Strawberry Chocolate Bento, #Chocolate Party

Bento lunch boxes – from Hello Kitty and polka dots to somber and simple – are seen in school lunchrooms, corporate cafeterias in Japan. Most every Japanese home has one.
The demand for the stylish lunch boxes in the U.S. seems to be on the rise; more and more supermarkets and internet sites in the U.S. are selling the stylish lunch boxes. Americans are picking up on this Japanese custom of fixing bento boxes for lunch.

Hello Kitty Bento Box with a Veggie Sandwich

Roxana’s Home Baking Chocolate Party gave this Ninja Baker the perfect excuse to create a dessert bento box. Roxana, the gracious hostess of this monthly soirée asked partygoers to bring something with strawberry and chocolate. 

So I filled a bento box with strawberry chocolate onigiri (Japanese rice ball), and chocolate cupcakes with strawberry banana pudding centers topped with pink chocolate ganache. Mini strawberry chocolate pies were also added. 

The Ninja Baker's Strawberry & Chocolate Dessert Bento Box

This bento box is not recommended for a child’s school lunch. But it is a fun little box of sweets to share with friends and family.

Strawberry Chocolate Onigiri

A typical onigiri rice ball contains a pickled red plum in the center and is wrapped with seaweed. So, I wrapped black licorice rope (instead of seaweed) around 4 Hello Kitty strawberry marshmallows (which substituted for rice.) In the middle a red M & M was placed for the pickled red plum.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Banana Pudding Filling 
& Pink Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Cupcakes:
I brought out Ann Byrn’s The Cake Mix Doctor and followed her instructions for Basic Buttermilk Devil’s Food Cake. Heavenly bites of light, moist chocolate cake ensued upon baking cupcakes from her recipe. 

With a melon baller the middles of the chocolate cupcakes were scooped out.
The pudding mixture was gently spooned into the hollow centers. Pink white chocolate ganache was frosted on top.

Strawberry Banana Pudding Filling:In the blender, frappé 1 cup of milk plus defrosted and chopped frozen strawberries. Whisk until combined, 2 ½ ounces of banana pudding mix with 1 ½ cups of the blended strawberry milk. Cover with film and place in the refrigerator for 5 or more minutes before scooping into the hollowed out cupcake middles.
Pink Chocolate Ganache
Adapted from HipFoodieMom

Boil ¼ cup heavy cream until little bubbles emerge around the pan. Pour over 6 ounces of white chocolate which has been chopped. Add pink food coloring intended for candy making. in powdered form  Stir from the center out. Make sure all ingredients are completely combined before frosting the cupcakes.

Mini Strawberry Chocolate Pies
Into mini muffin tins, spray a massive amount of cooking spray or until well coated.

Roll out a piecrust. (If you prefer homemade to store bought, my friend Jeanne Sakamoto’s apple pie crust recipe is the best!)
Cut out circles (1” – 1 ½ ”) to fit the mini muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes or until golden. Immediately drop 2 chocolate chips into the bottom of each mini pie crust. Spread the melting chocolate with the back of a small spoon.

Once cooled, use an icing spatula to gently slide the mini crusts out of the tin.
Fill with whipped cream. Garnish with strawberry flowers. (Made by using
a mini cookie cutter or bento veggie cutters.)

If you’d like to participate in the Chocolate Party fun, here are a few guidelines.

1.) Blog about your chocolate treat. Your recipe must include the two ingredients we choose. It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake, the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.
2.) Include a link back to a monthly round-up or the Chocolate Party page.  Optional, add the Chocolate Party logo in your blog post or on your sidebar.
3.) Your recipe must be published during the current month. Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.

And of course, feel free to simply peruse the virtual buffet table (below) of strawberry chocolate treats concocted by talented bakers like Roxana.

Wishing you strawberry fields, forever blissful as rich chocolate.