“Tiramisu” Inspired Bento Box Cake

Welcome to “Bento This!”

This is a fun little series where I show you how you can make desserts in any to-go container or bento box so that you can have cake anywhere, anytime!

I wanted to make a cake version of tiramisu so I wanted to capture all of the key flavors while keeping it as simple as possible. So of course we are utilizing coffee, mascarpone, and chocolate. The result will give you a rich, decadent, and chocolatey version of a tiramisu.

Click HERE to watch the recipe video!

Yield: 1 (12.5cm x 16.5cm x 5cm) Bento Box

*** You do not need this exact size bento box, nor do you need a metal container. This recipe is designed so that you can make it in any container you have!

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE-

DRY INGREDIENTS:

• 120g Plain Flour
• 200g Caster Sugar
• 50g Cocoa Powder, sifted
• 1/3tsp Baking Soda
• 2/3tsp Baking Powder
• 1tsp Salt

WET INGREDIENTS:

• 100ml Water, warm
• 3tsp Instant Coffee
• 100ml Milk, lukewarm
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1 Large Egg 
• 40ml Vegetable Oil
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract

COFFEE SYRUP-

• 20ml Water
• 20g White Sugar
• 1tsp Instant Coffee
• (or use equal parts sugar to a shot of espresso)

CREAM-

• 70ml Double Cream
• 2tbsp Powdered Sugar 
• 2tsp Vanilla Extract
• 200g Mascarpone Cream
• ~1tbsp Cocoa Powder

STEPS:

CAKE-

1. Preheat oven to 170°C and line an 18cm/7inch cake tin.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a cup, combine water and instant coffee.
4. In a small bowl, combine milk and lemon juice and let the milk curdle.
5. In a large bowl, add egg, oil, vanilla extract, the coffee mixture from step 3, and the milk mixture from step 4. Whisk until homogenous
6. Add dry ingredients (from step 2) to the wet and whisk until just combined. Avoid over-mixing by stopping when there are no visible dry bits.
7. Pour the batter into the cake tin, and give it a tap to release any excess air bubbles.
8. Bake at 170°C for 25-30min. If a skewer comes out clean, it’s ready. Leave it to cool completely then remove it from the tin.

COFFEE CONCENTRATE-

1. Dissolve the instant coffee and sugar in the water

CREAM-

1. In a bowl, whip the double cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks.
2. In a separate bowl, whip up the mascarpone to loosen it, then slowly add the whipped cream. Give it one last whisk until it reaches medium-stiff peaks.

ASSEMBLE-

1. Cut a thin layer of the top of the cake to level it and expose the soft sponge.
2. Slice the cake into the size of your bento box.
3. Brush a generous amount of the coffee concentrate over the chocolate sponge. Allow the sponge to fully absorb the coffee.
4. Add the cream over the soaked sponge and make sure to fill the box with the mascarpone cream.
5. Leave this in the fridge to set overnight for the best flavor and texture.
6. Dust the cake with cocoa powder before serving and enjoy this tiramisu-inspired cake!