Recipes / Korean

Korean Lunchbox Cake Recipe: Make Adorable Mini Bento Fit Cakes!

Last Updated: Apr 5, 2022 · Author: Serena Josrin · Jump to Recipe

Lunchbox cake is happiness in a box. While finding joy in the little things is the goal for most of us, dessert-lovers can indeed find it in this adorable Korean dessert. Often decorated with dreamy embellishments, this eye-catching confection has been flooding Pinterest and Instagram feeds lately. Be it for a casual picnic or a little celebration, and it will surely sweeten up your day.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about this joyful yet straightforward Korean delicacy. With our easy chocolate lunchbox cake recipe, you will have no frets on preparing this at home. 

Colourful Korean bento desserts
A colourful and joyful table of dessert bentos! | Image from studiosweetly
Jump to:
  • What are lunchbox cakes?
  • What size is a lunchbox cake?
  • Taste
  • Calories
  • Common Flavours
  • Frosting
  • Cooking Tips
  • Lunchbox Cake Recipe | Korean Bento Cake

What are lunchbox cakes?

This Korean 'bento' dessert is a petite-sized dessert packaged in takeout boxes. We found that Korean cafes and bakeries first popularised it. They are known for their pretty delicacies and minimalist aesthetic. 

K-pop fans have also popularised it worldwide by making it a thing to celebrate special events with the dessert. Due to that, it is now a top-seller that has saved many local bakers during the pandemic.

Lunchbox cake recipe home korean
This sweet mini cake makes a perfect gift for a loved one. | Image from manislab

What size is a lunchbox cake?

Living up to its name, it is bento-sized. The most common Korean lunchbox cake size is 4 inches, weighing about 350 grams. However, they are also available in bigger sizes, such as 6 inches and 8 inches. 

The Korean lunch box cake box and container adds charm to the appeal. Whether your dessert is classic circular-shaped or heart-shaped, it will be nestled in a clamshell takeout container. Despite the fancy decorations on the treat, the simple container gives a more minimalistic vibe.

Taste

The edible piece of art is beautiful inside out. Not only it is pleasing to the eyes, but the palates as well! Under the extravagant decorations and frosting is where you'll find the mouth-watering cream-filled moist cake. 

Calories

A serving of this adorable treat contains about 350 calories. So, despite it being small like other Asian snacks, e.g. Chinese mooncakes, don't be fooled. It packs a punch!

A pair of simple korean bento desserts
Many bakeries today offer customised versions too! | Image from luvinbake

Common Flavours

A Korean sweet snack is often either vanilla or chocolate flavoured. These are the go-to flavours as they often complement the taste of the frosting. However, it can also come in other flavours, including more extravagant ones such as lemon, Biscoff and matcha. Since it is customisable, you can come up with any flavour for this confection.

The variety of flavours indeed makes it higher in demand. And we know it can be hard to secure an order due to limited slots. Therefore, we've provided an easy chocolate lunchbox cake recipe in this post so you can bake one on your own!

Frosting

When it comes to frosting, you can choose to make either whipped cream or buttercream. These two options are the most popular ones out there.

However, buttercream is the most preferred as it does not require refrigeration like whipped cream. Buttercream also has a smooth and creamy texture, whereas whipped cream is delicate and airy.

Harry potter bento birthday cake
You can also make a Harry Potter-inspired dessert of this beautiful recipe! | Image from bentocakes.spb

Cooking Tips

  • The baking time of a lunchbox cake will depend on the baking dish used. To prevent overbaking, be sure to check your pastry once it’s been in the oven for 25 minutes. 
  • If you are short of time, you can prepare the buttercream frosting up to a week in advance and store it in a refrigerator in an airtight container. Once you’re ready to use it, bring it to room temperature and re-whip beforehand. 
  • You can use gel food colouring to create bright-coloured frostings. 
Lunchbox cake recipe home korean

Lunchbox Cake Recipe | Korean Bento Cake

This is an easy recipe for chocolate lunchbox cake that you can make at home. It is ideal for small portions yet enough to satiate your cravings. This recipe makes up 3 whole mini cakes with chocolate bases topped with buttercream frosting.
Author: Serena Josrin
4.45 from 68 votes
Print Pin
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: cake
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 385kcal
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the cake base

  • 2 pcs eggs
  • ⅓ cups sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon Ovalette
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoon milk

For the frosting

  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 125 g vegetable shortening
  • 500 g powdered sugar
  • ½ tablespoon evaporated milk

Equipment

Hand mixer
Sieve
Oven

Instructions

  • Mix the eggs, sugar, Ovalette, and vanilla essence in a bowl.
    Mix eggs, sugar, ovalette and vanilla essence.
  • Add sifted all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder into the batter and fold the mixture to combine. Then, add 2 tablespoons of oil and milk while mixing.
    Sift and mix ingredients
  • Pour the batter into 3 different greased 4-inch baking tins and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celcius. Allow the baked dessert to cool before slicing it into 2 or 3 layers.
    Cut the baked base into layers
  • For the buttercream, add unsalted butter into a bowl and beat for 2 minutes. Then, add vegetable shortening. Beat for another 3 minutes until it smoothens.
  • Gradually add sifted powdered sugar and fold the mixture until it thickens. Then, add evaporated milk and vanilla essence before mixing again until the buttercream becomes smooth and creamy.
    Beat until buttercream smoothens
  • Assemble the lunchbox cake. Spread buttercream on each layer and apply the first coat of frosting. After 15 minutes, add the final frosting, decorate and serve.
    Spread the buttercream on each layer

Notes

  • You can soak the baked base pastry in simple syrup to keep it moist while assembling and decorating.
  • It is recommended to use a hand mixer when beating/mixing the buttercream.
  • Our recipe is for a basic lunchbox cake, but feel free to be creative in presenting your frosting! You can chocolate, vanilla or other types of flavourings to it too.

Nutrition

Calories: 385kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 1gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 22mgPotassium: 25mgSugar: 47gVitamin A: 267IUCalcium: 19mg

Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.

Tried this recipe?Follow us @honestfoodtalks for more delicious recipes!

We were inspired by Mallis Home Youtube channel's video recipe on how she made this dish. After making the base, she prepared three different types of frosting that all looked beautiful. They all look darling and delicious! We highly recommend you check the video recipe to see how they make them from scratch.

Korean popular lunch box cake | mini cake icing | Cream cheese frosting | Mallis Home

How did your frosty and sweet dessert turn out? Share with your lovely home masterpieces by posting a photo and tagging us on Instagram at @honestfoodtalks!


Have you heard of Honey Toast? They are the next dessert craze from Japan and Korea that has captivated home bakers across the globe. Check out our recipe on how to make them at home!

Posts You May Also Like

  • Hotteok Recipe: How to Make Korean Sweet Pancakes
    Hotteok Recipe: How to Make Korean Sweet Pancakes
  • Korean Egg Bread (Gyeranppang) Recipe, Make Tasty Street Food at Home
    Korean Egg Bread (Gyeranppang) Recipe, Make Tasty…
  • Turnip Cake, Make This Dim Sum Staple from Scratch
    Turnip Cake, Make This Dim Sum Staple from Scratch
« Popping Boba Recipe: Fun DIY with or Without Sodium Alginate!
Honeydew Milk Tea in 3 Ways! Make from Fruit, Syrup or Instant Powder »

This post may contain affiliate links · This site generates income via ads 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Quinton

    December 26, 2021 at 3:20 pm

    5 stars
    Mine came out absolutely adorable. Love the tips here!

    Reply
  2. Yunes

    November 25, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    5 stars
    I love the recipe, thank you so much! just I don't understand what is ovalette? I never hear about that in my country.
    Greetings from Mexico!

    Reply
  3. Ephue

    November 16, 2021 at 3:48 pm

    5 stars
    Cake turned out so cute! Hard to pipe but little flowers but I am happy

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

HFT-Ad-share-story

Featured Recipe

  • Longevity Noodles in 2 Ways! Stir Fry or Soup Noodles

Footer

↑ back to top

Company

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Featured Writers

Languages

  • English
  • 繁體中文
  • 简体中文
  • Bahasa Melayu

Work with Us

  • Share Your Story
  • Advertise With Us
  • Write For Us

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn

Newsletter

  • Sign Up!
    for emails and updates

© 2023 Honest Food Talks
Privacy Policy | Editorial Policy | Disclaimer