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Three bento cakes in lunch boxes: a blue happy holiday cake, a sage green happy day cake and a pink love you cake
Thy Than (@ThyThan_sweetrecipes)

Bento Cakes (Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream)

Three mini lunchbox cakes made from one chocolate sheet cake, layered and covered with vanilla buttercream in dusty pink, sage green and blue, with piped borders and messages. Recipe by Thy Than.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cooling and decorating 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 3 bento cakes (8 cm / 3 inch)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Asian
Calories: 250
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chocolate cake (22 x 36 cm / 9 x 14 inch pan)
  • 130 g all-purpose flour about 1 cup
  • 35 g cocoa powder about 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
  • 100 g brown or white sugar about 1/2 cup
  • 1 egg
  • 80 g milk room temperature, about 1/3 cup
  • 30 g melted butter or vegetable oil about 2 tbsp
  • 90 g hot water about 6 tbsp
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
Vanilla buttercream
  • 350 g unsalted butter room temperature, about 1 1/2 cups
  • 150 g powdered sugar about 1 1/4 cups, adjust to taste
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 70 g heavy cream about 5 tbsp
To assemble and decorate
  • sugar syrup for brushing the layers
  • gel food coloring pink, green, blue and a little brown and black
  • piping tips Wilton #2, #6, #21 and #32
  • 3 paper burger boxes to pack the cakes

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 22 x 36 cm (about 9 x 14 inch) sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and coffee powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and whisk to combine.
  3. Add the egg, milk, melted butter, hot water, vanilla and vinegar, and whisk until the batter is smooth.
  4. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely.
  5. Cut out 9 rounds with an 8 cm (3 inch) round cutter: 3 layers for each of the 3 cakes.
  6. For the buttercream, whip the butter until pale and fluffy, scraping the bowl often. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, then the heavy cream about 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until incorporated. Finish mixing by hand to remove big air bubbles.
  7. Brush a cake round with a little sugar syrup, spread a layer of buttercream, and repeat until you have 3 layers. Cover the cake with a thin crumb coat. Repeat for the other 2 cakes and chill them for about 10 minutes.
  8. Divide the remaining buttercream into 4 bowls: keep one white and tint the others dusty pink, sage green and blue.
  9. Cover each cake with its color, smoothing the sides with a scraper while turning the cake and the top with a clean palette knife.
  10. Decorate: pipe borders with tips #6 or #21 and write the message in white buttercream with tip #2. Chill until firm, then place each cake on parchment in a burger box.

Notes

Sugar syrup: the video doesn't give amounts. A simple syrup of equal parts sugar and hot water (for example 2 tbsp of each), cooled, works well.
Sage green: mix leaf green gel color with a tiny touch of brown and black.
Size: the 8 cm (3 inch) layers give cakes of about 10 cm (4 inches) once frosted, the classic bento cake size.