Bento Cake
These bento cakes (i.e. lunchbox or mini cakes) are perfect for special occasions: a lunchtime treat, birthdays, congratulations, or a simple “I’m thinking of you.”
Servings: 3 cakes
Ingredients
Cake
- Cooking spray/butter stick and flour to prevent cake sticking to the pan.
- Cake mix (be sure it lists a 9x13 pan)
- Ingredients on the cake mix box
Frosting & Decor
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Prepping Cakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Grease the sides with a stick of butter or cooking spray and flour them.
- Prepare and bake the cake according to the package instructions.
- Once completely cool, take a butter knife and loosen the edges of the pan. Flip the cake over to remove it from the pan.
Prepping Frosting
- Beat butter on medium in a large mixing bowl for a couple minutes or until soft and creamy.
- Gradually beat in the powdered sugar on low speed. Stop on occasion to scrape down the bowl.
- Continuing to beat over low, add in cocoa power and vanilla. Add milk one teaspoon at a time until desired consistency of frosting is met.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat a couple minutes until light/fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Assembling Cakes
- Using a circle biscuit/cake cutter, cut out six 4-inch circles of cake and set side. Make sure to select three cakes for the bottom layers that have a flat top of slice a thin layer off them to flatten them.
- Cut out three square (6-8-inch) pieces of parchment papers to place the cakes on and top each with a small circle of frosting to help the cake stick.
- Add the first cake circle on a parchment square. Frost the cake. Add another cake layer and then frost the entire cake. Scrape smooth with a cake icing knife. Repeat twice to make two more cakes.
- Freeze cakes for ten minutes to firm up the frosting. Then add one more layer of frosting on each. Line each bento box with a clean square of parchment paper. Remove cakes from old parchment paper and add them into the bento box on top of the new parchment paper. Decorate as desired.
Notes
*You can substitute can frosting if desired to save additional time.