Among various techniques, the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biomass (either isolated carbohydrates or crude plants) is a promising candidate for the synthesis of novel carbon-based materials with a wide variety of potential applications. In this Minireview, we discuss various synthetic routes towards such porous carbon-based materials or composites through the HTC process, using the nanocasting procedure. We focus on the synthesis of carbon materials with different pore systems and morphologies directed by the presence of various nanostructured inorganic sacrificial templates. This method allows tailoring of the final structure via the tools of colloid and polymer science, leading to selectable material morphology for a wide range of applications.