Don’t want to share cake? Get a Bento

Also known as lunch-box cakes, these smaller, quirky baked treats have grown in popularity in some Indian cities during the pandemic

Bento cakes or lunch-box cakes are pretty, minimalist, two-by-four-inch cakes that weigh about 300-350 grams. First seen in Korea, these cakes have now made their way to India, during the pandemic. “Celebrations are smaller due to restrictions. There is no use for a big cake, people are not celebrating in big gatherings. Usually, it is just the family and a couple of others, which makes lunch box cakes or Bento cakes ideal,” says home baker Megha Shah over phone from Bengaluru. Baker Bhavana Baby Maliakkal, of the Sugar Sifter in Kochi, had been wanting to bake these for a while now. She did not because she could not find boxes to package them. During lockdown, however, the surge of home deliveries made ‘clam shell’ boxes (like those used for burgers) popular, and more easily available. These, coupled with her inability to ship regular-size cakes during lockdown, finally got her baking Bento cakes. Bento [meaning lunch box] originated during the Kamukara period in 12th Century Japan, when cooked and dried rice were carried together to work. Wooden, lacquered lunch boxes began to be made especially for this by the 16th Century. Eventually, schoolchildren used them too and in the early 20th Century there was a move to ban these in schools, as it was seen as a reflection of one’s family wealth over others. The practice stopped when food began being provided in schools.