Hyehwa Station date café: DIY lettering cake of our dog at I'm Ellen

What kind of café near Hyehwa Station is I'm Ellen?

I'm Ellen (아임엘렌) is a dessert café near Hyehwa Station that makes custom lettering cakes and also offers a DIY cake-making experience. I went because I wanted a fun, different date activity near Hyehwa Station for couples.

The cake-making experience was easy and relaxed, and it's great for celebrating an anniversary. They also take custom lettering cake orders, so if you're looking for a good lettering cake place in Hyehwa, save this one and drop by :)

• Location: 257 Changgyeonggung-ro, 1st floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: daily 11:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
• Takeout, reservations and pets allowed

Getting to I'm Ellen and the vibe of the shop

I'm Ellen is a 10-minute walk from Hyehwa Station Exit 4.

Besides custom lettering cakes, it's one of the Hyehwa Station cafés that sells all kinds of handmade cakes and desserts. It seems to have been around quite a while, because there seemed to be a lot of regulars.

I'd actually been thinking about ordering a cake, so that's why I went, and it felt more meaningful when I found out I could make a lettering cake myself.

Inside I'm Ellen

The shop was quite spacious, with lots of tables.

Some customers were only there to pick up cakes, but quite a few were enjoying coffee and cake inside. In the refrigerated display case were lettering cakes that had been reserved in advance.

How do you book the cake-making experience at I'm Ellen, and how much is it?

You can book the cake-making experience ahead on Naver, and the sheet costs ₩15,000 for vanilla or ₩16,000 for chocolate. It's a self-service experience, not a 1:1 class, so it feels like a fun way to make something a little clumsy but full of your own meaning!

Because it's casual and easy, and the price is not a burden, it's honestly a great date course for a different kind of experience~ A cake-making date was actually my first, haha.

• It's lunchbox cake size, and size no. 1 is also available for the experience!
• You must pick a flavor: vanilla sheet is ₩15,000 and chocolate sheet is ₩16,000.
• The inner cream is plain fresh milk whipped cream by default, but you can add chocolate chips or blueberry compote.
• The base color is ivory by default, and you can add a wide range of colors: pastel yellow, pastel pink, pastel sky blue, pastel purple, red, black, navy, green and purple.
• For the cream decoration, you can change and add up to 3 piping tips~

Same-day cancellation isn't possible, so be sure to show up on your reserved time! I picked the most basic of the basics, haha.

Making a lunchbox lettering cake (₩19,000) myself

The experience I did at I'm Ellen was the lunchbox lettering cake (₩19,000). I chose 2 piping tips and added black cream.

They set everything up simply like this so it's easy to make~

They said if I ran out of cream while working in the shop, I could ask for more. There's plenty, haha.

Starting with a sketch from a photo of my dog

I pulled up a photo of my baby first, lol, and started sketching.. and drawing.. I was weirdly nervous. Over what, lol! They also gave me some tips.

It turned out much harder than I expected, and I couldn't help wondering whether all the lettering cake owners majored in art... This experience gave me a whole new respect, lol.

Piping the cream, finishing neatly and getting the look you want were all quite difficult. I think it takes a lot of practice, lol.

Still, I'd done a bit of decorating on the outside before, so that part felt easy haha.

The finished lettering cake: a Chihuahua-Pinscher turned bulldog?

Ta-da, done!!!

I like it, lol, but my partner says if it had been made like this as an order, it would be a 100% refund ^_ㅠ hahaha. It's supposed to be a Chihuahua-Pinscher mix, but I think it came out looking like a bulldog?

How did the cake at I'm Ellen taste?

The cream on the I'm Ellen cake wasn't ordinary whipped cream; it tasted like cream cheese! It was hot summer weather, so it melted a little even on the way straight home~~

Think of it as a cheese-based cream cake~

Inside it was moist, and with the basic vanilla sheet it's a guaranteed win haha. Delicious~

Next time I'd like to visit and try the café menu at I'm Ellen too :)

I'm Ellen is a café I'd recommend for couples who want a different kind of date or a unique experience near Hyehwa Station!