Astonishing Lunch Box Cake of Korean Influence To Try
“There’s one thing I ask before you kick me off the bus. Cake. Chocolate cake”. That was a quote from my middle-school-aged brother. SO random. He may have gotten the idea from the movie Matilda. I don’t know, but what I wondered was why chocolate cake? Now that I think about it, many of us LOVE chocolate cake! So much so that we request it before getting kicked off the school bus (I guess). In this article, however, we’ll talk more specifically about a trendy food phenomenon we know of as the lunch box cake which is of Korean influence. A lunch box cake? What’s that? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out!
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What Is This Lunch Box Cake Korean Innovation?
Lunch box cake in Korean is dosilag keikeu (도시락 케이크).
These Korean lunch box cakes are a recent South Korean innovation that has been trending on many social media platforms, especially Pinterest and Instagram.
You can think of them as mini Korean bento box cakes. In fact, the idea is that you can fit these smaller versions of full-size cakes into a lunch box.
However, in reality, Korean bakeries normally place these lunch box cakes into small clamshell takeout boxes (you can carry them in one hand.. so convenient).
Are we having cake for lunch? Yes, please!
A little confused? Well, here’s a small introduction to help you understand better.
Now, don’t those Korean bento cakes look AMAZING?
And, as you can see from the video above, one of the things I love about these Korean mini cake lunch box recipes is that you can make them practically anyway and in any flavor you want!
Super cool, right? You gotta love these Korean lunch box cakes!
Where Can I Find Korean Mini Lunch Box Cakes?
You can find these mini Korean lunchbox cakes all over the world, thanks to social media!
In fact, did you know that you can even find them in Saudi Arabia?
According to this article that I found on Arab News, the Korean culture, including the Korean food culture, is spreading throughout many parts of the Arab world.
The Korean lunchbox cake, in particular, has been super popular. In fact, a woman named Samira Bin Mahfouz caught on to this popular Korean food trend and even started her own home business making them!
Raghad Mohammed is another person who began a business selling these lunchbox cakes of Korean influence.
Quite impressively, her bento cake business became so successful, she started conducting workshops on a platform called Upgrade.
How incredible is that?
Korean Lunch Box Cake FAQs
Now, here are some frequently asked questions and answers that I hope you will find to be very helpful.
What size are Korean lunchbox cakes?
These lunch box cakes of Korean influence are normally 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Also, they are normally 2-3 tiers (or layers) high.
What is a Korean Bento cake?
A Korean bento cake is another word for the Korean lunch box cake. It’s a miniature-sized cake that is so small, they say it can fit inside a lunchbox. However, in reality, most of the time they fit into a small takeout container.
Furthermore, these mini lunch box cakes originated in South Korea and you can find them in many Korean cafés and bakeries. Actually, because of how popular they are, you can find these Korean mini cakes in many bakeries and cafes all around the world.
What is Bento cake made of?
Similar to regular full-sized cakes, the Korean bento cake can be made of many different ingredients depending on the type of cake and the recipe.
For example, chocolate lunch box cakes, and vanilla mini cakes, in particular, are extremely popular.
More specifically, some of the most basic ingredients that many people use in their Korean bento cake recipes include the following:
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Butter
- Milk
- Salt
Where did lunch box cakes originate from?
Bento lunch box cakes originate from South Korea. More specifically, they originated in Korean bakeries and cafes and are known for their simpleness and “cute” decorative effects.
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How to Make a Lunch Box Cake
Ok, so you’re probably looking for some easy Korean lunchbox cake recipes, right?
Well, take a look at this one that Emma’s Goodies posted on their YouTube page.
Would you like another example? How about a chocolate lunchbox cake recipe? Take a look at this one by Cake Corner.
So, what about a spongecake lunchbox cake or bento cake recipe? Check out this YouTube video by Kirbyyy:
Lunchbox Cake Ideas
OK, so maybe you’re confident about your cake-making skills and you just want some lunch box cake ideas?
Well, here are 40 lunch box cake flavor ideas:
- Chocolate
- Vanilla
- Matcha
- Lemon
- Butterscotch
- Funfetti
- Red velvet
- Oreo or cookies & cream
- Carrot
- Funfetti
- Black forest
- Chai spice
- Coconut
- German chocolate
- Dulce de leche
- Gingerbread
- Earl grey
- Hazelnut
- Maple
- Matcha
- Nutella (chocolate & hazelnut)
- Pumpkin spice
- Red velvet
- Rhubarb
- Pistachio
- Strawberry
- White chocolate raspberry
- Sponge cake
- Devil’s food
- White chocolate
- Marble
- Lemon poppy seed
- Orange
- Blueberry
- Zucchini
- Banana
- Hummingbird cake (banana-pineapple spice cake)
- Persian love cake (rose-flavored)
- Snickerdoodle
- Italian cream
And here are 21 Korean lunchbox bento cake occasion ideas:
- Birthday
- Thinking of you
- Valentine’s Day
- Friendship
- Anniversary
- Graduation
- Mother’s Day
- Father’s Day
- Congratulations
- “Just because”
- Christmas
- House-warming
- Baby shower
- Thank you
- Farewell
- Reunion
- New Year
- Bridal party
- Bachelor party
- Grand opening
- Engagement
Lunchbox Cake Mini Decorations from Amazon
In case you’d like some decorative inspiration, here are some lunchbox cake mini decoration ideas from Amazon.
Tips for Baking Korean Mini Cakes for Your Lunch Box or Take Away Box
So, baking a layered lunchbox cake is not the same as baking a regular one-layered cake.
(Unfortunately, I did not actually realize this until after I ready started making my lunchbox cake… but it still turned out alright).
Anyway, here are some tips for baking layered Korean mini-cakes:
- Some people think it is much easier to bake a cake using springform pans. These ones on Amazon are specifically for mini cakes.
- You can cut out parchment paper to put underneath your cake mixture to make it easier to take your cake out once it’s done baking. (You can trace a circle on the parchment paper using the pans as a guide and then cut the parchment paper circles to fit into your round cake pan).
- If you’re using more than one springform pan, you can weigh each of the pans (after you have poured the cake batter) to make sure they are filled with the same amount of batter.
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature to make them easier to mix.
- Your cake is generally ready when you can insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and it comes out clean.
- After the cake is done baking, let the cake cool on a wire cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Then take the cake out of the pan and place the cake back onto the cooling rack and leave it there until it has cooled completely.
- FREEZE YOUR CAKES BEFORE DECORATING THEM! (My first attempt just about failed because I didn’t let my cake cool down enough. Putting it inside the freezer for a couple of hours helped A WHOLE LOT).
- Although not entirely necessary, a good revolving cake stand can make decorating the cake a lot easier.
- To make sure the outer frosting is smooth on the cake, start out by slathering on a very thin layer at first, which will cover the crumb layers (This is where I messed up… I placed thick layers of frosting on my cake right away and it started falling apart. Oops). Then, place the cakes in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to harden the frosting. After this, you can take the cakes out of the refrigerator and add the final layer of frosting.
Final Thoughts on These Lunchbox Cakes of Korean Influence
So, what do you think of these cute little mini Korean cakes? Aren’t they adorable? And they’re super convenient, too, because you can make more than one at a time. This is GREAT for gift-giving!
Was there a certain mini cake recipe that you want to try?
I’d love to hear your thoughts below!
