Cake decorating class in Hyehwa, Seoul: lunchbox cake at I'm Ellen

Buying a finished cake is nice and all, but lately I've been thinking that when you have a cake to gift a friend or family member, handing over one you made yourself feels kind of meaningful. So this time I went to I'm Ellen in Hyehwa and tried making a lunchbox cake from scratch!

I'd barely ever decorated a cake from the start, so I was a little worried about how it would turn out, but the process was more fun than I expected, and seeing the finished cake made me weirdly proud haha.

Where I'm Ellen is and what time it opens

• Location: 258 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st floor / 194m from Hyehwa Station Exit 4
• Hours: 11:00–20:00
• Amenities: Takeout, reservations, separate men's/women's restrooms, group visits, organic menu, pet-friendly
• Parking: X

I'm Ellen is right near Hyehwa Station, so it's a great spot to stop by on a date or after wandering around Daehak-ro! There are tons of cafés and good restaurants in Hyehwa already, so just grabbing dessert is fine, but being able to add a hands-on making experience on top of that makes for a slightly different kind of outing 😁 What I liked most was that instead of just buying a cake, I got to make one myself, take photos along the way, and still walk away with the finished cake 😋

A Hyehwa cake café where you can both sit and enjoy the café and order custom lettering cakes — I'm Ellen 🤭

Cute cakes that customers had pre-ordered 🎂

How the lunchbox cake class at I'm Ellen works

What I tried at I'm Ellen this time was making a lunchbox cake from start to finish, decorating it myself. I started off thinking about what design to put on top and what colors to use, and since it's a small size, I figured it'd be done quickly, right?

But once I actually started, choosing the cream, deciding where to put the design, and slowly decorating it turned out to be way more fun than expected 😆 Once you pick the cake size, outer cream, crumb-coat cream, and piping tip & colors, they give you the lunchbox cake, and you sketch your design onto it with a toothpick!

It wasn't a pressure-filled 'you have to get it perfect from the start' kind of vibe, so I could work at ease, and I could get help along the way whenever I wasn't sure what to do — so even as a first-timer, it felt totally manageable 😎

If you search for good lettering cake spots in Hyehwa these days, tons of gorgeous finished cakes come up, but actually thinking through your own design and building it piece by piece had a different kind of fun to it! Especially since it's lunchbox-cake sized, it's not too big or overwhelming, and it felt just the right size for a gift.

The finished lunchbox cake 🍰

When I started I was thinking, 'Can I actually pull this off?' but once it was done, it turned out way cuter than expected, right?! Piping the cream on myself, adding the lettering, finishing it in exactly the style I wanted — it gave me an attachment to it that's totally different from a store-bought cake 😉

And honestly, big, expensive cakes can feel like a lot sometimes for birthdays or anniversaries. In those cases, a small lunchbox-sized cake with a simple message written on it seems like a great option for a birthday, anniversary, or gift for a friend ❤️ So if you're looking for a Hyehwa cake café and want more than just eating something — a bit of a special experience — I'd really recommend trying a cake-making class like this too 😊

Is I'm Ellen a good spot for photos?

For experiences like this, I think the process photos matter almost as much as the final result. Making the lunchbox cake at I'm Ellen had plenty of photo-worthy moments the whole way through, from the lettering process to the finished cake.

It'd be especially fun doing this with friends, family, or a partner — watching what design everyone else comes up with is entertaining, and couples making cakes for each other seems like it'd be pretty fun too 🤭 If you're looking for something different to do in Hyehwa, making one yourself instead of just sitting in a café sipping a drink feels like something you'll remember for a long time haha.

Who should try the I'm Ellen cake class 👍🏻

• Anyone looking for a different kind of date course in Hyehwa
• Anyone searching for a good lettering cake spot in Hyehwa
• Anyone who wants to try making a lunchbox cake themselves
• Anyone looking for a special one-day experience in Daehak-ro

Overall, making a lunchbox cake at I'm Ellen was less about just walking away with a finished cake and more about enjoying the making process itself! Even kids who aren't used to baking could follow along without pressure, and since you end up with something you made yourself, the sense of satisfaction afterward was pretty big! If you're looking to make some special memories on a Hyehwa date and also want to make a cute lunchbox cake yourself, I'd say it's worth a visit 🥳🫶🏻