Bento Cake Decorating Workshop, Galore Bake Studio: “It may be imperfect, but it’s wholly yours”

Cake is, and always will be, my favourite part about birthdays. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to pretty cakes that I find too gorgeous to eat, and of course, the dream bento cake for my 21st birthday all planned out. So I think it goes without saying that my favourite dessert of all time is cake.

If you’re a self-proclaimed cake connoisseur like me, it might be time for you to take your love for cake to the next level. It’s one thing to dig into a beautifully decorated slice of cake, but I’m sure it’d taste a lot sweeter if it was customised by you. Enter Galore Bake Studio, which gives you a chance to do just that, so you can decorate your bento cake and eat it too. Bento cakes are popular miniature cakes about four inches in diameter, and fit perfectly within square-shaped takeout boxes. 

The rainbow at your fingertips

If I had to give myself a piece of advice before starting this Bento Cake Decorating Workshop (S$38), it would be not to overthink everything. Galore Bake Studio has food dyes of every colour you’ll need. All you need to do is to separate your buttercream into smaller containers, pick three or four colours, and start mixing right away. If you’re unsure of how vibrant the icing will turn out after mixing in the colouring, always proceed with caution and remember that less is more.

Galore Bake Studio’s workshop includes a fully-frosted vanilla funfetti bento cake, though patrons have the option of switching up the flavours to Oreo, Thai Milk Tea, or Earl Grey Lavender for an additional S$3. Even though the cake is pre-frosted for you, feel free to dye your buttercream to a colour of your preference, and give your cake an extra coat like I did. I mean, what’s wrong with a little more buttercream?

The rainbow on the cake stand

What I particularly enjoyed about this workshop was the instructors’ close guidance—from helping me to adjust the colour of my buttercream, to teaching me how to use an offset spatula to apply a smooth layer of frosting on top of the cake. It’s a step-by-step process that absolutely looked easier on all the TikTok videos I watched the night before, but novice bento cake decorators need not worry—mistakes are perfectly normal and fixable. Smooth things over with the scraper, and you’ll have a perfect canvas in your favourite colour to go all out with any design you want.

All participants also have access to an iPad provided by Galore Bake Studio, which you can use to search for reference pictures on Pinterest or Instagram before deciding on how you want to decorate your bento cake. The next step is time-consuming, but the end result is so worth it. Galore Bake Studio offers a variety of piping tips for any and all purposes, so all you need to do is pick the right one, fill a piping bag with your icing, and you’re ready to unleash your inner artist. 

I had saved a photo of what I had initially assumed to be a relatively simple and repetitive design of sunflowers, though once I tried piping, my respect for bakers increased tenfold. It was more challenging than I expected, but I promise there’s a certain charm about petals that look like they’re trying to impersonate actual petals and… didn’t get the memo.

Take it one step further by adding a little message on your cake, maybe even a birthday wish if you’re not taking it home to devour whilst bingeing on Netflix, and who knows? Maybe you’ll find your calling as a bento cake decorator.

Final thoughts

Galore Bake Studio’s Bento Cake Decorating Workshop lets you get to the fun part of customising your cake whilst skipping the messiness of baking and cleaning. It was a fun afternoon spent raising the respect I have for bakers who pour their heart out into customising cakes for customers, and reaffirming the fact that perhaps it’s better if I write about cake instead of trying to decorate it. 

Either way, it’s a great activity for kids and adults alike, especially during the upcoming September holidays. And the best part about it all, is that while it might get a little messy and imperfect, it is wholly yours.

Expected damage: S$38+ per pax

 Other articles you might like: 

Tuft Club: The first rule is that you’ll want to talk endlessly about it

Absurdities SG, Farrer Park: “Hands-down worth every cent, calorie, and compliment”