Even sugar-free families deserve a healthy and delicious party snack, and this sushi cake is fancy enough to serve on special occasions or as a wholesome family dinner.
Sushi is one of our favorite dishes; we can never have enough of it. But it also requires some time to roll those perfectly round and good-looking rolls. This homemade sushi cake recipe lets us enjoy the delightful taste of freshly made sushi with less effort. Furthermore, you can make a unique and tasty sushi birthday cake, like we did for our 2-year-old sushi enthusiast!
This sushi cake's taste resembles that of Philadelphia maki, our favorite type of sushi. However, you can use your favorite ingredients to adjust the recipe to your taste. If you dislike fish and seafood, you can make a vegetarian version or use chicken. The teriyaki chicken version of the sushi cake is AMAZING! (Check out our homemade teriyaki sauce that contains zero refined sugar.)
Sushi Cake Ingredients
To make this delicious sushi masterpiece, we used:
- Sushi rice: The safest choice is to buy rice labeled as sushi rice, which is essentially Japanese short-grain rice. But the truth is that regular round rice usually works just as well. You'll only want to ensure it's rinsed well before cooking to avoid the rice being too sticky. And if there is any leftover rice, you can always make a delicious poke bowl!
- Rice vinegar: Prepare your own or buy ready-made at a store; we usually go for the second one)
- Nori leaves: You'll either want to cut or tear them into smaller pieces as we did, or you can apply whole sheets and then add some smaller parts to fill in the space around the edges (this is exactly what we did in this video); just make sure everything is covered)
- Philadelphia cream cheese: Again, feel free to use any cream cheese that you like, but opt for a slightly salty one)
- Fresh cucumber: We don't normally remove seeds from a cucumber; it doesn't make that much of a difference, and the key advantage of this sushi cake is its time-saving. Therefore, why bother removing the seeds?)
- Ripe avocado: In our stores, there rarely are any ripe avocados, but an efficient tip is to keep avocados in a dark place for a day or two, and they'll be good to go!)
- Salmon: This recipe contains slightly salted salmon, but trout can be used just as well)
- Imitation crab (surimi): For a healthier version, skip this ingredient and add extra salmon or another ingredient of your choice; why not try shrimp?).
- Toasted sesame seeds: "Toasted" is the key-it makes so much of a difference!
- Fresh dill: While this might not be an ingredient traditionally used in sushi dishes, it fits well and gives a fresh feel to the cake)
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Boil sushi rice according to the instructions on the packaging. If you have a rice cooker at hand, feel free to use it. We didn't, so we boiled it in a regular pot on the stove. Once cooked, let the rice cool slightly, then add rice vinegar and stir well to combine.
2. Cut the veggies-cucumber and avocado. It's best to dice the cucumber thinly using a grater to ensure the slices are almost transparent.
3. Chop the imitation crab and salmon finely. Leave some thinly sliced salmon for decoration.
Slice the radish finely for decoration.
Also, you can cut or tear the nori sheets into smaller bits for better coverage when using a round-shaped baking tin. You can either make whole nori sheet layers using the torn pieces or simply add them to the places that are missing coverage. We used a round baking tin with removable sides and cut the nori sheets into small pieces to allow for easy coverage around the edges.
4. Take the pan or plate where you will layer the cake. It's best to use one with removable sides, like a springform cake tin. Place the first layer of the cooked rice at the bottom of the pan.
5. Add a layer of cream cheese.
6. Place a sheet of nori (or nori pieces) on top and cover the edges with the pre-cut pieces.
7. Add a layer of avocado slices (or cucumber slices).
8. Cover with chopped surimi.
9. Add the rest of the rice.
10. Cover with a nori sheet (= repeat Step 6).
11. Add another layer of cream cheese.
12. Add sliced cucumber on top and start decorating.
Decorate with thin slices of slightly salted salmon, toasted sesame seeds, fresh radish, and edamame.
Serve with pickled ginger and soy sauce as individual servings or as one cake that anyone can share.
Here's another way of decorating the cake (this one is shown in the YouTube video below):
Extra Tips
- As an alternative, line the springform cake tin with plastic wrap and then layer the cake upside down (starting with the garnish). When finished, put a serving plate on top and turn the cake upside down. Remove the cake tin and the plastic wrap, and you'll have a beautiful sushi cake that's already garnished!
- Add a little wasabi for spiciness. You can spread tiny bits on top of nori sheet layers. If you have the guts, you can even add thin serrano slices!
- A thin layer of roe, some fresh shiso leaves, and sakura denbu on top of the cake will make for a fancy, restaurant-grade garnish!
- This cake can also be made in a rectangular form. For that, you'll either need a rectangular cake tin with removable sides or use the method with plastic wrap; see the tip above. For seasoned cooks, I challenge you to make a sushi bundt cake!
How To Make A Sushi Cake (Step-By-Step Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 cups (370g) sushi rice
- 14 oz (400g) Philadelphia cream cheese
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 oz (250g) lightly salted salmon
- 14 oz (400g) surimi sticks
- 10 nori sheets
- 3.5 oz (100g) toasted sesame seeds
- some fresh dill for decorating
Instructions
- Boil sushi rice as per instructions on the packaging. Once cooked, let the rice cool down and add rice vinegar. Stir well to combine.
- Cut the cucumber, radish, and avocado into very thin slices.
- Chop the surimi sticks and salmon finely. Leave some thinly sliced salmon for decoration.
- Cut or tear some nori sheets into smaller pieces. (Skip this step if serving the cake in a pan or a plate of a rectangular shape where whole Nori sheets can easily be layered.)
- Take the pan or plate where you're going to layer the cake, preferably with removable sides. Place the first layer of sushi rice at the bottom of the pan.
- Add the rest of the layers in the following order: > Cream cheese > Nori > Avocados > Surimi > Sushi rice > Nori > Cream cheese > Cucumber > Sesame seeds.
- Decorate with thin slices of slightly salted salmon, toasted sesame seeds, and fresh radish. Alternatively, use salmon, toasted sesame seeds and fresh dill.
- Serve with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi paste for extra heat!
Video
Notes
- Use a deep pan or a spring cake tin with removable sides (or apply plastic wrap as a base layer and assemble the cake upside down) for easy assembling and serving.
- Salmon can easily be replaced by trout, shrimp, or teriyaki chicken.
- Add wasabi and pickled ginger for spiciness.
Nutrition Facts
Disclaimer: This nutrition label has been created using the calculator provided by www.edamam.com, and it may not be 100% accurate.
Padma
This recipe couldn’t have crossed my path at a better time! I am travelling to Japan later this year and wanted to learn some dishes just to get in the mood. This one is so good! Thank you.
Foodywise Editorial Team
Thank you for the kind words, and all the best wishes for a successful trip to Japan!