Bee sting or bee sting cake is a German yeast cake kissed with honey. A creamy filling and a crunchy almond topping make this recipe irresistible.
In this recipe
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origins
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yeast cake
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The best yeast for cakes
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make filling
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Honey Almond Topping
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Get ahead
Bee stitch cake or bee sting is a German cake made from a sweet yeast dough filled with cream and topped with caramelized honey and almonds. The cake is a study in texture: fluffy, creamy and crunchy. Bee sting cake is richer than sweet, with most of the sweetness coming from blossom honey.
Don’t be intimidated that this cake has three distinct elements. It might be more of a baking project than a last-second craving-satisfyer, but as you work the cake element by element, they become an impressive and satisfying dessert. The pastry cream can be made the day before, and the topping consists of just four ingredients that need to be combined.
Origins of the bee sting cake
Bee stitch cake is a German cake popular in both western Germany and Alsace, France. The cake dates back to the 15th century, so the specifics of its invention are not easy to uncover. My favorite legend about its origin is that before an imminent attack on the city of Andernach, some apprentice bakers noticed bee nests on the city walls. They hurled the bee nests at the attackers, causing the invaders to flee and were severely stabbed. Bakers around town invented this bee sting cake to celebrate.
Bee sting: cake or bread?
You might be confused because this is a cake recipe, but it also looks a lot like a bread recipe. This is such an old recipe that it predates modern baking soda and baking powder by about 400 years. Many old “cakes” are actually just sweetened bread recipes eaten for dessert. Other examples of yeast cakes are Kugelhupf from Germany and Panettone from Italy. In fact, the famous phrase “Let them eat cake!” referred to brioche bread rather than what we mean by cake today.
Instant yeast versus active dry yeast
I generally prefer instant yeast because I can mix it with the rest of the ingredients without letting them rise first. If you only have active dry yeast at home, use that instead. Use 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast in place of the instant yeast. Let the yeast rise in the warm milk until bubbly, which should take between 5 and 10 minutes. To do this, you will need to heat the milk and melt the butter separately in step 5 below.
CONTINUE READING:
A pastry cream lightened with whipped cream
If you want to get fancy and technical, the bee sting cake filling is called Crème Diplomat. All it is is pastry cream lightened with whipped cream. Crème Diplomat is light, creamy and rich and not overly sweet.
To make confectionery cream, milk is whisked with a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Then the mixture is poured into a saucepan to cook over medium-high heat until thickened. Once the confectioner’s cream begins to bubble, cook 1 more minute to ensure the starch is fully cooked. Otherwise, the pastry cream could disintegrate and loosen over time. Off the heat, you can flavor it with some vanilla extract and then refrigerate until ready to use.
A crunchy, gooey honey and almond topping
A name like bee sting cake evokes a cake full of sweet honey flavor and most of the honey is concentrated in the topping. Butter, honey and sugar melt into a caramel sauce to which a large handful of slivered almonds are added. The top of the cake is basted before baking and the sauce and almonds caramelize into an irresistible honey-flavored, crunchy-gooey topping.
Get ahead
My favorite way to break this recipe down into smaller steps is to make the pastry cream ahead of time. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Let them eat cake!
- Rum cake
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- Vanilla Pound Cake
Bee Sting Cake (Bee Sting)
ingredients
For the filling
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1/3 Cup sugar
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3 tablespoon cornstarch
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1/4 teaspoon Salt
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egg yolk from 3 Big Eggs
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1 1/2 cups whole milk
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/2 Cup fat whipped cream
For the cake
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1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk
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1/4 cup (60G) unsalted butter
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2 tablespoons (40G) honey
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2 Big Eggs
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2 1/3 (280g) cups bread flour
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1 3/4 teaspoon Yeast
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1/4 teaspoon Salt
For covering
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1/4 cup (60G) unsalted butter
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2 tablespoons (40G) honey
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2 tablespoon sugar
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1 cup (115G) sliced almonds
method
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Combine the dry ingredients for the filling:
For the filling, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium heatproof mixing bowl.
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Beat in the egg yolk and milk:
Add the egg yolks and beat until the mixture is pale and smooth, about 1 minute. The mixture may seem too dry at first, but keep stirring and it will loosen up. Whisk in the milk, whisking constantly, until all of the milk is incorporated.
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Cooking pastry cream:
Pour the milk mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the pudding begins to simmer and thicken, about 5 minutes.
Once it begins to bubble slightly, cook 1 more minute, stirring constantly, to cook out the starch. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
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Strain and chill:
Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard. Refrigerate while preparing the cake.
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Heat milk and butter:
For the cake, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture stand until lukewarm.
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make dough:
Place the milk and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add honey, eggs, bread flour, yeast and salt. Blend on low speed until everything comes together and forms a coarse dough, about 1 minute. Then increase the speed to speed 2/medium and continue kneading for 6 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic and not sticky.
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Let the dough rise:
Place the batter in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
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Make the topping:
While the dough is rising, prepare the almond topping. Place the butter, honey, and sugar in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to bubble. Remove from the heat and stir in the sliced almonds. Set aside and let cool.
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Prepare the pan:
Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Dust the base and sides with flour and tap out excess flour.
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Shape the dough:
Beat down the dough. Transfer to the prepared springform pan, gently pressing and stretching to evenly fill the pan. Gently spread the almond topping over the dough to cover the entire surface.
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Rise cake:
Cover the pan and let the cake rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven:
About 20 minutes before the cake is ready to bake, place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
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Bake:
Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges are golden and the topping is bubbling.
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Cool:
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes so that the topping sets. Then run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
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Complete the filling:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. The cream should thicken and when you pull the whisk out of the bowl the tip should stand up.
Remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator and use a whisk to stir the pastry cream until smooth and creamy. Add half of the whipping cream to the chilled pastry cream and mix gently with a rubber spatula. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream. The filling should be smooth, light and airy.
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Fill cake:
Once the cake has completely cooled, assemble the cake. Using a serrated bread knife, cut the cake in half horizontally. Use a spatula to spread the filling over the bottom layer of the cake. Leave a half inch margin around the edges. You won’t use all of the filling, or it may ooze out the sides.
Simple tip!
The leftover filling can be served as a side dish or tastes wonderful over fruit slices.
Lay the top layer over the filling. While you can serve it immediately, allow it to chill for a few hours before serving to make the cake easier to slice.
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Storage:
Store the cake, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. I do not recommend freezing this cake as cornstarch pastry cream does not freeze and thaw well.
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| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 575 | calories |
| 31g | Fat |
| 62g | carbohydrates |
| 15g | protein |
