Trendy Korean Bento Cake: Perfect for Celebrations

The most fashionable, beautiful, original, for the holiday! Korean bento cake is the latest trend in confectionery fashion. These are small cakes, for one or two people, but made according to all the rules — with sponge cake, filling and cream. They are decorated deliberately casually and packed in boxes.
cook time: 24h
Ethan Rowley
Trendy Korean Bento Cake: Perfect for Celebrations

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

306
Calories
24g
Fat
28g
Carbs
9g
Protein

Ingredients (4 portions)

For the vanilla sponge cake:

Wheat flour 140 g
Eggs 5 pc
Sugar 150 g
Butter 20 g
Milk 20 ml
Baking powder 10 g
Vanillin to taste
Salt to taste

For the chocolate sponge cake:

Wheat flour 120 g
Cocoa 60 g
Eggs 1 pc
Sugar 140 g
Kefir 100 g
Vegetable oil 40 g
Water 60 ml
Soda 1 tsp
Salt to taste

For cherry jam:

Cherry 150 g
Sugar 60 g
Corn starch 2 tsp
Water 2 tsp

For strawberry jam:

Strawberry 75 g
Sugar 30 g
Corn starch 1 tsp
Water 1 tsp

For the caramel-nut filling:

Sugar 60 g
Water 15 ml
Heavy cream 70 g
Butter 15 g
Peanut 50 g
Salt to taste

For impregnation:

Condensed milk 50 g
Water 50 ml

For cream (filling):

Cream cheese 500 g
Heavy cream 150 g
Dark chocolate 30 g
Powdered sugar 70 g

For cream (leveling):

Cream cheese 600 g
Heavy cream 200 g
Powdered sugar 100 g

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to make Korean bento cake? Start cooking by baking biscuits, vanilla and chocolate. Prepare your food. I baked vanilla first. To make the sponge cake more fluffy, all ingredients should be at room temperature, so take out the eggs in advance. The butter and milk will become hot and can be removed before cooking. I make 4 cakes — two vanilla with cherries and strawberries, chocolate with cherries and Snickers. Read about the biscuits at the end of the recipe.

Step 2

Step 2
Beat the eggs into a deep bowl. Be sure to wash your eggs before using them, as even seemingly clean shells can harbor harmful bacteria. It is best to use food grade detergents and a brush. Add vanillin and salt, which will balance and enhance the taste. Start beating the eggs at low mixer speed. Add sugar in portions, beating well after each addition. Beat eggs with sugar until fluffy and light.

Step 3

Step 3
Pour the milk into the butter and heat well in the microwave until almost boiling. The butter should be completely melted. Sift flour and baking powder into beaten eggs. By doing this you will not only remove possible debris, but also saturate the flour with oxygen, which will make the cake more airy. Gently stir in the flour from bottom to top. Then pour in the milk and butter. Stir until completely homogeneous. The dough will be fluid, that’s how it should be.

Step 4

Step 4
Line a baking sheet (I have 30*40cm, but a slightly smaller one would be better) with parchment. Pour the dough onto it and spread it evenly. Bake the biscuit in the oven, preheated to 180°C for 15-20 minutes. The exact time will depend on your oven and the size of the cake. It should turn red and rise. Read about ovens in the article at the end of the recipe.

Step 5

Step 5
Remove the finished biscuit from the oven and remove from the baking sheet. Cool it, remove the paper. Cut out the cakes using a suitable size mold. I chose a diameter of 12 cm, I got 4 pieces. Wrap the biscuits in cling film and put them in the refrigerator for 8 hours — this way all the moisture will be evenly distributed and the cakes will crumble less. You can use the leftover biscuits for other desserts — potato cakes, for example.

Step 6

Step 6
While your light cake is baking, prepare the chocolate cake. Prepare food for him. Kefir and egg should be warm, take natural, odorless cocoa butter. Boil the water; you will need it hot, at a temperature of about 80°C.

Step 7

Step 7
Pour soda into kefir, stir and set aside. A reaction will occur between them, carbon dioxide will be released, which will raise the biscuit during baking.

Step 8

Step 8
Sift flour and cocoa into a bowl. It is also better to sift it, since cocoa often collects in lumps. Add a pinch of salt and stir dry ingredients.

Step 9

Step 9
Beat the egg into a bowl, beat it with a mixer at high speed, gradually adding sugar, until fluffy and light. Then pour oil and kefir into it, which will increase in volume and bubble. Stir everything with a mixer. While doing this, add hot water.

Step 10

Step 10
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet part and mix gently until smooth. The chocolate dough is thicker. Spread it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper (I used 30*40cm again).

Step 11

Step 11
Bake the biscuit in the oven at 180°C. The chocolate cake takes longer to bake, from 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the finished biscuit, cool, and remove the paper. Cut out the circles in the same way, wrap them in film and put them in the refrigerator.

Step 12

Step 12
Prepare the fillings. I will make cherry cofiture, strawberry and caramel with peanuts. Prepare products for confiture. The berries are suitable both fresh and frozen. There is no need to defrost them first. I will make two cakes with cherry filling, so there will be more of it than strawberry.

Step 13

Step 13
Place the berries in a saucepan (I took frozen ones), pour in water, add sugar and starch. Place the saucepan over low heat and simmer the contents until thickened. Stir the confiture while cooking, then pour into a bowl and cool. If you prepare the filling in advance, cover it with cling film “in contact” so that a film does not form on the confiture.

Step 14

Step 14
Cook strawberry confiture in the same way. When the berries soften during cooking, mash them with a masher. Cool the finished confiture as well.

Step 15

Step 15
For the third filling I chose caramel with nuts. Prepare food for her. Use cream with a fat content of at least 33%. Heat them in the microwave until almost boiling. Pour the sugar into a thick-bottomed saucepan and pour water into it. Shake the ladle to moisten the sugar. Place it on low heat. Boil the caramel until it turns amber in color; there is no need to stir it with a spoon; shake the saucepan only occasionally.

Step 16

Step 16
When this happens, turn off the heat and, while stirring constantly, pour in the hot cream. The mixture will boil violently, be careful. Turn the heat back on and wait until it boils. Add butter to caramel. Cook it for a few more minutes until it reaches the desired thickness. Add a pinch of salt at the end. Cool the finished caramel and mix with peanuts.

Step 17

Step 17
Prepare the cream for the filling. Prepare food for him. Chill the cream cheese and cream well before preparing. Melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave. Read the article at the end of this recipe to learn how to substitute different types of cheese.

Step 18

Step 18
Place cheese, cream and powder in a deep bowl. Beat them with a mixer at low speed until smooth. Separate a quarter of the cream, add melted chocolate to it, it will go into the Snickers cake. Transfer the creams into piping bags.

Step 19

Step 19
Prepare the impregnation for the cakes. To do this, mix condensed milk with water. Start collecting cakes. They are all assembled in the same way. Iʼll show you vanilla with cherry. Soak the bottom cake with diluted condensed milk.

Step 20

Step 20
Pipe cream on it along the edge, forming a side. Place the filling in the center. Apply the cream on top of the filling, smooth it out, covering the confiture.

Step 21

Step 21
Place the cake on top and soak it as well. Similarly, assemble a vanilla cake with strawberries and a chocolate cake with cherries. For Snickers, use chocolate cream. Place the finished cakes in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to stabilize.

Step 22

Step 22
Prepare leveling cream. It is prepared in the same way as cream for filling — cold products are whipped with a mixer. Divide the cream into 4 parts and color it in different colors as desired. I left two parts white, made one pink, and one turquoise.

Step 23

Step 23
Remove the cakes from the refrigerator. Apply leveling cream to sides and top. Using a spatula, level the cake on all sides. Color the remaining cream in other colors. Decorate the tops of the cakes with brush strokes, flowers, and inscriptions. The style of bento cakes implies negligence and uneven decoration, which is precisely their charm.

Step 24

Step 24
Transfer the finished cakes to special lunch boxes, placing them on parchment. Glue a spoon and a candle onto the lid of such a box. You can donate)

Additional rubrics

Related recipes